“Putting staff first will underpin the pupil outcomes we all seek” - says educational staff wellbeing report
Close to 8,000 educational staff took part, with over 250,000 answers
Pandemic has increased the spotlight on the need for greater wellbeing support
Findings will be shared with Secretary of State for Education, Ministers of the devolved Governments and teachers’ unions
“Putting staff first will underpin the pupil outcomes we all seek” - says educational staff wellbeing report
Educational staff wellbeing specialist Welbee has published its first UK-wide, school staff wellbeing survey.
The flagship investigation has been designed to ‘change the conversation around staff wellbeing in schools and encourage real change in the industry’.
It covers a wide variety of staff wellbeing issues, from workload pressures, autonomy and flexible working, relationships, expectation management, and how well staff are supported in schools – matters of enduring importance which have taken on a new intensity in the age of Covid-19.
Close to 8,000 educational staff took part, providing over 250,000 answers and some 500 pages of comments submitted to the Welbee team for analysis.
The report includes recommendations on measuring and understanding current performance, improving Control, Demand and Change scores, specific recommendations for Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs), the role of the board, the wellbeing of leaders and recommendations for Government and those responsible for system change.
Welbee used the Health and Safety Executive’s Management Standards to measure what is happening in schools, so they could effectively compare scores across geographies, sectors, and phases and with cross sector organisations.
Welbee hopes that the findings of the survey, (which will be shared with the Secretary of State for Education, the Ministers of the devolved Governments, and teachers’ unions), will help steer the course of debate around school staff wellbeing in a “timely new direction that places greater emphasis on the need for sympathetic, innovative support for employees across the sector and that simply builds it into school culture”.
Welbee will also harness the data to shape its own efforts to effect real change in the nation’s schools.
Welbee founder Mark Solomons comments;
‘When we launched our school staff wellbeing survey this February, we knew that the findings would be of national importance. Anecdotal evidence, results from our regular school surveys and our own extensive research tells us that wellbeing at work has long been a key concern for teachers and other school workers.
“What we’re seeing now is a validation of that, but also the recognition of a clear need for change. It also highlights the specific challenges faced and how these compare to other non-education sectors.
Staff are facing unprecedented pressures as they negotiate their way through the pandemic and this has thrown a fresh spotlight on the need for greater wellbeing support as well as innovative approaches to delivering it.
The starting point for effecting any meaningful change is listening to staff, which is what our survey was designed to do. At Welbee, we believe the voices of educational staff should be at the centre of efforts to improve wellbeing in schools.
Our approach allowed us to measure workplace wellbeing and how well leaders manage the risks of workplace stress and build a culture where staff are likely to thrive and do their best work.
Achieving this through putting staff first will underpin the pupil outcomes we all seek and contribute significantly to post-pandemic recovery. This, rather than increasing the number of lessons through extended hours and shorter breaks, is how we can best support those pupils that need it, as well as creating a long-term solution.”
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