Meridian Trust has been shortlisted in the ‘Wellbeing Trust of the Year’ category of the 2023 MAT Excellence Awards.
The MAT Excellence Awards allow multi-academy trusts to demonstrate, and celebrate, how they have excelled in a specific field. This year’s awards ceremony will take place at The Tower Hotel in London on 29th June.
Mark Woods, CEO of Meridian Trust, said: “Meridian Trust has made significant progress in removing the stigma associated with mental health and being recognised in this capacity is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our employees and pupils across our Trust and schools.”
The development of a Trust wide mental health and wellbeing policy has been instrumental in embedding a culture of care and community. The policy is closely tied to the NHS ‘5 Steps to Wellbeing’, which the Trust has modelled to provide tiered support for their staff and pupils and equip them with skills that last a lifetime.
As part of supporting the positive wellbeing and mental health of each of its 2,100 staff and 17,000 pupils, Meridian Trust has employed universal and targeted approaches. Successful application of these has involved ensuring that the Trust’s core organisational values are considered, and implemented, within everything it does. ‘Valuing People’, one of the Trust’s core values, has had a great influence on the health and wellbeing provision across the Trust.
In addition to promoting positive mental health through policy, a range of impactful initiatives and schemes have also been cultivated across the Trust. These have included:
– Therapy dogs in schools.
– Schools implementing a wellbeing calendar of activities.
– Embedding the ‘Thrive Approach’, a social and emotional development programme, to support pupil’s emotional resilience.
Amanda Greaney, Meridian Trust’s Director of HR, added: “The range of initiatives Meridian Trust has been engaged in is superb to see. Our schools are working to the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools Award and we have embedded ‘The Thrive Approach’ to support our pupils.”
To highlight the Trust’s achievements, a short video has been created.
Meridian Trust has already made great strides in combatting the stigma associated with mental health, and looks forward to continuing to improve, and diversify, its offering.