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This Mental Health Awareness Week (9 to 15 May 2022) we’re focused on staff wellbeing. It may not come as a surprise to many in the profession that teaching has been considered one of the most stressful jobs in the UK. In 2021, the UK’s Health and Safety Executive found teaching staff and education professionals report the highest rates of work-related stress, depression and anxiety in Britain. Workload pressures including tight deadlines, a feeling of too much responsibility or lack of managerial support are some of the reasons why almost one in two (44%) teachers and two in five headteachers said they plan to leave the profession in the next five years.
School leaders know too well the impact that stress and a high turnover has on the profession, schools, staff and pupils. They are also the ones who can help to alleviate some pressure on staff through the cultivation of a school culture which supports and values the wellbeing of teachers. Give teachers the right emotional and practical support, and in turn, you enable them to perform better and support pupils.
So what can school leaders do to support their staff? Cultivating wellbeing in a busy school environment may take time, but it is possible. This article looks at what wellbeing is, its benefits, and ways that school leaders can work to support staff wellbeing and mental health in schools.
What is staff wellbeing?
“Staff wellbeing is the overall mental, physical, emotional, and economic health of employees.“
School leaders and headteachers can not have full responsibility for a staff member’s wellbeing and mental health, and have no control over extraneous factors at home and in their personal life. However, they do have the power to influence work-based wellbeing.
Wellbeing at work is maximised when staff feel valued, well-managed, have good workplace collaboration and can act with agency and autonomy.
Benefits of staff wellbeing
Good staff wellbeing has benefits for individuals and for schools, and is essential for cultivating a mentally healthy school environment. Benefits of good staff wellbeing in schools include:
- Increased productivity of staff and teachers
- Reduced stress-related sick leave absences
- Improved job satisfaction
- Reduced staff turnover
- A more resilient workforce
- Enhanced reputation
- Improved outcomes for pupils
5 ways to support staff mental health and wellbeing in schools
1. Embed wellbeing into the school culture
It’s important to place staff mental health and wellbeing at the very heart of the school and its agenda. Senior leaders should work to ensure that it becomes an integral to the school’s ethos and management. Here are some ways to embed wellbeing into the school culture:
- Improve access to mental health and wellbeing resources. Make resources readily accessible and provide opportunities to speak to trained wellbeing and mental health support providers. Find a list of free resources and providers in our wellbeing guidance for school staff.
- Sign the DfE Education staff wellbeing charter. By signing the charter, you make a public commitment to actively promote mental health and wellbeing through policy and practice. You also show current and prospective staff that your school or college is dedicated to improving and protecting their wellbeing.
- Join your local Wellbeing and Mental Health in Schools programme (WAMHS) - Hackney and City's WAMHS service is led by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Alliance and aims to improve mental health and wellbeing support for children and young people in schools. It develops the knowledge and skill of staff to support colleagues, students, and their families who may be experiencing mental health difficulties. Hackney offers this service to all its schools for free, and other local authorities offer similar support.
- Carry out staff wellbeing audits and make wellbeing a permanent agenda item. Regularly evaluate and measure the wellbeing of staff using confidential staff wellbeing surveys or wellbeing audits. Benchmark and share results at staff meetings to help keep wellbeing front and centre.
- Lead by example. Staff who see senior leaders engaging in unsustainable working behaviours may feel pressured to do the same. Be mindful with how you structure your own work and time, and advocate for a better work-life balance among staff so they feel empowered to set boundaries.
2. Monitor staff workloads
The Tes Wellbeing Report 2022 revealed that 67 percent of teachers in the UK agree that their workload is unmanageable. Full-time school teachers are found to work on average 51 hours a week, including during evenings, weekends or annual leave. Excessive workload and lack of work-life balance remain key drivers for poor mental health. Senior leaders can help support and manage staff workloads by implementing:
- personal work plans to ensure staff know what their job involves
- weekly team meetings to discuss anticipated workloads for the forthcoming week and to deal with any planned absences
- monthly meetings to discuss workload and any anticipated challenges
- resources such as the DfE school workload reduction toolkit to help identify workload problems and avoid unnecessary work when collecting data for Ofsted.
3. Support teachers to manage pupil behaviour
Poor pupil behaviour such as disruption in the classroom, intimidation or verbal abuse can negatively impact teacher well-being and their ability to carry out their role. A 2019 DfE teacher wellbeing research report found teachers who felt supported by their senior leaders in managing challenging behaviour reported reduced work-related stress and anxiety. Here are some ways to help staff manage pupil behaviour appropriately:
- Share the school behaviour policy in writing with staff, parents and pupils at least once a year to create a shared understanding of how good behaviour is encouraged and rewarded, as well as sanctions.
- Fully support teachers to implement the school behaviour policy consistently.
- Provide support to staff when dealing with parental concerns related to behaviour policies and act as an advisor.
- Publish the school behaviour policy on the school or governing body website.
4. Support teachers to manage relationships with parents
Relationships with parents can sometimes be another source of stress for teachers. Open access to email addresses of staff and an instant response culture often add to an already heavy workload. Senior leaders may want to consider alternative ways in which parents and staff could communicate, while continuing to ensure that the views of parents are heard. Here are some ways to help support effective teacher-parent relationships:
- Create and share an official procedure for teachers and parents to raise concerns and ask questions.
- Manage expectations around sending and responding to parents, and define and share realistic response times.
- Create other ways for teachers and parents to communicate including parent newsletters, regularly updating the school website, and parent-teacher meetings.
- Provide staff with high quality training on successful difficult conversations.*
5. Champion professional development
Less than two in five school staff say they feel confident performing their role, a figure that plummeted during the pandemic. A lack of confidence in work can result in staff feeling overwhelmed and impact their ability to carry out their role effectively. Providing professional development and training opportunities can help staff to develop essential skills and boost their confidence, job satisfaction and mental wellbeing. Providing training also shows that you understand and care about your staff, their goals and future, and want to see them develop.
At Hackney Education we offer a comprehensive CPD programme to support the growth of teachers, leaders, support staff and governors. Our training opportunities draw on best practice from both local and national initiatives, and are delivered centrally by our School Improvement Team and expert external providers. Download our summer 2022 CPD brochures below:
Key upcoming events in spring/summer:
- Teacher Twilights: Tackling bias in teacher assessment and reflecting the voice of young people in our daily teaching
- Summer networking event and end of year celebration for Early Career Teachers and NQT+1s
- Effective Strategies for Engaging Children with Autism
Key upcoming events in autumn (booking available from June 2022):
- *Successful Difficult Conversations (for senior leaders)
- What does an effective school office look like? (for school office staff)
- The Science of Learning (for class teachers)
Our Leadership Pathway Programme also provides leadership training for aspiring, new or experienced middle or senior leaders. The programme has three tailored pathways that draw on best practice research and aims to develop personal effectiveness and understanding of what it means to be an educational leader. Contact our CPD Team for more information.
HR Services
We also offer schools wellbeing support as part of our annual and customised HR services. Contact our HR Team for more information.
If you need urgent wellbeing or mental health advice or help, find online, phone and in-person wellbeing and mental health services and resources in our wellbeing guidance for schools. School staff members can also contact Education Support on 08000 562 561 for free, immediate and confidential support.