School Health & Wellbeing Project | Education Staff Wellbeing

School Health & Wellbeing Project | Education Staff Wellbeing

Looking after the wellbeing of education staff has never been more important than it is now; with an approach that combines self-care and whole school systems and processes that promote and support staff wellbeing. This page has a collection of local and national resources to support individual self-care, including specialist support for head teachers and school leaders, plus information, advice and guidance for a whole school approach.

Self-Care for All Education Staff

Department for Education | Education Staff Wellbeing Charter

The Department for Education has worked with key stakeholders in the education sector including teaching unions, Mind and Education Support, schools, trusts and Ofsted to produce an Education Staff Wellbeing Charter. It is a declaration of support for, and set of commitments to, the wellbeing and mental health of everyone working in education.

The charter is for education staff in England. This includes temporary and support staff. All state funded schools and colleges are invited to sign up to the charter, as a shared commitment to protect, promote and enhance the wellbeing of their staff. Sign up is voluntary and there is no deadline to sign up. It is suggested that schools should sign up when it is right for their organisation and when they will get the most benefit from it. More information and a downloadable a copy of the Charter can be found here.

Slough School Health & Wellbeing Project | Education Staff Self Care Guide

This guide contains information, advice and guidance for staff to enable them to look after their own wellbeing. The guide follows a graduated approach with sources of additional support towards the end. There is also a section specifically for head teachers and school leaders. A copy of the guide can be found here.

East Berkshire Wellbeing Service

The Wellbeing Service is available for anyone 18+ registered to a GP in east Berkshire with low level needs driven by a social or environmental determinant that is affecting their mental wellbeing. The service can help individuals with emerging life crisis providing practical, situational and social support for issues including housing, money worries, alcohol and drug misuse, gambling, student stress, sleep, stress, resilience, lack of motivation. The service provides one-to-one telephone support, workshops and access to an online platform.

The Wellbeing Service webpage can be found here self-refer by calling 0300 365 2000 option 2 or by emailing BHFTIAPTWellbeingService@berkshire.nhs.uk.

Headteachers and School Leaders

Heads Up

A national organisation offering a supportive network of Headteachers through weekly informal zoom calls either Wednesday mid-week drinks (7:30-8:30pm) or Saturday coffee mornings (9-10am). In these facilitated sessions participants are invited to reflect on their week, share the successes and challenges or if preferred, just listen.  Often the discussions will focus on a particular issue. If you are interested in joining, please sign up here.  The Heads Up website can be accessed here.

Headrest

Headrest is run by former heads and offers mutual support for head teachers to promote their wellbeing. To find more information on the Headrest website click here.

Whole School Approach to Staff Wellbeing

Copies of all these resources can be found below:

  • Public Health England - School Staff Wellbeing Resource List
  • Anna Freud Centre (Mentally Healthy Schools) | Staff Wellbeing Planning Pack
  • Health & Safety Executive (HSE) Preventing Work Related Stress in Schools | A Toolkit for School Leaders
  • Education Support - Staff Wellbeing Audit Tool