Staff Wellbeing: Think Back, Think Ahead

'Wellbeing. It's not complicated; in fact, it's easier than you think.'

Guest Writer Andrew Cowley

Andrew Cowley is a former primary school deputy headteacher and now a coach for the Senior Designated Mental Health Programme with the Carnegie Centre of Excellence in Mental Health at Leeds Beckett University. He is also the author of The Wellbeing Toolkit, The Wellbeing Curriculum and The School Mental Health Toolkit, all published by Bloomsbury Education.

As we approach the last few weeks and days of the school year, thoughts turn naturally to reflection on the year just gone and to looking forward to the start of the new academic year.

This will allow school leaders to consider what went well and what could be done better in all aspects of the school, including that of staff wellbeing.

Think back

How has staff wellbeing looked over the course of the last year? 

Why does it matter?

For one, the wellbeing of staff is an obligation of school leaders; there is a duty of care and it is an aspect of school that should also be considered by inspectors.

The broader picture is that we are losing teachers from the profession, 40000 alone in 2021-22, some 9% of teachers in English state schools.

The first aspect to think back to is how many staff have moved on this year and the reasons why.

Teachers leave for many reasons; promotion, relocation and retirement are to be expected. However, increasing stress, anxiety and poor workplace relationships also affect the decisions teachers and support staff make about their futures.

Do school leaders have an understanding of the reasons staff leave?

Have a close look too at staff absence throughout the year. There are seasonal peaks of colds and flu, which we can do little about; however, it's the absence caused by work-related stress that should face the closest analysis.

Though the mental health of our colleagues is affected by a range of factors, some domestic and others personal, it is how school life and expectations affect staff that school leaders need to be knowledgeable of.

If the school has had several work-related absences, leaders need to be looking at their culture and practice. 

Knowledge can come from the staff wellbeing survey.

Though there are no hard or fast rules about when this takes place. When it does, it should be at a regular time, annually (but preferably once a term), and have the same questions each time.

The best questions are ones which allow for a score of some kind, followed by a text box to outline perceived issues and possible solutions.

A staff wellbeing survey that sits unactioned in a drawer or a hard drive is as much use as a chocolate teapot, but one taken seriously can feed into beneficial and developmental change. 

The survey needs to identify what aspects of school are impacting the mental health and wellbeing of staff.

These could include pinch points during the year, where a combination of requirements can heighten stress.

Likewise, toxic relationships in the workplace, between colleagues or between leaders and other staff can add to stress.

Colleagues may sometimes be reluctant to express these points, sometimes for fear of repercussions - hence the need to establish a culture of trust and honesty to enable effective communication.

Your survey may make for uncomfortable reading, but the importance of listening to and knowing your staff cannot be overemphasised. 

Of course, your school might be in a position where staff have only moved on for positive reasons, where there has been little staff absence and where staff wellbeing surveys are taken seriously, completed honestly and acted upon.

If this is the case, there may be a strong wellbeing culture, but still a need to keep reflecting and being able to respond to periods of challenge.

Think ahead

Uncertainty can trigger anxiety.

The most effective wellbeing strategy is to think out the whole of the new year ahead.

Staff should be leaving in July with a fully functioning timetable, so they know exactly their allocated weekly PPA release, room allocations, and times for PE, computing and music if you are lucky enough to have these spaces. 

Likewise, the diary for the year should be mapped out with all the major events clearly indicated and spaced out; Sports Day, concerts, examination periods, assemblies, school journey, and parent meetings.

There should be no clashes of major events in the same week, and certainly not in the final week of any term, especially not late-night events such as parents' evenings.

This will also allow plenty of time for those staff who are parents to request time off for their child’s first day at school or their Nativities; these are precious moments that as a parent you can never get back if lost. 

Think ahead also to issues raised in thinking back, and work on eliminating them.

Toxic relationships might be a clash of contrasting personalities but could be more serious. Pinch points will affect some people more than others.

Communication issues, be it too little or too much can also be smoothed out. 

Think of the simple things

In the last couple of weeks of term, are those meetings really necessary?

Staff will be exhausted and lengthy meetings eat into time and patience. If it can go into an email, put it in an email.

On the subject of email, consider your email protocols, especially around holidays.

Keep emailing to a minimum, no more than a thank you email at the end of term and a welcome back one with a week to go before the first day, be it a CPD day or straight back to working with the children.

The staff should follow the same guidance. Actively encourage the use of ‘out of office’ messages too.

The staff WhatsApp group too should be muted for the duration of the holiday. Messages and emails can trigger worries for some people.

Their break should be respected. 

An open-door approach needs to be both literal and metaphorical, one where staff can come to discuss their concerns and know they will be listened to empathetically and with authentic care and attention.

Just think

We all love an acronym in education, so here is one to THINK about.

T- Time- the most precious but also the most wasted resource in school. Respect it, protect it and allow your colleagues the time to do what they have to do.

H- Holistic- a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing emphasises that it is everywhere, in the staffroom as much as the classroom, in the curriculum as much as the playground.

I- Inclusive mental health and wellbeing is for everyone. Those colleagues who are never unwell might just be managing their wellbeing and resilience more successfully than others, but just because they never show it, doesn’t mean they are left out of any initiative. Your strategy needs to be aware of equality and equity.

N- Non-judgemental. Where colleagues have a period where their wellbeing has been compromised, be aware of any stigma expressed by colleagues but also of any you may hold yourself. Tears aren’t a sign of weakness, but an expression of feeling. Staff feeling they are being judged for their mental health may be reluctant to portray any vulnerability.

K- Knowledgeable. How well do you know your staff, what makes them tick, what makes them happy or what concerns them? Knowing the staff and the way they relate to each other enables you to support them when such need arises.

Wellbeing. It’s not complicated; in fact, it’s easier than you think.