This year was no different in terms of recognising the importance of looking after your own and other's mental health and we once again said "Hello Yellow!" in support of the chairty YoungMinds who support thousands of young people with their mental health.

School was dazzled by all the yellow which staff and students wore to show their support for this brilliant cause. Through generous donations from our parents/carers and the Freeston community, we managed to raise over £200 for YoungMinds which will go on to help continue their brilliant work! Mr Rushton wishes to say a massive thank you to everyone involved and for their support in this!

Year 7 have now had their introduction to the anti-bullying platform Tootoot. This was delievered as a virtual assembly and then login details were distributed in the form of a small business card. Students are aware that if they have any issues or concerns at school with bullying or with anything in general, they can use the Tootoot platform to seek support.

For any students who cannot remember their password then they should speak to Mr Rushton who can reset this for them.

Although Covid-19 has restricted our ability to do certain activities, anti-bullying week was still strongly promoted within the Academy. It was the main focus of our Votes For Schools discussion on Thursday and was the subject of a mini-assembly delivered on the Wednesday. For those students who were part of the live lessons, they too were provided with an online assembly of this during their tutor time. All in all, Freeston has, and will continue to stand united against bullying.

It is important to acknowledge in the present and in the future, the impact that COVID-19 had on our students. We therefore commisioned this 'Pandemic Poetry' board to acknowledge how students felt during the national lockdowns. This sits in the main hall for students to show they are not alone in how they feel and felt during the lcokdown period.

Mr Rushton has delievered a wellbeing session to each year group with ideas on how to look after your physical and mental wellbeing. This also included signs to look out for poor wellbeing and support services that are available for help in time of crisis.

Weekly wellbeing surveys have been and continue to be sent out to the year group classrooms for students to submit how they're managing with their wellbeing. This is an opportunity for school to offer extra support for anyone who is struggling and has been identified as needing support from the wellbeing survey.