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Staff wellbeing: working together to support each other

Staff are our most important resource and are valued, supported and encouraged to develop personally and professionally within a learning and caring community. We believe there is a relationship between healthy, positive staff and school improvement and are committed to our duties as an employer to ensure policies and practices are sensitive to staff wellbeing.

Wellsway’s practices aim to support staff health and minimise the harm from stress and to create a school ethos where all staff feel valued, with respect, empathy and honesty forming the cornerstones of all school relationships.

Leaders at all levels take wellbeing seriously: staff wellbeing is an area on the school improvement plan and an item at our weekly senior leadership team meeting. Staff voice is regularly considered alongside the work of the staff wellbeing group which meets every six weeks and has representation from the whole staff body. The group agrees its own agenda, minutes are published and key points are highlighted to staff in the staff bulletin. The group organises staff social events and a staff fund for gifts and cards.

We invest in staff welfare through:

• A large and well-appointed staff room that provides free tea and coffee throughout the day in addition to free freshly brewed tea and coffee being served at break alongside freshly baked food for purchase
• Opportunities for all staff to socialise and relax, through parties and social events
• Supportive services such as a counselling programme to provide professional help and confidential stress counselling both either face-to–face sessions or telephone conversations
• Responding sensitively and flexibly to external pressures that impact on staff lives whilst at the same time ensuring the efficient running of the school. A 24/7 helpline offering advice on legal, financial and family concerns is available
• Maintaining contact with staff when they are absent for long periods, sending gifts and cards and a generous absence policy allowing up to 5 days pro-rata for carers’ leave each academic year
• Responding sensitively to all requests for attendance at funerals
• Clinical supervision is provided to staff who work closely with our most vulnerable students.
• Creating a culture that recognises and celebrates staff contributions and rewards us when we go the extra mile eg 100% attendance prize draws

We encourage and invest in staff health and fitness through:

• Online health assessments, personal coaching
• A 24/7 helpline is available to speak to a qualified GP and prescriptions which can be delivered to home or school
• Reduced membership fees for the on-site gym in the modern and well equipped sports centre
• Discounted rates at a wide variety of fitness clubs across the UK

We support staff wellbeing through our school organisation:

• Team meetings provide time to share resources and lesson plans, and teams have greatly improved schemes of learning to aid teacher planning time
• New staff are supported with a thorough and supportive induction programme
• A welcoming and tidy staff room is sensitive to issues of race, gender, homophobia, culture and disability
• Every new member of staff has a buddy to answer questions and provide informal support

Effective communication aims to support staff via:

• A printed diary, an electronic calendar, a weekly bulletin and briefings to reduce email traffic to all staff
• A range of strategies to involve staff in school decision making processes and regular line management meetings to provide time for real dialogue around any concerns and issues. No concern is too small to be taken seriously, and everyone has someone they can speak to – we believe in an open culture where staff feel encouraged and able to speak about pressures and where staff are empowered, through training and support, to deal positively with stressful incidents
• Very limited ‘all staff emails’ to ensure staff receive emails pertinent to them

We aim to reduce workload through:

• Keeping our focus on what really makes the difference aims to reduce unnecessary workload
• Lesson observations are to see everyday practice and are focused on supporting staff development - no expectation for lesson plans and we don’t grade lessons
• Feedback is to improve student progress – we focus on what has impact to support students

Effective leadership aims to empower staff through:

• Supportive leadership teams that ensure school improvement reflects the ideas from the whole staff body
• Senior and middle leadership are very visible at all times, empowering staff to own behaviour
• Open door Senior Leadership – no concern is ever too small

Working in partnership across the Futura Learning Partnership we’re proud to offer teachers and leaders, at all stages in their career, high quality training and professional development.

We provide weekly opportunities for staff to come together to share best practice within Wellsway School and regular subject networks allow staff to develop work with staff from across our family of schools. Our staff training is practitioner led and directly linked to needs identified through self-evaluation and personalised to staff career stage and aspirations. We have a well-developed structure for curriculum specific CPDL led by Curriculum Team Champions who work across curriculum areas to share best practice and develop their leadership skills.

Training is best when it is bespoke and we have a successful induction programme for all new staff that is matched to career stage and that includes buddying and mentoring and is led by Leading Teachers from across the trust. For aspiring or recently appointed middle leaders, the Leading from the Middle programme allows staff to work on action research and work with leaders from across the trust, whilst our staff are also offered a variety of other leadership programmes from other local providers.

Our annual FLP Conference provides staff from across the trust to come together and share best practice across phase and stage. The ever growing event opens with a key note speaker carefully chosen to be relevant to all staff and is followed by a wide choice of sessions for staff to choose from.