Emotional well-being of staff

“Some might see the idea of well-being as a soft area – not a central focus. We disagree. It brings staff in … retains them and creates increasingly positive, trusting relationships between staff. What better environment in which to work and learn.”

A headteacher

  • The Well-being Project focuses solely on the adults in an organisation. It looks in detail at the emotional health and well-being of staff and how the organisation supports them.
  • It is not a management-led project but it must be management sponsored.
  • It gives all staff a voice.
  • It is a solutions-based project whereby all involved have a shared responsibility for the development of well-being for staff within the organisation.

The Well-being Project makes use of an audit (OSRM – Organisational Self-Review Measurement) developed by Worklife Support with funding provided by the Teachers’ Benevolent Fund. Full account has been taken in developing this tool of the Health and Safety Executives’ management standards for work-related stress. The well-being audit provides a tailor-made risk assessment of work-related stress.

Each school in the project completes a confidential online survey. Staff answer questions on:

  • culture – are staff consulted about decisions that affect them? Is communication between people good?As a result do they take a pride in their work?
  • demands – is the amount of pressure and challenge appropriate?
  • control – do staff have an appropriate say in how things are run?Are there opportunities to use their knowledge and skills?
  • relationships– do staff help and support each other?
  • change– do staff know what the organisation is trying to achieve?Do they feel part of the process?
  • role– do staff have a clear understanding of their own and others’ roles and responsibilities?
  • support– is there adequate training so that staff have the right skills to do the job?
  • personal well-being and work/life balance– do staff have a sense of balance in their lives?

Following completion of the audit, each school receives a data profile based on the staff views. For each question in the eight sections there are five possible responses, which are given values as follows:

  • strongly disagree – 1
  • disagree – 2
  • no feelings – 3
  • agree – 4
  • strongly agree – 5.

In the data profile each statement is reported as a mean. Where scores are about 3 there is a sense of neutrality for staff. Where a score is at 3.5 or above there is growing consensus for staff that this is a positive area. Below 3 and this could be an area for discussion and further exploration. The data is detailed and comprehensive.

The individual results for a school are fedback by the co-ordinator to the headteacher and the well-being facilitator. At this point, they begin to explore where there are strengths and what developments might be undertaken.

Development does not begin until all staff have received feedback. This enables staff to open up discussion and debate about their organisation. Many staff feel that this is a very positive part of the process as they are able to voice their thoughts knowing that all comments will be taken positively and that individuals’ views matter. It raises awareness of the emotional well-being of groups and individuals. It highlights the fact that at certain times of the year, staff need to be sensitive to work loads and look out for each other. Staff are also eager to engage and take ownership for the developments as they have resulted from their own responses.

After six months in the project, the co-ordinators discuss how the programme is going with the headteacher and facilitator(s). The facilitators are invited to attend meetings to share views ideas and successes. Well-being is kept at the top of the agenda through newsletters.

Schools are encouraged to repeat the audit after a period of no less than one year and sometimes as long as two years. This gives them a quantitative progress report. They are able to celebrate their progress and begin the process of development again.

The programme supports many of the initiatives that schools have to face today.

Healthy schools and emotional health and well-being

Healthy schools need healthy staff. The new requirement to meet criteria in all four of the core themes includes health and well-being. To satisfy the requirements of the National Healthy Schools Status, schools have to address the emotional health of all its employees as well as providing concrete evidence that can be used to apply for formal recognition. The audit provides the evidence. It provides quantitative measurement of progress through further audit. A culture of well-being is sustained through constant discussion and review. Staff that work and learn well together act as good role models for children.

Good leadership and management practice

Good leaders and managers see the emotional health and well-being of their staff as key to the success of the school. The well-being programme provides very reliable and accurate data about how staff perceive their school. It also encourages staff to work collaboratively to find solutions to issues and look for better ways of doing things. It is an inclusive approach which means that everyone is a part of the process. Staff well-being is not seen as the sole responsibility of the headteacher, senior management team or the leadership team but part of everyone’s contribution to the school.

School self-evaluation

The process of school self-evaluation has increased the focus on school leaders’ ability to effectively evaluate the schools’ performance across a range of aspects. The well-being programme can form part of the school’s self-evaluation, as it gives a clear analysis of the views of significant groups of stakeholders. It uses data generated from across the school’s workforce to inform improvements in staff well-being.

Every child matters

The Every child matters agenda promotes mental and emotional health. It identifies a “common core of skills and knowledge for the children’s workforce”. Everyone working with children and young people should have a set of skills and knowledge that include:

  • listening and building empathy
  • summarising and explaining
  • consultation and negotiation
  • knowledge of ethics and confidentiality
  • self-awareness and respect.

Schools that are proactive about staff well-being will have good communication between employees and develop and promote these skills and provide excellent models for both staff and children.

Stress management

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) expects organisations to carry out a suitable risk assessment for stress and to take action to tackle any problems identified. Education is one of HSE’s priority sectors. Any school undertaking a programme incorporating the stress management standards approach such as the Hampshire/Worklife Support Well-being Programme and doing so correctly, will be deemed to have fulfilled their duty of care in this regard. Research tells us that a successful strategy for managing stress at work includes:

  • a stepped and comprehensive approach
  • systematic risk analysis
  • a focus on the individual and the organisation
  • a participative approach
  • senior management support.

The Well-being Programme incorporates all of these, using a process of self-evaluation through an anonymous and confidential survey linked to HSE management standards of work-related stress. The school can methodically identify potential risks and then use this information to plan a manageable strategy that will address those factors that are within the control of the staff in the school. A participative approach is emphasised throughout as staff work together to generate ideas and solutions, and then help to make them happen.

Investors in People

The revised Investors in People standard includes a whole range of indicators that relate to staff well-being. Many of these can be evidenced by reference to the outcomes of a well-being survey and/or the processes that the school uses to address the issues that arise. One of the key changes to the standard is the addition of an indicator about involvement and empowerment as an aspect of the organisation’s culture. This is very much at the heart of a well-being programme. There is a clear link here – investing in employees is good for their well-being.

Extended schools

Extended schools will require staff to work with a wider range of professionals in quite different ways. The Well-being Programme can help organisations to manage the cultural changes associated with such development. It will help them to build new and effective teams of professionals.

SEAL – the Primary Strategy

The SEAL programme identifies five broad social and emotional aspects of learning:

  • self-awareness
  • managing feeling
  • motivation
  • empathy
  • social skills.

It also defines a set of key skills that underpin effective learning and school improvement. The guidance states that the use of resources needs to be “embedded within a whole school or setting approach and environment that supports emotional health and well-being”. Essential to this is the work that the schools do to promote the well-being of all staff. The Well-being Programme provides a framework for staff to work together to improve their own and one another’s health and well-being within a supportive and enabling environment.

Workforce reforms and work/life balance

Workforce remodelling and the Well-being Programme share some common principles and practices. Both are about managing change in a sustainable way so that the school becomes an organisation that not only embraces change but welcomes it. This can only be achieved if all staff feel a sense of control and ownership, and engage with identifying where changes are needed. They need to be involved in creating plans for change in “an atmosphere of serious consensus” (National Remodelling Team).

Recruitment, retention and reduction of staff absence

Who wouldnot want to work in a school where the welfare and well-being of staff are seen to be taken seriously and where everyone works together to address issues and actively promote staff well-being. By promoting a school as a well-being school, it will give a very clear message to potential applicants. By participating in the Well-being Programme, it will help to create a school where staff enjoy working.

December 2007 HIAS healthy schools website: Emotional well-being of staff – Anna Rowen1