A high school has been praised for the work they are doing supporting the mental health of young people.

The High Sheriff of Suffolk, Edward Creasy, visited Pakefield High School recently to see the work being done.

The high school on London Road, Lowestoft, is in the process of training staff to be mental health first aiders as they are focused on providing the best pastoral care.

Elliot Gibbons, deputy headteacher, said: “Through our review and analysis of safeguarding referrals and student support provision, mental health is one of our top pastoral concerns, especially post COVID and periods of remote learning.

"We have worked diligently to improve student support opportunities and are really proud of our growing provision of excellent pastoral care”.

Ormiston Families Mental Health Support Teams in Schools (MHSTS) have a working partnership with Pakefield High to improve the mental health support offer for children and young people who go to the school.

With Pakefield recognised in the programme as a Placement School, it means they are able to access a range of support during the initial year of the project, including one to one interventions, group based interventions and support in the development of a whole school approach towards mental health and wellbeing.

Phil Aves, from Lowestoft Rising, arranged for the High Sheriff to visit the school to see the impact of the extensive mental health support programme.

Mr Aves said: "This new Schools Mental Health Project is vital work and it was great that the High Sheriff could see and hear about it first hand from a school involved in making it happen”.

During his visit, the High Sheriff said: “We were very impressed by the whole approach - not only the work from the MHSTS team but the focus on pastoral care, and the imagination and thoughtfulness the school is showing when addressing a difficult issue in very challenging circumstances.

"This really is a credit to the standards team based at Pakefield and the excellent work by the MHSTS team.

"You are setting a great example to schools in East Anglia and making a great contribution to the community of Lowestoft - it’s deeply appreciated”.

MHSTS Lowestoft said they were “delighted to be working in partnership with Pakefield High as we develop our service in Lowestoft."