Crestwood Park - Our Wellbeing Policy 2022

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Our Wellbeing Policy April 2022

We want Crestwood Park to be a model of a caring establishment, where staff and children value themselves, each other, the environment and the community at large. We use a shared language of positivity and praise; we take time to reflect; we believe in team work and aim for everyone to feel appreciated; we aim to make a difference to our children and we are passionate about our school; we are committed, dedicated and understanding; we are good role models for each other and we support each other to enable a positive learning and professional experience where positive wellbeing is promoted and protected.

Risk Factors that can Impact on Wellbeing and Mental Health

At Crestwood Park, we recognise that there are many factors that could impact on pupil and staff wellbeing and mental health. These include

childhood abuse, trauma, or neglect (affecting children in the present but also staff who have experienced this)
social isolation or loneliness
experiencing discrimination and/ or stigma, including racism and bullying
social disadvantage, deprivation, poverty or debt
bereavement and loss
stress caused by a range of factors
having a long-term physical health condition
a difficult home life
a mental health illness or disorder e.g. addition, mood, eating, personality

By understanding these factors and keeping abreast of changes within our school, locally and nationally, we can be as prepared as possible, to support staff and pupils. Understanding the impact of these factors and what this impact might look like helps us to create and review this policy which aims to give all stakeholders a clear picture of how they may support, or be supported during their time at CPPS.

Rationale

At Crestwood Park, we recognise that our staff are our most important resource. We value them, support them and encourage them to develop personally and professionally within a caring, purposeful learning community.

We believe that it is essential that all staff feel part of a valued team, have the opportunity to express their views and to be supported to manage their workload within a culture that encourages and supports a healthy work-life balance.

We recognise that there is a direct correlation between the wellbeing of our staff and the wellbeing of our pupils, and that the culture of a school is determined by the extent to which staff work towards a shared vision.

We know that children do better with their learning when their wellbeing is positive and when they are mentally ‘healthy’. In our experience, poor wellbeing and/ or mental health often prevents children from reaching their academic potential. Difficulties can also affect social aspects of school. We know that by weaving the promotion of positive wellbeing and mental health into our curriculum and school day, we can identify, support and monitor all our children to ensure that as a school, we are doing everything we can to protect good mental health, to increase levels of wellbeing for all and to turn mental ill-health into mental health. We also know that educating children about mental health and wellbeing and teaching them strategies to care for themselves and others will not only benefit them during their time with us, but outside school and in later life too.

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that we embrace the many school practices that support health and wellbeing, to minimise the harmful effects of stress and ensure that there is cohesion in working towards health and wellbeing for all. It outlines some of the ways in which we commit to maintaining wellbeing. It recognises that each individual member of the school family has a different set of circumstances. However, it provides an overview of how everyone can contribute to emotional health and wellbeing and can expect to be treated. The policy sets out our commitment to promoting and protecting positive wellbeing and good mental health.

Finally, this policy aims to send a clear message to all members of our school community that emotional wellbeing and mental health is at the heart of all we do.

What Crestwood Park aims to do for its staff and pupils

We aim to ensure that our school:

For all

promotes a culture of positive mental health and wellbeing
encourages staff and pupils to recognise and acknowledge their own mental health and wellbeing needs
supports staff and pupil mental health and wellbeing
creates an environment where everyone can feel comfortable talking about mental health
provides the resources needed to promote and protect wellbeing and mental health
educates staff and pupils about mental health and wellbeing
regularly seeks stakeholder views in order to review and improve provision
signposts staff and pupils (via families) to agencies who can provide specialist support

For staff

minimises stress
helps staff to keep a healthy work-life balance and helps staff to manage their family and work responsibilities
ensures staff feel valued and recognises and promotes the importance of a happy team
involves staff in decision making
takes account of equality implications

For pupils

identifies mental health and/ or wellbeing difficulties at the earliest stage
provides support in a range of personalised ways
involves parents and families in appropriate ways
creates an environment that caters for all social, emotional and mental health needs

Accountability

The senior leadership team (SLT), governing body and school staff will work towards an ethos where everyone is valued; where respect, empathy and honesty are the cornerstones of all school relationships and where health and wellbeing are held central to school practice. We expect all staff to show respect and empathy for each other, and to treat confidential information sensitively and according to school policy. At Crestwood Park we consider all staff to be wellbeing ‘champions’ in that we all work together to promote the importance of emotional wellbeing. We all act as advocates for our children and their mental health is always our priority.

