Resources for school governors

Wellbeing governors champion mental health and wellbeing for the whole school. They keep mental health and wellbeing on the agenda by asking questions about the school’s provision and support.  

We’re here to support you as a wellbeing governor so that school staff’s mental health is looked after at school 

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Guidance for school governors on finding a suitable coach for school leaders to support their wellbeing

Schools have experienced extraordinary turbulence over the past couple of years, with both staff and pupils facing a range of unprecedented challenges. Education leaders have confronted particularly intense mental, logistical, and economic burdens, which they will continue to carry for the foreseeable future.

Eteach Education Advisers Operations Directors Éamonn Whelan and Tony Markowski have created this guide for Governors for Schools to help school governors appoint external coaches to support school leaders during this difficult time.

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Wellbeing webinars

How and why school governors should support staff mental health and wellbeing

Our first webinar of the term explored the wellbeing and mental health challenges school staff face, what the duties and expectations of school governors are in addressing these, and how best to go about improving staff mental health and wellbeing from a strategic perspective. We were joined by an expert panel who shared their knowledge and experience in this area.

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What is staff mental health and wellbeing in a school setting?

School governors can help transform their schools’ approach to staff wellbeing and mental health. But before they can do so, school governors need some underlying knowledge and understanding of the terminology and issues involved. Read this article to gain an understanding of the issues and terminology around staff mental health in a school setting.

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Why should school governors care about school staff’s mental health and wellbeing?

Teachers have an inherently stressful job, and school governors should understand their role to help mitigate these aspects. In return, school governors can help create more positive working lives for teachers – and deliver better outcomes for pupils. So why is it important that school governors take an interest in their school’s policies and culture concerning staff wellbeing?

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Questions for school governors to introduce the topic of staff wellbeing and mental health

Asking questions is a key part of a school governor’s role, so we’ve put together a list of questions school governors can bring up in discussion with senior leadership at their school. While these questions are suggestions and are not exhaustive, the answers will enable school governors to begin to understand what the school is doing now and potential areas for improvement.

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Designing a staff wellbeing strategy

An effective staff wellbeing strategy is built upon the specific requirements of your staff, and the feedback gathered from surveying staff knowledge and opinion. Read this article for tips on how to design an effective staff wellbeing strategy.

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School leadership and school governors: improving staff wellbeing together

School governors are best able to provide support around mental health and wellbeing and work with them to ensure policies and culture are delivering for all staff, including leadership. Read this article for practical tips about how your governing board can prioritise staff wellbeing.

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Practical changes to improve staff wellbeing

Once policies have been created and wellbeing roles have been filled, there are many changes that schools can make that will have an impact on staff wellbeing. Read this article for ideas of simple and often low-cost ways to improve wellbeing culture at your school.

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Measuring Wellbeing: Mental Health Audits and Surveys

Creating an effective staff mental health and wellbeing strategy is reliant on two things: understanding the current provision, and understanding the needs and feelings of all staff members who will be relying upon it.

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Example staff wellbeing survey

We’ve put together an example survey for you to edit and make specific to your school. Use the template as a starting point for the kinds of questions and areas you should consider to improve staff wellbeing.

Open and download as an editable PDF

Open and edit as an Excel sheet

Embedding staff mental health and wellbeing in your school’s culture

Any school’s approach to staff mental health and wellbeing should be at the heart of the agenda. It should become integral to the school’s ethos and management culture. Read the article for the key things school governors should address.

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Minimising the effects of traumatic incidents on school staff

While thankfully rare, it’s still important that schools have done the necessary contingency planning and have sufficient support in place to deal with the psychological and social repercussions of a traumatic incident, for both pupils and staff.

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Staff wellbeing and parental engagement

Schools need policies in place and a culture that minimises friction between staff and parents, whilst maximising the power of an engaged and supportive parent community. Read the article to learn how best to achieve this, and how it leads to improved educational outcomes.

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School staff wellbeing – Impact report

Read about the impact the second term of the campaign, focusing on school staff’s mental health and wellbeing, has had on schools and volunteers.

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Free mental health support for school leaders from Education Support

School leaders have done a heroic job over the past 18 months and now is the time for them to prioritise their own wellbeing. Education Support is happy to announce continued mental health support for school leaders:

  • Facilitated peer support to safely reflect with other leaders
  • Individual telephone support to get emotional support on any issue

Apply now for free wellbeing support, these services are provided thanks to funding from DfE.