Category: Empowering Professionals

Inflation is high – so mortgage interest rates and rents are rising, along with food and utility costs. Are you struggling to make ends meet? Are you worrying about how to manage your finances?

If your school is buying into the Employee Assistance Programme you can talk to an expert in relation to money worries, debt advice etc. The online portal can also direct you to ‘Ask Bill’ for free and impartial help, advice and tips on how to reduce your energy bills, manage your money and deal with debt issues, as well as support for tackling these problems in emergency situations.

Ask your Business Manager if your school accesses the EAP and if so, what the details are for the online portal as your first stop and telephone helpline if you need further assistance.

There are also some helpful websites offering guidance:

Money Helper

Citizens Advice

Money and Mental Health

Universal Credit and Other Financial Support

Early Intervention is important so take action now to try and keep your finances on track.

If money pressures are affecting your mental health i.e. increased anxiety, low mood etc – try talking to someone. You can look at what your local MIND offer and/ or talk to your GP.

Interested to find out more about the benefits of Wandsworth’s Employee Assistance Programme for your school? Book a Head to Head below.

At a recent Chairs forum via TEAMS. David Walton (co-chair at St Michael’s CE School) shared his school’s well-being strategy with fellow Chairs. It was an excellent, effective session and there were some great talking points with lots of tips and best practice on how to approach wellbeing.

Why focus on Staff well-being?

• Staff juggle a multitude of different tasks and demands that can place unexpected pressure on them.
• There is a growing nationwide concern and awareness of Mental Health challenges arising from the workplace.
• Staff are more inclined to focus on their pupils’ well-being than their own
• Evidence indicates multiple benefits such as;

OFSTED’s new education inspection framework (EIF) requires schools to consider staff well-being.

Strategy examples
St Michael’s board of Governors worked on a Well-being strategy collaboratively with the senior leadership team to launch initiatives such as;

• forming a Well-being steering committee (x2 SLT, x3 staff and x2 Governors)
• drafting a new Well-being policy
• signing up to the DfE’s Staff Well-being Charter
• establishing a Mental Health and Well-being Governor role
• creating a comprehensive focus and a strong plan of action
• support with regular drop-in sessions to support staff who have concerns
• Inset days were dedicated time to increasing Well-being knowledge (including Keynote speakers)
• Well-being surveys for staff, pupils & parents (Examples of survey questions are available from Governor Services)

Key learnings
A Well-being strategy

• becomes a strong declaration that both Board of Governors & senior leadership team are keenly interested in and committed to staff’s welfare.
• makes both parents and the broader school community aware of the school’s approach to well-being

Success requires continued engagement and commitment in their own well-being. Ultimately when a school involves the whole school community in developing a culture of well-being it brings the greatest benefits possible for pupils and staff.

For learning to thrive, the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers. As the UK’s best-performing schools will testify, they are only as good as the teachers in their classrooms.

With inflation currently around 10% and most teachers likely to experience real-terms salary cuts this year, attracting and retaining excellent educators is challenging.

To stop talent turning their back on the profession for the private sector, we need to add value to our offer. A loyal, highly trained and incentivised staffroom will not only reduce recruitment costs, it delivers stability for students and staff while creating happy, knowledgeable and productive learning environments. 

Occupational Health encourages you to make good lifestyle choices to improve your health profile and to help prevent chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer

• Move More, Sit Less– Get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity every week. That could mean 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Do muscle-strengthening activities 2 days a week.
• Eat Health Foods– Try healthy food choices like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, and low-fat dairy products

Tip: Make half your plate fruits and vegetables

• Choose Your Drinks Wisely– Substitute water for sugary or alcoholic drinks to reduce calories and stay safe

Prevention is Better than Cure

“We need more governors who look like me”

Those are the words of Rochelle Clarke – a young governor at a church school in east London. She spoke in a recent BBC news article about her experience of being a governor and her work to make boards more inclusive.  

At Smart School Services, our Children’s Services Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) group have pledged to increase the representation of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic governors, and those with disabilities, on school boards in the London Borough of Wandsworth.  We need our governing boards to be representative of the communities that they are in. 

A board that begins to think about real diversity is one that is prepared to ask itself difficult questions and to challenge itself—and therefore come up with more thoughtful and original answers—and one that opens itself up to better decision making. It is critical to ensure that you have a diverse group of people around the table to have the most effective governing board. When recruiting a new governor, don’t just think about the skill set that you need, but also the representation of your school communities on your board.

