Five tips to prioritise wellbeing for education staff this World Mental Health Day

The importance of staff wellbeing

When it comes to supporting children and young people’s mental wellbeing, we all know that you can’t pour from an empty cup. But what if you work in a sector where the cup can sometimes feel hard to keep full?

Working in a school or college, we know that this can sometimes be the case. Here at Anna Freud, our researchers learned in a recent survey¹ that when trying to implement a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing the most difficult aspect to maintain was staff wellbeing, itself.

So, to mark World Mental Health Day on 10 October – and this year’s theme ‘it’s time to prioritise wellbeing at work’ - we have brought together some tips and resources to help prioritise staff wellbeing in your school or college, today and always.

We recognise that many schools and colleges are already working hard to champion the wellbeing of their staff. However, we hope that our guides serve as a useful reminder of what’s possible, whether you’re part of a school or college leadership team or you want simply to start this important conversation with your colleagues.

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1. Promote work-life balance

When you have a busy, high-pressure job, it’s easy for a good work-life balance to be put on the backburner, but this is why it’s even more crucial.

Prioritising work-life balance in education settings is vital. This might include reviewing workloads, implementing email protocols, having protected time for breaks, and promoting flexible working arrangements where possible.

It can also help to earmark time to socialise more informally with other colleagues. This might be through team breakfasts, weekly coffee mornings, staff away days or free/low-cost activities, such as mindfulness sessions or sports clubs.

2. Develop an open, positive and inclusive culture (together)

A mentally healthy school or college is one that has at its foundation a feeling of belonging, openness and mutual acceptance, particularly when discussing mental wellbeing.

While creating this open culture might be led by a senior mental health lead (read more about this below), it requires senior leadership and all staff to create a supportive environment where effective communication and honest feedback are prioritised.

3. A supportive physical environment

The physical spaces we spend our time in can have a surprising effect on mental wellbeing, including at work.

Where it is practically possible, this involves ensuring spaces are accessible, catering to staff members’ different needs, and promoting a sense of comfort, collaboration and productivity.

Although it may be impossible to change the nature of your buildings, smaller decisions can make a huge difference. Consider providing amenities like comfortable seating, ergonomic furniture, and kitchen facilities such as snacks and teas.

Consider factors such as lighting, noise levels, and areas for both social interaction and quiet work or reflection. Designating a relaxing, reflective space that is available for staff when needed can be particularly helpful.

4. Embedding a senior mental health lead

Having a senior member of staff lead on mental health and wellbeing will ensure that it remains a priority for everyone and that a whole school or college approach can be embedded across the community including for staff making it much easier to create a positive and open culture around talking about mental wellbeing. They can also help staff to:

• understand the importance of looking after their own mental wellbeing

• access resources and learn strategies to support their own wellbeing

• know how to seek further support where necessary.

It’s important to note that no one can embed a whole-school or college approach to mental wellbeing alone. Senior mental health leads will need support from both the leadership team and school or college governors.

Senior mental health leads can find out more about our CPD-accredited and Department for Education-assured training.

5. Develop a staff wellbeing policy

It can be helpful to create a mental health and wellbeing policy for everyone in your school or college – staff, students and parents and carers alike.

It can cover a range of areas including work-life balance, stress management, support mechanisms and procedures for addressing mental health concerns.

It should also take account of the fact that some staff, such as those who are neurodivergent, LGBTQI+, and from racially minoritised groups may be disproportionately affected by mental wellbeing difficulties.

We’ve brought together guidance on supporting staff from racially minoritised groups.

Extra support

If you feel your school or college would benefit from extra support, our early support service may be able to help.

We offer an online emotional wellbeing service, which takes a whole-school approach to mental health. The service is for young people aged 11-25 experiencing mild to moderate mental health difficulties, like anxiety and low mood, and the trusted adults around them. This includes help for education staff to support their own wellbeing. School and College staff can access up to two individual online consultations per term, as well as on-demand support webinars on staff wellbeing and other wellbeing themes.

Learn about our Schools and Colleges Early Support Service

We hope you found our tips helpful. For more in-depth guidance, check out some more of our resources:

• Ten ways to support staff wellbeing resource

• Mentally Healthy Schools October toolkit, focusing on staff wellbeing resources for leadership and staff

• Supporting Staff section of our 5 Steps whole-school approach

• Schools in Mind network and Facebook group

Anna Freud has been supporting children and young people’s mental health for more than 70 years. We listen to and learn from their diverse voices, and integrate this with learnings from our science and practice to develop and deliver mental health care, including schools support. Read why adopting a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing is so important in our Thinking differently manifesto.

References

2024 Anna Freud Annual Schools and Colleges Survey