The Laughology Happiness Awards 2016 came to a glittering conclusion on Friday night (November 18) when the happiest people and places in the UK were honoured at a ceremony in London.
The awards were staged to celebrate Laughology’s tenth anniversary and to recognise like-minded people and places who harness the power of happiness to improve lives. They were even praised by Home Secretary Amber Rudd in a letter to Silverdale headteacher, Liz Miles. Ms Rudd wrote: “I was thrilled to hear that Silverdale has been shortlisted in the Laughology Happiness Awards 2016.” She went on to congratulate the school on its victory.
Helen Penn, staff lead on wellbeing at Hargate Primary School, in West Bromwich, has nominated her school for a 'Happiest School Award 2016'. Helen said about her school:
Sir Anthony Seldon is one of the country’s leading experts on happiness. As well as being a political historian, commentator on British political leadership as well as education and contemporary Britain. He is also Vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham.
North Yorkshire Horizons, an integrated drug and alcohol recovery service for Selby in North Yorkshire, has been nominated for a 'Happiest Organisation 2016 Award'.
Tracy Mapp, who nominated North Yorkshire Horizons, said:
Edge Grove boarding school in Hertfordshire, a successful day and boarding school for boys and girls, caters for the needs of all learners aged 3-13yrs, and is characterised by a genuine commitment to the pursuit of excellence.
Rebecca Chaplin, Teacher & KS1 Coordinator at Edge Grove, who has nominated her school in the 'Happiest School' category, said of Edge Grove, as part of their nomination:
'Our aim is to ensure that every child can achieve their full potential within a safe, secure and happy learning environment. Teaching staff deliver a creative and engaging curriculum, taking full advantage of our beautiful surroundings, including outdoor learning, Forest school and links with the local community and partnerships with local state schools. Edge Grove was originally a private residence and the feel of a family home still resides in life there today.
'Our Friends of EG plan events throughout the year which are fully supported by residential and day staff: comedy & quiz nights, fetes, fairs and biannual ball. The staff participate in a choir which performs at events throughout the year, including staff Rush Hour concerts which showcase to the children a wealth of extra-curricular talent and good sense of humour. The school house system brings staff together to support the children in inter-house events. This can be sporting, musical or creative; working to earn house points to win the house cup at the end of the academic year. We are looking forward to reviving the annual staff pantomime this year at the Boarders Christmas party.
'Health and fitness are vital and staff participate in weekly fitness and yoga groups. Staff well-being and professional development is paramount and this is catered for via weekly INSET and a local counsellor, which the school subsidises. Our most recent training demonstrated the value of Mindfulness and benefits of working with a Growth Mindset, something which we have now adopted in all of our teaching.
'For teachers to deliver their very best they need to feel valued and respected; the rationale and high standards applied to teaching children are also applicable to staff and this is what Edge Grove recognises. Our Behaviours for Learning are also behaviours for teaching; be involved, be a good listener, be creative, be prepared and be a risk-taker. In our recent training we learnt some pearls of wisdom “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift, that is why we call it the present”. Loving what you do is the secret to happiness and at Edge Grove you will find plenty of examples of this, making the most of every day.'
Follow Edge Grove - @EdgeGrove @PPEdgeGrove.
Tell us why your school is a happy school by nominating it for a 'Happiest School Award 2016' or Happiest Teacher Award 2016.
Nominations close on the 17th October 2016.
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Lyn Matthews from the Health and Safety Department of Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust has nominated David Halicki for a 'Happiest Leader 2016' award. Lyn said about David:
With nominations for the Laughology happiness awards closing next Monday, nominations are flooding in.
The latest nomination is from Alastair Gill of giffgaff in Uxbridge. As part of his nomination Alastair said:
'giffgaff is a movement for a better way of doing things and at the heart of this movement are people. We believe if you don't understand people you don't understand business; especially in the sharing economy; the economy based on trust and mutuality. In fact, giffgaff is a ye olde Scottish for mutual giving. So that pretty much sums us up really.
'Much like any good ship’s crew, focus on people is what ultimately steers you through those choppy seas to eventually enter unchartered territory. That spot where few dare to go.
'Nautical, references aside. At giffgaff we are ultimately a community of like-minded folk all with the similar belief that there must a better way of doing things; and by that we don't just mean by being online only when others had shops, or how we built a community of giffgaff members who help each other out and do awesome things. We also mean our approach to our people, the lovely guys and gals who do their best work here.
'People engagement at giffgaff isn't just about our people events, parties, breakfast, pool tables and a beer fridge. It is more than that. It is about purpose, interaction and engagement. Engaged people are happy and productive people. This keeps us lean and true. So what else do we do?
'Happiness and engagement both have their nuances and culture is organic so like a farmer we take the approach of providing the right conditions and for our people to thrive then nurture it.
'We get the right people on the bus. No brilliant jerks. So put importance of values and culture to our hiring. Surrounding our teams with incredible peers and access to anyone and everyone is pivotal in our sustainability and growth.
'We know that recognition is the food for growth, and feedback feeds curiosity so we foster culture of praise, recognition and feedback that incorporates giffgaffer of the month and our peer to peer recognition and rewards platform Lifeworks.
'We develop our people by providing the opportunity to develop themselves. Through autonomy, mastery and purpose. We put our people in the driving seat, throw them into big challenges, empower to make the big call. Our role is to facilitate, coach and Lead the way. We call it a development dialogue it’s organic.
'Ground up. We have dedicated ‘Ministries’ for Development, Sport, good times, Health & Wellbeing and good deeds (charity) that all giffgaffers sign up to the ones they want to contribute to. These act as ideation platforms to drive engagement; be that a 400 mile bike trip to Amsterdam raising 20k for charity, gaffercakes (our very own take on bake off), Yoga, mindfulness, talks about walking the Amazon, or a food bank for the local community to name just a few.
'In essence, we get the right people on the bus, cultivate an environment for people to thrive, relentlessly work on it and always evolve our people. We call it the giffgaff way.'
Go to the Awards page to find out how to nominate your business, organisation or a team member for a Happiness Award 2016. Tell us why your workplace is the happiest in the UK.
Nominations close on the 17th October 2016
[button style="3d" url="http://www.laughology.co.uk/happiness-awards/" background="#fd4f00" background_hover="#fd8100" size="6" desc="Find out more about the happiness awards"]Go to the awards page >[/button]
