Strathmore Primary School in Forfar has proudly become the first school in Angus and the wider Tayside region to be awarded Gold Accreditation from Emotion Works, the national education programme for emotional learning and literacy.
Emotion Works supports learners in understanding and managing emotions through a model based on seven coloured cogs: Emotion Words, Triggers, Behaviours, Body Sensations, Regulation Strategies, Intensity and Influences. It is used by over 900 schools, nurseries and ASN services across Scotland. Only six other primary schools have reached Gold level accreditation, making Strathmore Primary School’s achievement a significant milestone.
Head Teacher Strathmore Primary School, Jennifer Garnes said:
“All our children benefit from regular Emotion Works lessons as part of our health and wellbeing curriculum. By integrating it with literacy, the children also develop a deeper understanding of characters’ emotions and behaviours in texts. The approach supports our commitment to ‘Getting It Right For Every Child’ and strengthens emotional understanding both in and beyond the classroom. We share our good practice across Tayside with our colleagues and have been named as a flagship school”.
The school’s commitment to emotional literacy has not only enhanced wellbeing and inclusion across the school community but was also highlighted in a recent HMIe inspection. Education Scotland shared Strathmore’s practice in an official ‘Highly Effective Practice’ case study.
Convener of Family, Education and Justice, Cllr Heather Doran said:
“This is an outstanding accomplishment for Strathmore Primary School. Achieving the Gold Award reflects the school’s deep commitment to emotional wellbeing and their determination to provide a nurturing environment for every child. I’m incredibly proud to see a school in Angus leading the way in such an important area of education.”
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Photo (Head Teacher Strathmore Primary School - Jennifer Garnes, Angus Council’s Convener of Family, Education and Justice - Cllr Heather Doran and Strathmore Primary School’s Principal Teacher – Laura Marr, with children from the school with the seven emotion work cogs.