A NEW sign is going up outside Bow Primary School, a sign of which the school is proud because this is a Happiness and Well-Being Award.

The award was received by the school last week and is to be presented at a school assembly today (Friday, July 8).

It represents weeks of work by staff, governors, parents and pupils and is valid for three years.

There are five strategic elements of the award - Leadership and management, School culture, Teaching, Learning and Achievement, Care, and Active Partnerships.

It is given by Devon County Council and Babcock Education, which has a base in Exeter, and is endorsed by the University of Hull.

Headteacher at Bow, Mrs Lesley Hodgson, said: “I am so proud and excited about the award, if you have happy children, they are more able to learn.

“You cannot sit still, a lot of this comes from the pupils, it is about listening to the pupils - their views really do count.

“This is a team effort and it is something of which the whole team can be proud,” said Mrs Hodgson.

Each of the five sections took a fair amount of work. For instance, with Active Partnerships, children, parents and staff and governors all filled in separate questionnaires which gave three A4 sheets of evidence on that subject.

To show how they feel on any day, pupils hang their name tag under one of three faces - smiling, worried or sad. That gives a friend or member of staff a chance to try to help with a problem.

Now staff and pupils are looking to see how this needs to grow. There are already playground buddies, but does the school council feel it needs to take this further, or other ideas.

Pupils are encouraged to voice their views and to give reasons. Mrs Hodgson was delighted to be told that her school had achieved such a high standard of input for the award. “This was because everyone put something in,” said Mrs Hodgson.