Additional responsibilities are as follows-

The School’s Governing Body is responsible for:

fulfilling its duty of care as an employer
monitoring the workload of the headteacher and being alert to signs of stress
receiving any concerns from members of staff
ensuring that the resources are in place to keep staff workload at healthy levels
reviewing this policy in conjunction with the headteacher
considering how its own members are treated and valued
ensuring that demands are not placed on individual members of staff that interfere unfairly with their work-life balance
operating a sensitive performance management policy
ensuring that other school policies and procedures take account of staff wellbeing
overseeing that change management is operated in a fair and reasonable way.

The headteacher is responsible for:

providing personal and professional development such as team building, management of change, stress management, assertiveness, communication
assessing staff and pupil needs with regard to mental health and wellbeing on a regular basis, acting upon feedback given
providing a non-judgemental and confidential support system such as coaching, mentoring and pastoral support for staff
monitoring the workload of members of staff and being alert to signs of stress
listening to the views of members of staff and providing a range of strategies for involving staff in school decision making processes
listening to the views of pupils with regard to wellbeing and mental health
ensuring that the efforts and successes of staff are acknowledged and celebrated
acting as gatekeeper and prioritising reforms and innovations
ensuring that staff are equipped with the right training to do the job confidently
ensuring that staff feel valued and that time is set aside for them
providing meeting guidelines that are agreed upon and followed
planning the year’s timetable considerately bearing in mind staff commitments
providing funds to maintain/ improve staff facilities, the school environment and staff and pupil welfare
including an opportunity for staff to discuss their mental health and wellbeing, and their aspirations and career intentions in professional development meetings
providing a programme for CPD which benefits staff development in various areas of emotional health and wellbeing
making special arrangements, where possible, to enable staff to combine the demands of family life and work life
recognising that staff may have experiences in their personal lives that may make them vulnerable to pressures at work, and which may have a temporary influence on their work performance e.g. health issues, bereavement or loss, or personal circumstances
ensuring accessibility to themselves and the accessibility of SLT to members of staff
ensuring that there are effective methods of communication
ensuring support services are made available or signposted where additional specialist support is needed
engaging with local commissioning groups
ensuring support services are made available to pupils (via parents) where additional specialist support is needed
maintaining contact with staff during long absences
ensuring that a mentor system operates within the school and especially for each new members of staff and that the staff induction process is put into place
conducting risk assessments for work-related stress
ensuring relevant time is protected for staff such as PPA, staff meeting time for reports etc.

The headteacher implements these responsibilities with the support of appropriate staff such as the deputy headteacher, senior leaders and the pastoral team who all strive to be positive role models through their own practice.

Members of staff are responsible for:

treating one another and pupils’, with empathy, respect and kindness thus promoting a culture of positive mental health and wellbeing
taking care of and recognising their own metal health and wellbeing needs at work and communicating with key staff where they need support
being committed to the ethos of staff wellbeing and keeping in mind the workload and wellbeing of colleagues
being committed to the ethos of pupil wellbeing and engaging in CPD to support this
understanding and implementing school policies relating to pupil wellbeing and mental health
valuing all members of staff and pupils in the school and acknowledging the important role that everyone takes
acting as a role model to pupils of how we manage and support our own wellbeing
contributing to the ethos and social aspects of school life where possible to build morale and effective team spirit
understanding the range of relevant external agencies available to pupils and their families
engaging with external agencies i.e. school nurse, CAMHS etc when required
developing and respecting shared areas where possible so that there is space to relax as well as appropriate work spaces.

