The Staff Wellbeing Charter

The Staff Wellbeing Charter has been launched this year for the Education Sector. No surprises that this is a key focus as the effects of the pandemic still continue within schools. It is a set of practices that schools are encouraged to show their commitment to, through signing on the dotted line. No-one is forced to sign up but be prepared to be asked about your commitment to staff wellbeing when Ofsted come knocking on your door.

The Wellbeing Charter was put together by teaching unions, MIND, the AoC, Local Government Association and a selection of schools and provides a framework to help you navigate through a tricky area. It helps you create a wellbeing strategy and publicly declare that your school or Trust is committed to the mental and physical wellbeing of your staff through embedding this within your policies and working practices. Effective use of the practices can boost morale and encourage recruitment and retention of good staff however, the level of undertaking is not to be taken lightly.

It isn’t only schools that are asked to commit to the Wellbeing Charter, the DfE and Ofsted have already promised to do their part, take a look below.

DfE Commitments

1. Integrate wellbeing into school workloads
2. Measure staff wellbeing across the sector using metrics and methods. Using these to track trends
3. Drive down unnecessary workload
4. Ensure DfE guidance covers staff wellbeing
5. Support flexible working and diversity
6. Incorporate staff wellbeing and mental health into DfE’s wider communications, tackling mental health stigma in our society
7. Embed mental health wellbeing in teacher training and professional development
8. Improve mental health and wellbeing resources, particularly those that help schools to deliver their commitments to their staff
9. Review the Charter and progress in 2023

Ofsted Commitments

1. Ensure inspectors take staff wellbeing into account when making judgements
2. Review whether the framework is having an inadvertent impact on staff wellbeing e.g., creating unnecessary workload
3. Continue to clarify that schools should not create documentation for inspection

There is the recognition that there are many contributing factors to poor mental and physical health, including those that occur outside of the workplace and are therefore, outside of the scope of the Wellbeing Charter. So, what are the commitments that schools are asked to make?

School Commitments

1. Prioritise staff mental heath
   1. Promote an open and understanding culture
   2. Give the same consideration and support to mental health as physical health
   3. Control the risks associated with work-related stress
   4. Ensure there is support for those in roles with significant emotional component
   5. Ensure understanding of the limitations of providing pastoral support, increase joint working opportunities and routes to specialist support
2. Ensure staff know how to access guidance and support tools to promote their mental health, financial wellbeing and physical wellbeing
3. Give managers access to the tools and resources to support the wellbeing of those they line manage
4. Establish clear communications about out-of-hours working
5. Employee voice about sharing personal experience and including this in the decision-making process across your school
6. Drive down unnecessary workload – e.g., use of the workload reduction toolkit for schools
7. Champion flexible working and diversity
8. Create a good behavioral culture to support staff to create calm, safe and disciplined environments
9. Support staff to progress in their careers without impacting on their or others’ workload
10. Include a sub-strategy for protecting leader wellbeing and mental health e.g., access to counselling/coaching where needed
11. Measure staff wellbeing and be transparent about results. Work with staff and relevant stakeholders and consider workload

Anna Freud suggests 10 ways to help towards fulfilling your commitments to staff wellbeing. These are:

1. Have a mental health lead with responsibility for staff wellbeing
2. Include staff wellbeing in your mental health policy
3. Promote openness about mental health in your school
4. Offer supervision and encourage discussion groups
5. Signpost staff to supportive services
6. Look at simple ways to reduce workload
7. Provide reflective spaces for staff at times of stress
8. Set up a staff social group
9. Start an annual staff wellbeing survey
10. Put staff wellbeing on your next staff and governors’ meeting agenda

Details of how to sign up and further resources related to this can be found by clicking here.

The DfE will assess the impact of the Wellbeing Charter through research and questions and evaluate its use in 2023.

Why not get in touch with the team at Fusion Education People Solutions and see how we can support you with this? Our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), wellbeing surveys, engagement surveys, occupational health and counselling services can all help you to target support where it is needed and fulfil your commitments to the Wellbeing Charter. Click here to contact us for further information or call 01924 827869.

Resources

* https://www.annafreud.org/media/12876/ten-ways-to-support-school-staff-wellbeing.pdf

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter