We will empower staff to take ownership of their own wellbeing and look out for the wellbeing of others. This will include ensuring that all staff are familiar with the different dimensions of wellbeing, including mental health, financial wellbeing and physical well being. We will ensure that staff know how to access appropriate guidance, support and tools, and that their use is encouraged throughout the organisation.

Current Working Practices:

• Strategies to manage mental health [based on NHS 5 steps to wellbeing] signposted [staff bulletin/briefings/Online Excellence Hub]
• Organisations supporting mental health & wellbeing [ie: Education Support] signposted [staff bulletin/briefings/Online Excellence Hub]
• Trust and academy support services to reduce workload, as outlined in the People Strategy [ie: Use of reprographics for bulk photocopying, data manager, etc] 
• GLC Wellbeing walks & activities [ie: Winter wonder, Couch to 5K] 
• Free use of the Gym at The Gateway Academy
• Employee Assistance Programme [EAP] with access to 24 hour counselling and wellbeing resources

We will work to provide managers with tools, resources and training to support their staff. We will not, however, expect managers to provide professional wellbeing support for which they have no professional training, and will ensure that there are clear routes in place to escalate for further support.

Current Working Practices:

• Leaders prioritise the mental health and well-being of staff during line management meetings
• Fully trained mental health first aiders in each academy 
• Fully trained senior mental health leads in each academy
• Leaders actively promote strategies [ie: stress management/well-being plans] to support staff with mental health difficulties 
• Leaders actively signpost resources and support for mental health well-being [ie: Education Support Charity] 
• Leaders are required to fully implement all GLC policies, including those associated with mental health and well-being 
• Leaders have access to a Trust and external HR provider to access support, training and guidance. Leaders know how to escalate concerns regarding staff well-being so that staff get the support they need
• Leaders are required to follow Trust approaches for calendarising and organising events enabling staff to feel well organised. 
• Regular briefings and bulletins are held to ensure all staff can be well organised with upcoming dates and events

We will provide clear guidance to all stakeholders (internal and external) on remote and out-of-school/college hours working, including when it is and isn’t reasonable to expect staff to respond to queries. This should not necessarily include preventing staff from accessing email at ‘unsociable’ hours if it suits them personally

Current Working Practices:

• The GLC has a policy for communication between staff and parents, detailing working practices which take into account staff workload and wellbeing. The communication policy is detailed within this well-being policy.

We will constantly strive to improve the ways in which the voice of staff is included in the decision-making process across the college or school. (This may also include engagement with key stakeholders, such as recognised trade unions and others). In particular, we will proactively seek to draw upon the experience of those with mental health issues and/or of discrimination, ensuring that they are able to share their experience confidently and safely

Current Working Practices:

• Comprehensive cycle for gathering staff voice [including various surveys]: [appendix 8]
• Academy governors are required to carry out staff voice interviews as part of their role
• ½ termly ‘high effort/low impact’ staff voice feeding in to Trust action groups 
• Workload and wellbeing are agenda items for each action group - staff suggestions considered 
• Designated recruitment and retention action group, focusing on workload and wellbeing 
• Interviews with staff who have suffered mental health/well-being difficulties to evaluate the effectiveness of support provided & to improve upon our best
• New staff are allocated a wellbeing mentor as part of their induction programme - this is evaluated as part of new staff induction interviews
• Approach: You said/feedback - we did [changes to working practices]

We will work proactively to drive down unnecessary workload, making use of available tools (such as the Workload Reduction Toolkit for schools).

Current Working Practices:

• Assessment, marking and feedback practices centre upon verbal and whole class feedback strategies - informed by EEF guidance 
• ½ termly ‘high effort/low impact’ staff voice feeding in to action groups
• GLC central planning reduces workload for primary teachers 
• Working practices & systems are set up so that teachers, as far as possible, are not required to complete the 23 administration tasks: Workload Reduction Taskforce: Initial recommendations - GOV.UK
• Support service managers in each academy support staff with all non-teaching related matters, such as human resources, reprographics, equipment, payroll, etc
• Support: We believe that pupil-facing staff should be able to focus on teaching and we therefore provide a range of support services so that teachers are not required to complete unnecessary administrative tasks, such as data entry and bulk photocopying

We will work to create a supportive culture around flexible working. We will agree an approach that not only recognises employees’ legal right to request flexible working but acknowledges that for some staff working flexibly can be a key means of protecting and enhancing their personal wellbeing.

Current Working Practices:

• Existing and new staff have the right to request flexible working. Requests are given careful consideration in-line with the GLC flexible working policy
• ‘Flexible working considered’ is added to all GLC job adverts

We will work to promote diversity – eliminating discrimination, and advancing equality of opportunity.

Current Working Practices:

• Working practices fully reflect the GLC’s equality of opportunity policy

We will work with staff and pupils to maintain and implement a school-wide behaviour policy. All staff and pupils will have a shared understanding of how good behaviour is encouraged and rewarded, and the sanctions that will be imposed if pupils misbehave. We will support staff to create calm, safe and disciplined environments, which allow teachers to teach and pupils to learn. Our approach will go hand-in-hand with understanding and supporting pupil mental health issues.

Current Working Practices:

• Evidence informed Trust wide behaviour and relationship policy
• Consistent approach to managing behaviour and sanctions enforced, where required, in-line with policies  
• Senior leaders actively listen to issues raised regarding pupil’s behaviour and take appropriate action to ensure staff are well supported
• GLC and Local Authority structures to understand and best meet the needs of pupils with behavioural difficulties: GLC inclusion panel, GLC 
• Joined up working between the SENCo & Inclusion managers in each academy to best meet the needs of pupils

We will ensure that staff are able to pursue professional development without adversely impacting their own or other people’s workload. In schools, we will ensure that any professional development activity is aligned to the Standard for Teachers’ Professional Development.

Current Working Practices:

• The GLC outlines its approach to professional development and career progression within our People Strategy [See Appendix 1]
• In-line with the GLC’s performance management policy, staff discuss their career aspirations and means by which the GLC can support them to achieve these 

We will ensure that all those with strategic decision-making responsibility (including as appropriate governors and trustees) should collaborate to develop a sub strategy specifically for protecting leader mental health. This should include access to confidential counselling and/or coaching where needed.

Current Working Practices:

• Well-being and mental health of leaders is discussed regularly as part of line management meetings
• Leaders can access supervision [where appropriate]
• Heads of School review the roles and responsibilities of leaders and use this information to inform the amount of leadership release time within the school day
• Leaders have access to counselling as part of the wider staff offer
• Heads of School take a sample of leaders’ timetables each half term and evaluate this in terms of workload and well-being
• Trust wide leadership meetings are limited to once per half term

We will measure the wellbeing of staff using recognised tools and metrics and be transparent about results. We will monitor trends over time, and act in response to changes. Further, we will work with staff and relevant stakeholders (this might include parents, recognised trade unions and others) to agree an approach to organisational accountability on our commitments, giving due consideration to workload.

Current Working Practices:

• The GLC bulletin and academy based briefings detail strategies [based on the NHS - 5 ways to wellbeing] staff can use to manage their wellbeing
• Leaders actively seek staff voice [See appendix 8] and use this information to inform amendments to working practices 
• Leaders report various aspects of staff voice and absence data to governors and directors [See appendix 8 of the wellbeing policy] half termly