CHILDREN at a Radcliffe school have plenty to smile about.

They are one of the first in the country to receive an award for spreading happiness within the school and the community.

Gorsefield Primary School has been working alongside early years education expert Shonette Bason-Wood to find new ways of improving the school's learning environment.

They are just the second school in the country chosen to work with Mrs Bason-Wood, with the Spread The Happiness award handed out after months of unique activities, and will now be promoting her unique methods to other schools.

Andrea Martin, Gorsefield Primary's head of early years, persuaded the motivational speaker to come and work with her pupils and believes her methods have had a significant impact.

She said: "I have followed Shonette's work for a long time, and we are very lucky to be one of just four schools that she is visiting, and the only one in the North.

"The kids have absolutely loved what we've done in the past few months.

"We have been working across the entire school, not just nursery and reception, to improve everyone's happiness and it has made a massive difference.

"Children need to be happy and so do the staff - it's about giving everyone the best possible learning environment."

The scheme to improve happiness in schools comes after a recent report by the former health minister, Professor Lord Darzi, recommended that all children receive 'happiness lessons' in school at least once a week.

The report criticised modern schools for becoming 'exam factories', citing a threefold increase in counselling for stress-related conditions in schools since 2011.

Mrs Bason-Wood added: "We all remember what school was like. When it's great, it's great, but it can be really tough too.

"You've got hundreds of children and teachers all thrown together into this environment every day; it's busy, it's noisy, it can even be chaotic at times, and somehow within all this, we have to make it a place where children can grow up happily and creatively. It's not easy."