Supporting Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing at LEO Academy Trust
Good staff wellbeing is essential for cultivating a mentally healthy school, for retaining and motivating staff and for promoting pupil wellbeing and attainment.
Wellbeing is all about our holistic health, including the physical and emotional. When we have good levels of wellbeing we feel that life is in balance and that we can generally cope well. We feel motivated and engaged, we’re resilient and able to deal effectively with daily troubles, as well as ’bounce back’ from life’s challenges.
As education staff juggle a multitude of different tasks and demands, it is important that everyone is given the right emotional and practical support so that they can, in turn, support their pupils.
In addition to having a positive impact on colleagues and pupils, staff wellbeing can improve performance and job satisfaction, which can lead to reduced staff turnover. It can also help to reduce absence (both short and long term), increase productivity and promote staff engagement.
(Anna Freud, National Centre for Children and Families)
We are working to ensure the Key Features of the Education Staff Wellbing Charter are developed.
What we believe in and stand for as an employer is central to our People Strategy - The health and wellbeing - of our staff and our pupils - matters more than anything else;
We aim to give staff the support they need to take responsibility for their own and other people’s wellbeing. LEO Academy Trust has an established Mental Health Team. All schools have a trained Senior Mental Health Lead, Mental Health Champion, and a Trauma Informed Champion.
Trust and School leaders have access to the tools and resources they need to support the wellbeing of those they line manage.
Our Staff Well being and Mental Health Policy is in place to support the wellbeing of LEO staff. The graduated approach for mental health and wellbeing is the structure in which these tools sit.
Key Features of this include:-
Staff wellbeing initiatives which vary and are individual to each school.
- Holistic Support
- Active Citizen & Aspirations
- Physical Wellbeing
- Positivity
- ‘You’ Matter
Just Ask A Question (JAAQ)
Men’s Mental Health Matters
Financial Wellbeing
Fertility
Gender and Sexuality
Mental Health Support
Piano and Water - Stress Relief and Healing
TED talk
Sleep Hypnosis
Yoga
How to Practise Kappalabhati Breathwork
Mindful Chef
- Central HR Team
- Education Support Partnership
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Mental health support for school leaders (DfE/Education Support)
- Professional's Online Safety Helpline (SWGfL)
- Off the Record (OTR) Youth Counselling Croydon
- Mental Health and Well-being
- At home should not mean at risk
Professional Development and Career Progression is at the heart of LEO Academy Trust’s Vision. We ensure that staff are able to pursue professional development without adversely impacting their own or other people’s workload. Opportunities to engage in programmes and courses are widely accessible and can be found on the Training and Professional Development page of our website.