“As a mother of a child born prematurely, there was a personal drive to obtain the award. Pardes believes that every pupil matters and every pupil is unique. Our school ethos goes hand in hand with becoming Prem Aware, giving all pupils the tools to grow and building confidence for their future. When I approached our esteemed Head Teacher to pitch the award, there wasn’t even a question that we would go through the training to raise our understanding of preterm births and the risk factors it can bring. It has enabled us to extend our knowledge and ensure we gain vital information; about how a Premie might present themselves in a school environment, how best to support their learning in the classroom and social development in the playground. We will use our knowledge to recognise these needs early as well as support individuals and their families in order to encourage all pupils to achieve their very best.”

“Until listening to one of my teachers talk about her own experiences with premature babies, I had not thought in great depth about this, despite having had prematurely born children in my classes previously. Hearing and learning more about premature babies and the impact of this on physical , emotional, social and learning development opened my eyes to a type of pupil I do not believe we had considered enough previously or even knew we had. For a school that constantly wants to do its best by every child in our care, it has been invaluable for us to learn more and it will impact on our strategies moving forwards.”