A Witham academy has boosted the support it offers to improve the wellbeing of staff and students.

New Rickstones Academy, in Conrad Road, has signed up to Kooth, a free online support service for young people.

The anonymous service enables students to access counsellors, articles written by young people and moderated chat forums.

One week each term, the school has also agreed to cancel after school meetings for staff.

Damian Lee, headteacher of New Rickstones Academy, said: "With the pressures on staff in the education system, it is vital we look after staff.

"I'm blessed to have a fully committed team who often work over and above what is expected of them, so we always have one week a term where we cancel meetings and encourage staff to go home earlier than usual and spend some time doing things that are not work-related.

“Equally, it is really tough for students with the pressures of exams, social media and just being a teenager, so we regularly cover mental health in life skills lessons and have guest speakers.

“Students at New Rickstones have done nothing but impress me over the two years I have been here and the strapline for our behaviour policy is ‘we look after ourselves, each other and the environment'."