Carnegie Centre of Excellence Mental Health Gold Award

We are very proud at Redwood to be a recipient of a GOLD AWARD from the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for our work with mental health and wellbeing.

Awarded in December 2020, the award covers 8 key areas of mental health and wellbeing and Redwood met the top grade, excelling, in all of them. On top of that, to gain gold status, Redwood also showed that it was working on mental health at a local, regional and national level.

The award report specifically comments on Redwood "having a friendly welcoming environment where the ethos of SHINE shines through, so people can shine”. The school is part of the community, it is welcoming and is focused on “growing your child”. It also references Redwood having more than just an academic focus “they are more than that”

At Redwood, we have developed a very close and valued working relationship with Bridge the Gap - a not-for-profit organisation established in Derby to support children, young people and their families with Emotional Health and Wellbeing.

Bridge the Gap offer support for children on a 1:1 basis and in small groups. They also facilitate parent workshops to enable us all to develop a deeper understanding of feelings and the reasons behind these.

Bridge the Gap have a hub, located on Friar Gate, in Derby where they offer a host of other services, including Wellbeing Wednesdays - sessions for parents to have a safe space to talk.

Further information can be accessed here: https://www.jwbridgethegap.com/ 

We were very lucky to be approached by Rachel, founder of Sam's Superheroes, to be part of a pilot project looking at how dogs can be used in schools.

The main purpose at Sam's Superheroes is to help fund initiatives that support outdoor play, wildlife and animals. They give vulnerable children and families access to some amazing childhood experiences which may have life changing impact for them. We know, first hand, the positive impact that animals have on mental wellbeing and so Sam's Superheroes work at Redwood every week with Daisy - their therapy dog.

Daisy started her first Therapy Dog assignment on 4 November 2021 here at Redwood School and she was a huge success! The impact report shows just how valued she already is. Sam's Superheroes also now have a working cocker spaniel puppy, fittingly called Star, who will be working alongside Daisy when she is fully trained.