Judy Horne, a Community Development Worker at St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth, and Tracy Stimpson, a director at mental health support organisation Marbles Lost and Found, visited the school and saw how pupils are encouraged to show kindness, empathy and support for others.

The recognition comes through St Luke’s Compassionate Schools programme, which encourages schools to have open, age-appropriate conversations about death and loss, helping children and young people develop a better understanding of bereavement and the emotions associated with it.

Pupils showed the visitors some of the ways the school promotes compassion, including its Compassionate Buddy Bench and a boat planter filled with flowers and plants. Children have also painted pebbles as part of the school’s work to create a caring and supportive community.

The Compassionate Schools programme, delivered in partnership by St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth and Marbles Lost and Found, has been running across Plymouth and the surrounding communities since 2017, with more than 40 education establishments taking part.

The school thanked Mrs Smout, Mrs Chesterman and Ms Bell for their work in helping achieve the recognition and for the support they provide to pupils.

Part of the Ted Wragg Trust, Marine Academy Primary is committed to creating a strong sense of belonging and helping children develop the confidence to look out for and support one another.

Georgina Reid, headteacher at Marine Academy Primary, said:

“We are incredibly proud of our children and the compassion they show towards others every day. This recognition is a wonderful reflection of the caring community we have built together, and we are grateful to everyone who has helped us achieve it.”

 Judy Horne, Community Development Worker, St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth, said: 

“It was a pleasure to visit Marine Academy Primary and see first-hand how compassion is embedded throughout the school community. The Compassionate Schools programme encourages and empowers conversations about death, dying and loss, helping children and young people develop a better understanding of the emotions associated with them. The kindness, empathy and support shown by pupils and adults demonstrated these values in action, and we are delighted to recognise the school as a Compassionate School.”