Pupils at Knockmore Primary celebrate as they scoop ‘kindness’ award

Organised by the School of Kindness, part of the 52 Lives charity, the awards honour the inspiring efforts of individuals, schools, and groups across the UK who are working to make the world a kinder place.

The pupils were surprised by the School of Kindness team in a special assembly, and presented with their award in front of their fellow pupils.

Knockmore Primary’s School Council, known as the Kindness Ambassadors, have spent the past year leading a whole-school initiative to transform their school into a true ‘School of Kindness’.

It all began when Mr Smyth, the Vice Principal, asked the council to prepare an assembly for Anti-Bullying Week. But the children thought bigger: “Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t even need an Anti-Bullying Week at all?” they asked. They realised the antidote to bullying was kindness.

From that idea, a year-long journey of kindness was born.

They launched weekly ‘Outstanding Kindness’ certificates, encouraging pupils and staff to nominate one another for acts of kindness. They designed kindness activities for Christmas, including handmade decorations, a kindness advent calendar, and a special Christmas kindness booklet. For World Book Day, they created kindness bookmarks and organised a book swap to be kind to the planet.

The Kindness Ambassadors also supported children’s mental health, hosting workshops and assemblies about the power of kindness. They introduced kindness displays in every classroom and throughout the school, inspiring everyone to think about how they could be kinder in their daily lives.

Their efforts reached beyond the classroom. For Random Acts of Kindness Day, they made 80 heart note cards and treat packages for every member of staff, from the caretaker to the dinner ladies, to say thank you.

They even secured a Kindness Grant to transform playground benches into Kindness Benches, and have plans to buy kindness-themed books for younger pupils.

The judges were deeply impressed by the School Council’s creativity, commitment, and the incredible impact of their work.

Jaime Thurston, CEO and Founder of the 52 Lives charity said: “Knockmore’s Kindness Ambassadors show that kindness really does breed more kindness.

"Their passion and determination to lead with kindness in every aspect of school life is inspiring and has had a ripple effect across their whole community.

"They are an incredible group of young people who are actively creating the kind of world they want to live in.”

Ruth Montgomery, the teacher who nominated the children for the award, said: “As a school we were looking at our school values this year and our Kindness Ambassadors have loved leading on this value of kindness and ensuring it is embedded within the day-to-day life of our school.”

Andrea Hardwick, principal at Knockmore Primary School, said: “I am so very proud of all the pupils in Knockmore Primary School for winning this award. It is so much deserved and it is an honour to work in a school with kindness at the centre. This award means so much to our school and community.”

The children will receive £100 in funding towards their kind initiative, subscriptions to The Week Junior and The Happy Newspaper and a kind book bundle for their school library.