Diversity is a reality that can be created by pulling together individuals from a broad spectrum of differences

Sharon Warmington, Director of the National Black Governors Network, spoke recently to over 50 Wandsworth governors and Heads on “How to diversify your governing board”.  She inspired the governors with practical tips on how to increase diversity.  Some of her tips (and more) are listed below. 

• Complete a Succession Plan and consider diversity
• Train your board on the importance of diversity
• Add a link governor role to champion diversity on the board
• Make the selection criteria transparent 
• If your local community does not have the diversity that you need – look more widely
• Don’t rely on personal contacts – this can often lead to more of the same
• Actively seek out diverse networks within the professions or skill set you require – look on LinkedIn for Black, disabled, Asian, minority ethnic backgrounds, younger groups within relevant sectors. 
• Look at your student alumni to recruit younger governors to your board
• Contact Faith and Community Leaders
• Give value to background and experiences as well as skill sets

If you need any support increasing diversity on your board, please book a Head to Head meeting to discuss how we can help.

 

As part of supporting an individual during periods of ill-health Occupational Health will often advise about healthy lifestyle choices including becoming more active. Adults are advised to do some type of physical activity every day. 

Benefits of regular exercise:

• Exercise controls weight. Exercise can help prevent excess weight gain or help maintain weight loss. …
• Exercise combats health conditions and diseases. …
• Exercise improves mood. …
• Exercise boosts energy. …
• Exercise promotes better sleep. …
• Exercise can be fun … and social!

Individuals should talk to their GP first if they haven’t exercised for some time and have a chronic medical condition. It’s important to start gently, setting small achievable goals to build up.

Adults should aim to:

• do strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders and arms) on at least 2 days a week

• do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity a week
• spread exercise evenly over 4 to 5 days a week, or every day
• reduce time spent sitting or lying down and break up long periods of not moving with some activity

So how about encouraging your staff to be more active? Could you introduce an after-school activity for staff to join in like yoga or a walking group? 

How about promoting the NHS Fitness Studio Exercise Videos

Education across the UK is facing a uniquely difficult moment, facing the twin challenges of ensuring student and staff health amid a pandemic, while also ensuring continuity of learning. 

In the immediate future, the imperative is to successfully operate through the pandemic.

While challenges remain, there are also opportunities to seize the moment and reimagine how we can empower professionals to deliver the best post-pandemic education possible.

Attracting and Retaining Talent

One of the few benefits to be gained from economic uncertainty is its positive effect on new entrant numbers and teacher retention levels. From the start of the first lockdown to July 2020, 21,410 graduates applied to teacher training programmes – a massive increase of 65 per cent on the five-year average. 

But as the challenges of teaching in the ‘new normal’ become apparent, retention rates may not remain as rosy. Government guidelines, Ofsted pressure and increased workloads have all negatively impacted staff, teachers and leaders. So, are we running the risk of reversing the rates once the economic conditions improve? 

How can we create a future where the teaching profession can feel secure in the fresh talent it attracts and the motivated talent that it retains? Of course, salaries and funding are crucial, but we believe it goes way beyond that. The key is the right support. Training routes, peer mentoring and changes to student assessments are just a few of the solutions that need to be baked into a framework for the future. Without it, we risk excellent teachers at all levels walking out of the door. 

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Education across the UK is facing a uniquely difficult moment, facing the twin challenges of ensuring student and staff health amid a pandemic, while also ensuring continuity of learning. 

In the immediate future, the imperative is to successfully operate through the pandemic.

While challenges remain, there are also opportunities to seize the moment and reimagine how we can empower professionals to deliver the best post-pandemic education possible.

Diversity in Schools

How diverse is education today? Pearson’s Diversity and Inclusion in Schools report reveals that four in five (80%) UK teachers believe more can be done to celebrate diverse cultures, people and experiences in UK education. 

Although critically important, championing greater diversity in education extends beyond an inclusive curriculum. Yes, pupils need to feel more reflected in what they see and learn, but they also need inspiring role models from all walks of life to learn from. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds continues to increase. But that is not being reflected at a governor or senior leader level. For example, just 5% of governors in state schools in England are from minority ethnic backgrounds – a figure unchanged for the last 20 years.

Creating an intentionally inclusive future school is hard. However, it is near impossible if we do not apply a ‘whole body’ approach that recognises the importance of holistic representation. From supporting Governors and Senior Staff by building confidence and understanding; to ensuring all children – of all backgrounds and abilities – feel that they belong in education; it is imperative that we listen, learn and take action to ensure happy and healthy schools. 

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