Examples of good practice to support staff wellbeing at Crestwood Park include:

a Crestwood Park pledge which is given to all staff when they join CPPS and which promises to support staff wellbeing, through a range of tools and processes
school subscription to Education Support Employee Assistance Programme that provides a wide range of readily available support services for all school members of staff
providing lunch and refreshments in INSET training
giving staff the option to plan their own social activities
a staff achievement board in the staffroom to celebrate achievements personally and professionally
making staff aware of pastoral services available to them e.g. counselling
council subsidised gym and fitness memberships
designated well-being days for all staff to choose when they take
initiatives regarding marking to reduce staff workload
an appraisal system that includes opportunities to discuss emotional well-being and mental health
designated, regular CPD regarding mental health and well-being for all members of the school community
‘open door policy’ from all members of SLT for staff to discuss any well-being or mental health concerns
termly staff surveys to gain views on well-being and mental health
weekly slots on both the school newsletter and staff meeting agendas for well-being and mental health for all members of the school community
protected PPA time and allocated time for report writing or additional duties when appropriate

At Crestwood Park we do not have a set allocated budget for staff well-being as we feel this would limit what we could achieve to support staff. We are aware of the potential need to spend money to improve staff well-being. Examples of how we have spent money to improve staff mental health and well-being are i) a revamp of our staffroom by decorating and reupholstering furniture and purchasing new furnishings ii) providing additional car parking spaces as we knew from our staff surveys that parking was a cause of stress and worry for many staff members iii) providing a budget for all members of staff so they could purchase items of uniform without additional costs to themselves.

We have also chosen not to use staff meetings for activities such as yoga/ mindfulness etc. From staff surveys and discussions, we feel that this would increase staff stress as staff report they would rather spend time on teaching and learning activities and therefore minimise any work that might be taken home at the end of the day. We ensure that staff have PPA time protected and allocated time for report writing. We bear workload in mind with any new initiative so that staff can retain a good work/life balance to allow them to engage in activities such as yoga out of work, if this is their preference.

Examples of good practice to support pupil wellbeing at Crestwood Park include:

a Home School Agreement that demonstrates our commitment to support pupil wellbeing and mental health during their time with us
robust information hand-over and information sharing processes such as the ‘Pastoral Folders’ and the use of CPOMS
diarised, regular pupil surveys to gain views on well-being and mental health
a personalised approach to support including: soft starts; check-ins, lunch in quiet areas; use of breakout rooms, quiet indoor and outdoor areas for personalised learning environments
focus days during the year e.g. a whole school Wellbeing Day
regular information and discussions in whole school assemblies with a distinct focus on Ways to Wellbeing
quite areas in every classroom, along with Joy Jars and Worry Monsters
an inclusive and nurture-centred day
personal greeting at the start of the day
option for ‘soft starts’ allowing children a calm start with a member of the pastoral team
visual timetables in every classroom
quiet outdoor spaces at breaktimes
Pastoral information handover to lunch staff
The Meadow (Nurture Room) available for children to use at lunchtimes

And for children who require additional support:

Check-ins, Nurture Sessions, Sibling groups, Buddy groups, Confidence and self-esteem groups

Working with Parents

We believe that the best way to support pupils with their wellbeing and mental health is to work closely with parents. We do this in a range of ways including

SLT availability at the start and end of the day
Pastoral team phone calls to parents, either as a response to a request or regular calls when a need is identified
Open invitations to get in touch, with school phone numbers and staff email addresses shared
Suggestions and tips for parents on weekly newsletters
Support to access Early Help
Craft/ Coffee mornings / afternoons
After-school activity clubs available to families e.g. Rounders
Fitness Friday (for parents and friends)
Referral to specialist agencies
- Educational Psychology
- CAMHS
- Counselling Services
- Black Country Women’s Aid
- Barnardo’s

Referral to specialist agencies is either through our Pastoral lead, our SENCo, the Headteacher or Deputy Headteacher unless families are already accessing Early Help and then the referral may be via a Family Support Worker.

Support for Staff in specific circumstances

The school will provide support and discuss options as appropriate to specific circumstances. In some cases, it may be necessary to seek support from external services but the school will continue to support even when external services are involved. At Crestwood Park we understand that staff who have mental ill-health or poor wellbeing will find it difficult to manage work in the ways they would usually. We will support staff in specific circumstances with a personalised approach. Although consistency in policy is key, we do not constrain ourselves to one set process for supporting staff, as we know specific circumstances require a ‘tailor-made’ approach.

Welcome to

Crestwood Park Primary School

Be the best you can be

Rationale

Accountability

Related Documents

Crestwood Park Primary School