The Sixth Form Bolton Awarded Gold Status for Mental Health

The Sixth Form Bolton is delighted to have achieved Gold status by the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools Further Education Mental Health Award.

The Sixth Form embarked on a journey with the Carnegie Award as a college to improve self-confidence, resilience and emotional intelligence for students and staff in The Sixth Form Bolton.  The award process used evidence-based approaches that align to professional and government guidelines. 

Utilising the Carnegie work book as a developmental framework, the college evaluated current mental health practices, identified gaps, developed and strengthened these, all whilst continuously working to build an emotionally healthier environment. Through this process, the College committed to making mental health a strategic priority and developing a positive culture that promotes mental well-being for everyone.

Sarah Ball, Assistant Principal – Pastoral Services, said,

“We are delighted to announce that The Sixth Form Bolton spent twelve months on this project and successfully secured the Gold Award, the highest award possible, and received an outstanding report from the Carnegie Centre.  This reflects the academic and pastoral work that our staff do to support our students above and beyond that in the classroom”.

Some of the work completed includes The Cocoon. Launched in September 2022, this is a safe space in College for well-being activities and some time to practice self-care for students supported by our learning services team. 

BeKind Mentors were also trained as a student project last year and The Sixth Form now have over 50 students qualified to support their peers positively.  The College also boasts 40 staff trained as Mental Health First Aiders; an initiative where staff offer support to each other and are committed to positive mental health practice and developing well-being as a community.

This is simply the start of The Sixth Form Bolton’s journey; who are committed to further developing the whole College approach to positive mental health and well-being.