Supporting staff wellbeing – a crucial role for governors & trustees

Staff wellbeing is crucial to the ongoing success of any school, it can help support with; staff retention, nurturing a strong sense of community in the staffing body, building positive relationships with all stakeholders and contributes positively to school culture and outcomes.

As governors and trustees, we have many opportunities to shape, monitor and maintain a positive wellbeing culture in our settings, none more so than our work on committees that review staff structures and workload, review staff pay and performance and ensuring staff CPD and wellbeing support is appropriately budgeted for and monitored.

We have a duty to ensure that our schools are a safe, inclusive, and supportive place for all staff and other stakeholders. The following are some of the ways governors can support staff wellbeing:

• By ensuring that wellbeing is woven through the actions and ambitions in the school development plan.
• Reviewing policies and procedures through a wellbeing lens, ensuring its embedded practice.
• Ensuring that school leaders model a healthy approach to a good work-life balance, setting great examples for staff to follow.
• Ensure that the staff voice is heard and any suggestions for workload reductions are considered and acted upon appropriately
• Asking school leaders how they are monitoring staff wellbeing and reviewing the impact of any initiatives put in place to improve wellbeing (not forgetting that monitoring the wellbeing of school leaders needs to be a board priority as well!)
• Ensuring that external and school-based support is clearly signposted such as Employee Assistance Programmes or other counselling services such as mentoring or coaching schemes.

Amongst the growing list of link governor roles, both essential and desirable, having a governor focussed on wellbeing either by way of a link role or as a champion for wellbeing is a great step to take. It may be useful to have a role descriptor that could include reporting termly to the board as a standing item, regularly meeting with the staff wellbeing lead or senior leader, ensuring that wellbeing is considered when policies are being reviewed and the school development plan is being drawn up and receiving data on staff absence, staff turnover, staff exit interviews and staff survey results. For the governor or trustee, it would be important to ensure they have the necessary skills to fulfil the role such as being a good listener, empathetic and approachable as well as being able to challenge effectively and supportively and a willingness to engage with training to help with understanding the role. For smaller boards, or boards with a number of vacancies, rather than having a specific link governor, to consider weaving wellbeing into all other link role visits and reports, maybe have a section on the visit report where staff wellbeing observations can be captured.

So, what are the practical steps we can take to help support with staff wellbeing? Whatever steps we do take, we need to have the capacity to deliver and monitor them, if we overburden school leaders and staff with too many it will have the opposite effect of what we are trying to achieve!

In the first instance the school could carry out an audit of staff wellbeing, this can be used to measure future surveys against and will enable senior leaders to work with the board to identify where things are going well and areas for improvement. Use the audit to create a wellbeing strategy with clear and measurable goals and ensure it aligns with the school or academies overall values and vision. Create a culture where staff are recognised and celebrated for excellent work or ideas, this can be done in many ways including celebration boards, staff newsletters, social events and celebrating milestones and achievements. Another key area is staff voice and the encouragement of open communication, this can be achieved in many ways such as suggestion boxes, staff surveys, regular ‘forum’ style staff meetings (occasionally without senior leaders present?), a clear process for staff to raise concerns and ultimately a well signposted whistle blowing procedure. In doing some of these things you are removing barriers to improving staff wellbeing, opening up lines of communication and ultimately ensuring staff are seen, heard and respected. The board needs to ensure it remains strategic in this regard, look to receive regular updates at board meetings on the effectiveness and impact of the agreed wellbeing strategy.

Staff wellbeing isn’t a tick box exercise but an ongoing opportunity, it’s a shared endeavour between senior leaders and the board, and in championing staff wellbeing as a top priority you will shift the dial measurably on staff recruitment and retention. After all a school with a reputation for having a fantastic staff wellbeing culture will help you attract the best staff and in the longer term, with such a supportive culture, you will improve retention as well. View it as a less tangible investment in the future sustainability of your school, where the true dividend will be  the trickle-down effect on pupil wellbeing and ultimately improved outcomes for all the children in your school.

Supporting with staff wellbeing

DfE’s  Reducing school workload - support and practical resources for schools to help reduce workload, including the school workload reduction toolkit

Learn more about the HFL Education Wellbeing Quality mark here , placing health and wellbeing at the heart of the whole school community.

Governance Guide (maintained schools) 4.7 – consideration of staff wellbeing, workload and working conditions Maintained schools governance guide - Guidance - GOV.UK

Governance Guide (academies) 5.3 – working with Executive team; 5.4 - staff wellbeing, workload and working conditions Academy trust governance guide - Guidance - GOV.UK