Staff Wellbeing

Prioritise staff mental health and Give staff the support they need to take responsibility for their own and other people’s wellbeing

• Employee assistance programme – free, independent 24/7 help and advice, including face-to-face counselling, for any work-related issues or problems affecting your home life.  We make this confidential and free support accessible to everyone in your family.
• Mental Health Support - in-house trained staff, external support facilitated by the school; free resources and tools provided by professional external provider
• Health and Mental Health Resources available to all through our monthly wellbeing and health newsletter or our HR support
• Flu vaccinations – offered free on-site
• Wellbeing group – our staff voice group acts as your soundboard and supports and initiates wellbeing activities
• Gym – free use of the school gym
• PT/Fitness sessions for staff (this is arranged and paid for by the school depending on demand - we have so far had Yoga, Dance, Private Personal Fitness Trainer, morning walks, football - staff driven and staff led)
• Environment – healthy and safe working environment with excellent facilities.
• Free Eye Test (for VDU user roles)
• Referrals to Occupational Health 
• Stress Risk Assessments 
• Staff room with free tea, coffee and access to computers

Give managers access to the tools and resources they need to support the wellbeing of those they line manage

• More PPA time (17% PPA time compared to the STPCD guidance of 10%)
• Dedicated CTL meeting each week where training can be delivered and priorities can be discussed. 
• Teacher cover – we have Cover Supervisors reducing the amount of cover required by teachers
• Sabbaticals (on request and depending on the need of department/school need)
• Teachers are supported with their own Coach
• Regular line management meetings so CTL and other leaders can be supported by senior colleagues which provides time and space for them to meet and discuss wellbeing of staff 
• Staff social activities – regular sporting competitions, quizzes and a wide range of other yearly and seasonal events, regular staff treat days and much more
• Strong financial support provided with access to SBM when requested 

Establish a clear communications policy

• Weekly bulletin sent each Monday to all staff with key deadlines dates and information in one place reducing the need for other emails to staff
• Staff briefing on a Monday morning to provide key updates and keep teachers informed as well as say thank you and celebrate success 
• No emails need to be read outside of the school day

Give staff a voice in decision-making

• Staff Voice Group sets agenda and meets once a term with the headteacher.  Key policy decisions discussed such as staff appraisal and times of the school day. 
• Consultations around changes to policies through the weekly staff bulletin and Google Forms. 
• Weekly CTL meeting where ideas are discussed and shared

Drive down unnecessary workload

• Publish all deadlines in advance
• Sensible Marking Policy
• Fully Planned, Sequenced and Resourced Knowledge Rich Curriculum and assessments 
• Restrict the collection of assessment data 
• Parents evenings are mostly online - you can go home and log in
• Only certain staff needed at Open Evening and other whole school events 
• One email contact for parents so that staff are not emailed directly for information 
• PCK meeting allows for staff to meet collaboratively plan, share ideas and work together on improving the quality of teaching and learning in their areas
• Homework is virtual and does not require setting or marking by the teacher 
• Office space and own classroom where possible both equipped with modern IT equipment
• Maintain a policy or rare or unplanned cover

Champion flexible working and diversity

• Two Week October half term
• Flexible working – we encourage and enable flexible working and a commitment that all staff can make a request to work flexibly
• Leave, at the discretion of the Headteacher, for life events such as a child's graduation or family member's medical appointment
• Early Friday finish– a shorter Friday so you can start your weekend early
• Birthdays are there to be celebrated - we give you a paid day’s leave on your actual birthday (if this falls within a holiday period you can agree another day with your Line Manager)
• Parents evenings are mostly online - you can go home and log in

Create a good behaviour culture

• Clear behaviour policy with students asked to work away from their peers if they disrupt learning
• Centralised detentions 
• Pastoral team supports parental meetings
• Off site ‘New Leaf’ centre
• Investment in supporting pastoral support such as mentoring, alternative provision, GROW Therapy, Counselling, SALT and working collaboratively with other external organisations 
• Strong links with parents/carers and the local community

Support staff to progress in their careers

• Professional development – full and part-funded training courses (including Masters, PhD) and a wide range of learning opportunities available to all
• Our Study Corner for all staff where access to a wide variety of external professional and personal training courses are on offer supported financially by the school (Open University etc)
• All applications for NPQ are welcomed and supported by the school
• Secondment to SEND and SLT to support career development
• Visits to other schools supported with cover provided
• Enrollment in HEP which provides excellent CPD opportunities.

Protecting leader wellbeing and mental health

• Line management every fortnight 
• Support from Director of HR who has an open door policy
• Support from external coach if requested
• Supervision available for leaders involved in safeguarding 
• Enrollment in HEP provides valuable networks of leaders in other schools 

Hold ourselves accountable, including by measuring staff wellbeing

• Always a priority and on school development plan
• Link governor for staff wellbeing conducts school visits each term
• Annual staff survey is analysed for trends or changes

Core benefits

• Holiday – up to 35 days’ paid holiday a year plus bank holidays (depending on service length) for support staff; (statutory leave for teaching staff)
• Paid leave – enhanced sick pay, maternity pay and adoption leave pay (linked to service), as well as paid leave for a wide range of unforeseen personal situations
• Pension – a generous defined benefit pension with the Local Government Pension Scheme or Teachers’ Pension Scheme
• Death in service payment – lump sum payment and an ongoing pension for your partner & children (subject to conditions & membership of our pension scheme)

Employee discounts

• Car parking – free and on-site
• Hot drinks – free tea & coffee provided for all staff (with the occasional doughnut)
• Free Lunch on Wednesdays for all staff
• Free Lunch on any other day for anyone undertaking an additional duty
• Cycle-to-work scheme – save up to 32% on a new bike and accessories

We also have policies and practices which underpin our duty of care to our colleagues. Examples are:

1. Code of Conduct - a cornerstone of our positive and professional ethos, outlining expectations of all our staff and community of others who work within this school.  This document guides colleagues’ everyday judgements and provides general principles to underpin professional behaviour.  All staff, Governors and volunteers will be expected to abide by its expectations, particularly regarding issues of safeguarding, relationships with students, colleagues, parents/carers, and other stakeholders.  Colleagues commit annually to this Code. 
2. Harassment reporting processes are clearly outlined and school wide training has been given to ensure staff know who to go to if they feel themselves or have observed harassment
3. Our Whistleblowing Policy gives clarity on where staff can go if they have concerns which are not heard. 
4. An Open Door Policy by our senior leaders ensures that if there are concerns by staff they can circumvent their own line management. 
5. Requests of support and needs are defaulted to ‘yes’ unless it is operationally not possible or where students’ learning would suffer