Healthy Schools Plus - Staff Emotional Health & Wellbeing

As part of the Healthy Schools Plus Project some schools have chosen the area of Staff Emotional Health and Wellbeing. New research is showing that good staff EHWB improves children’s attainment. (Staff wellbeing is key to schools success Birkbeck College 2007).

Schools who have chosen Staff EHWB as a priority have started the project through carrying out a questionnaire designed by Martin Elliott from the Targeted Mental Health Team. There are two parts to the questionnaire.

The first part is divided up into the five areas of SEAL and questions relating to them. The second section is based on the Health and Safety Executive’s Standards for Management of Stress at work.  All school staff completed the questionnaire.  The results were then analysed and areas for possible development identified. The results were reported back to the staff so they could decide on what they would like to do with the support from the Healthy Schools Team and TaMHs.

Examples of interventions are:  

• Monthly support meetings to discuss individual children causing concern
• Creating an atmosphere where everyone is responsible for these individual children
• Stress management courses
• Emotional Literacy Interest Groups
• Secret Angels
• Coaching
• Video Interactive Guidance (positive video coaching)
• Supervision
• Staff check in systems
• Buddying systems 

The projects are in their early days at present but we will keep you posted on how they are progressing.