TENBURY High Ormiston Academy (THOA) has been given the Employer Award from Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service (HWFRS) for their support for on-call firefighters.
The school has been recognised by HWFRS for their work as a supportive and flexible employer as part of the annual Herefordshire Medals and Awards Ceremony.
Held at the Town Hall in Hereford, the ceremony celebrated outstanding service and commitment to the fire service by staff and the local community. Oli Prouse and Todd Wright are retained firefighters for the Tenbury Wells Fire Station and colleagues at THOA, and nominated the school in recognition of its work to enable the community firefighters to cover local fire and rescue service.
Through the partnership, Crew Commander Prouse and Firefighter Wright said they can be on hand to support with any emergencies, even during school hours, whenever their pager is called. They commit to specific hours in the school to ensure it is ready for staff and students and make up any additional time in the holidays.
Alongside this, the school has said that the firefighters' work with both the fire service and THOA has resulted in the service supporting career events and putting on demonstrations at the school, including the students using the equipment on the fire engine. The service has also used Tenbury High for vital training which not only helps develop and maintain important skills but increases the knowledge of the school layout to other members of the crew.
Speaking on the nomination, Prouse said: “I’m genuinely chuffed THOA has won this award as no one will fully appreciate how much it means to Todd and me to be released for the fire service and it was just a little way of saying thank you. Tenbury High is a community school and allowing Todd and myself to be available in the event of an emergency only adds to that community focus”.
Vicki Dean, Principal at Tenbury High Ormiston Academy, said: "We are so proud that Tenbury High has been nominated for and won this really important award with our colleagues.
"We are committed to creating positive and supportive working environments for all our colleagues and this is testament to that.
"We think it is so inspiring that Todd and Oli work as retained firefighters and really see how much our school and students benefits from their important work."
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