Staff Health and Wellbeing

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Staff Health and Well-being

• Fife Education Service
• Staff Welfare Strategy

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Staff Welfare Strategy

• Strategic Aims
• Key Drivers
• Stakeholders
• Best practice
• Level 1 Processes
• Results
• Level 2 Developments
• Challenges, successes, ideas and aspirations

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Strategic Aims

• To embed a staff welfare process in all Fife
  schools
• To promote individual and organisational
  wellbeing
• To improve individual and organisational
  effectiveness
• To alleviate stress
• To reduce absenteeism
• To reduce costs

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Key Internal Drivers

• Behaviour and discipline the impact on the
  welfare of staff
• Explicit right of staff to have their welfare
  considered
• Fife Employee Survey - 2004
• Employee Counselling Service 2005
• Positive impact of good staff morale on
  individual and organisational effectiveness
• Uncoordinated support

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Key External Drivers

• Duty of care
• Teachers Health and Wellbeing Study Scotland -
  July 2004
• Health Promoting Schools
• Healthy Working Lives
• Trade Unions
• The Journey To Excellence
• HSE Standards for a healthy workplace

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HSE Management Standards for a Healthy Workplace

• Demands e.g. workload, worklife balance etc
• Control what say people have in the way they
  work
• Change amount, consultation, involvement etc
• Role clarity of remit
• Relationships at all levels
• Support from colleagues, school management,
  local authority

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Stakeholders

• Staff Welfare Strategy Group
• Senior Management
• Psychological Service
• Quality Assurance Teams
• HR
• Trade Unions
• School representation

• Key Partners
• Occupational Health Safety
• Health Promoting Schools
• CPD
• Healthy Working Lives
• Occupational Health Service
• Employee Counselling Service

• Headteachers
• School-based Facilitators

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Best Practice

• Level 1 Systems, processes and activities which
  aim to reduce or eliminate stressors and promote
  wellbeing in the workplace.
• Level 2 Training and development activities
  around issues of stress management, health,
  wellbeing and personal effectiveness.
• Level 3 Counselling, rehabilitation etc aimed
  at providing support and assistance for employees.

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Level 1 - Project Outline

• Fife Staff Welfare Project (2005 2007)
• x3 pilots 20 schools and central based staff
• Approx 1800 staff
• Benchmarking
• Stress vs. wellbeing?
• Action planning
• Evaluation

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3. Facilitators attend training course are
given resources and information.
2. Facilitator(s) nominated.
1. Headteacher commitment.
4. Staff complete voluntary and confidential
online questionnaires.
9. Network for Facilitators to consider new
initiatives, developments and planning and to
share best practice.
10. Follow-up questionnaire after a full year
5. A report is prepared.
THE STAFF WELFARE PROCESS
8. Programme of development e.g. changes, new
ways of working, training, guidance etc.
7. Facilitator(s) present findings to staff.
Discussion of next steps, and general consensus

6. Co-ordinator feeds back to Headteacher and
Facilitator(s).
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Results

• Overall response rate of 64
• Lower reported levels of high stress compared
  to national averages
• Higher reported wellbeing scores compared to
  national averages

• Central staff satisfaction rate of 75
• Keys strengths in areas of relationships, role,
  and control
• Development required in areas of demands, change,
  and support

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School Actions - Examples

• Designated staff noticeboards to provide health
  and wellbeing information and advice
• Staff Welfare as a standing item on meeting
  agendas
• Establishment of Staff Welfare Committees
• Increased levels of management contact

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School Actions - Examples

• Increased awareness of Council staff welfare
  related policies, resources, and Services
• Celebration of key strengths
• Assertiveness, stress, and time management
  training
• Health and wellbeing events

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Level 2 Developments

• Peer support mechanism
• Promoting resilience

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Challenges

• Attitudes
• ICT
• Funding
• Time in school to make it work
• Embedding the processes schools taking ownership

• Changing the culture
• Meeting expectations
• Communication
• Sustainability
• Secondary sector

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Successes

• Staff / headteacher commitment
• Key partners
• Trade Union support
• Culture shift
• Measurable improvements in schools
• Welfare of staff being genuinely considered

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Proposed Future Modelling

• Cluster approach where schools can network and
  share advice, experience, ideas etc
• A three-level approach where schools will either
• 1. Self-manage audit tools, resources and advice
• 2. Be involved in a project-based approach where
  they opt in to special development projects
• 3. Require a greater level of support and advice
  from the Development Officer in the use of audit
  tools and resources

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Hopes and Aspirations

• An embedded staff welfare process in all Fife
  schools
• Improved individual and organisational well-being
• More effective individual and organisational
  practice
• Improved outcomes for pupils
• Less stress
• Lower absenteeism
• Reduced costs
• Good practice to be shared with other Services
  and Councils

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For more information

• Gordon Ratcliffe
• Development Officer Staff Welfare
• 08451 555 555 Ext 442008
• Gordon.Ratcliffe_at_fife.gov.uk