Staff Wellbeing at Fordwater School

At Fordwater School, we place a strong emphasis on the wellbeing of our pupils, families and staff. We believe that the wellbeing of all stakeholders is vital, to ensure that pupils make the necessary progress as a result of their personalised curriculum. Stakeholders are all valued and part of the 'Fordwater Family'. The relentless positivity, linked to the bubbles ethos, is seen throughout the school and this allows pupils time to regulate and be ready to learn. Staff at Fordwater School work with pupil's families to network, support and share expertise and training to allow consistency across the home and school environment. Staff wellbeing is supported and staff are offered a wellbeing package, including counselling sessions, workshops and mentoring.

Supporting Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing

A range of strategies have been put in place to support staff Mental Health and Wellbeing. There is an open door policy where staff are encouraged and supported to talk about and share any concerns or issues. Staff are offered supervision sessions where they can talk in class teams as well as opportunities for staff to book individual supervision slots. This has been enhanced by the support of Phil Portway, a counsellor who is working closely with the school to support staff with bereavement and the challenges that the nature of our job may bring.

Staff also attend regular training events about mental health and wellbeing where understanding, awareness and strategies are shared with staff to develop the compassionate culture at Fordwater School. Last training session we talked about our stress bucket, what is in your stress bucket? What taps do you have to release the stress?

Staff are offered a monthly wellbeing event which include a range of activities such as Staff bake off, Staff Easter egg hunt and Staff Christmas quiz alongside other wellbeing activities such as Wellbeing walks and a kindness buddy scheme.

Recently we have adopted the Compassionate Leadership model with the aim for staff to feel more supported and listened to as well as providing the tools to support one another more effectively. For further information look into-
Michael West ‘Compassionate Leadership.’

Helpful Links for Staff Wellbeing

Headspace

Education Support

NHS - 5 Steps to Mental Wellbeing

Mentally Healthy Schools

Anna Freud - Schools in Mind

Thriving in Education