The Well-Being Programme

Linden Bridge School, Surrey

When Rachel Watt first met Worklife Support she was a new Deputy and Linden Bridge was already ranked by OFSTED as one of twelve Outstanding Special Schools Excelling Through Inclusion (2009).
Despite this, the school did not rest on its laurels. Rachel was interested in people management and issues of work-life balance and the school at first set up their own well-being committee to look at their policies and explore negative self-beliefs. However, it quickly became apparent that without a formal structure in place the school was opening up a can of worms. Staff were expecting the well-being committee and the leadership team to find solutions for any issues raised, we became like agony aunts! Rachel said. Rachel was drawn to the confidential nature and structure of the Worklife Support Well-Being Programme and its links with other initiatives including coaching and encouraging self-responsibility and, with the commitment and backing of the Headteacher Ronwen Smith, the school embarked upon the Programme. Although the first Survey revealed that Linden Bridge was in the top decile of national ratings, the school worked with the Worklife Support consultant to focus on any anomalies the data highlighted. Areas for improvement were then prioritised by all staff, not just the managers.

Rachel Watt and Ronwen Smith

Communication
Understanding the value of a quick win, a simple solution was found to ensure noticeboards were used for clear, concise communication. New ones were bought and given designated owners to cover areas such as News, Weekly Bulletin, Administration, Well-Being, Catering and Social. A new website has been introduced and is updated each half term by designated owners. Now all key policies, such as fairness and dignity at work, code of conduct and the equality scheme are electronically held and have replaced numerous paper based folders. A larger issue was that of ensuring a consistent message was heard by all staff, Teachers, Teaching Assistants (TAs), Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) and care staff at the numerous meetings held throughout the school. These meetings were rationalised and this has had an enormous impact. Morning briefings held by the Head were reduced to two a week, freeing up Tuesday and Friday for class meetings which were now held at a time when Teachers, TAs and SNAs could attend together and get involved. Previously Tuesday meetings had included separate department meetings, often followed by a full staff meeting or training. The decision was made to separate the two.
Well-Being Team Rachel Watt (Deputy Head), Ronwen Smith (Headteacher), Caroline Welford (Special Needs Support Assistant), Theresa Donnelly (Teaching Assistant) Marie ORorke, (Outreach Teacher). Absent from Photo: Becky Bowls (Care Worker), Gemma Godfroy (Class Teacher).

The school recognised the power of the Survey data: Its like holding up a mirror, allowing staff to express their views and see them reflected back in a formalised way. It was amazing. Before, we would have planned change and presented it to our staff. This way may take more time and effort but everyone was empowered

The Well-Being Survey encouraged us all to become more reflective and take joint responsibility for finding solutions. I became more assertive, but not less sensitive, and had more confidence in dealing with negativity.
Rachel Watt

Case Study

Department business is now covered in Wednesday morning meetings allowing SNAs to attend. This means that everyone can be involved in change strategy and decisions: We come up with some amazing ideas its like we were only using half a brain before! Theresa Donnelly, Teaching and Welfare Assistant. Teachers and TAs are both involved in Tuesday evening meetings which focus on CPD, coaching, mentoring and planning. The School has made the investment of paying TAs overtime to attend as this was seen as key to ensure both Teachers and TAs are fully involved in change and also reflected the importance of the role they play in the classroom.

A half day INSET with time off in lieu was introduced to address these issues. All staff appreciated the consultation process in that it allowed them to draw conclusions themselves and to identify subsequent actions focusing on what they could do.

View from a Teaching and Welfare Assistant

Theresa Donnelly has really valued the structure that the Well-Being Programme has given her and other staff to voice their opinions, highlight areas for development and document progress within a timeframe. Its really helped us understand the different strengths and weaknesses, stresses and strains of different roles, and to be more tolerant. She feels the Well-Being Programme has taken performance management to another level and Teaching Assistants can focus on professional development for their job and their own progression. Its a long way from being seen as the ones who put things away and do the washing up! Theresa explained how they now explore different areas such as assessing childrens different levels of development and providing tasks more suited to the child. In terms of an Autism strategy there is now a team approach as TAs feel they are empowered to be involved. Such is the success of the work at Linden Bridge Theresa and other TAs now work with TAs in other schools to help empower them within their roles.

The process was great everyone was involved and there was total transparency with the end result of setting a rigorous performance management system in place. The Employee Assistance Programme
Worklife Support for you, the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is actively promoted throughout the school. Leaflets and posters can be found in communal areas, on the Well-Being noticeboard and even on the back of toilet doors!

Performance management
Performance management for Teaching Assistants was another area identified for exploration and development. Rather than address this in isolation, Marie ORourke, (teacher representative on the Well-Being Team) linked it to her Leadership Pathways Programme and it became the focus of her school-based project. She engaged with staff on styles of learning, linking this to the National Occupational Standards for Support Staff as well as setting targets in line with whole school improvement. Support staff work in one of two distinct areas: either as TAs or as SNAs. The TAs help with the planning of learning, and work at NVQ Level 3 which helps to provide a structure for a performance management framework. The TAs looked at this and linked their job specification, standards and objectives whilst creating a framework of observation and tasks. SNAs are deployed on a needs basis to support children with additional difficulties. However, without the formality of a qualification framework, performance management can be seen as less rigorous and this creates a real difference between TAs and SNAs.

Worklife Support for you - its like our 4th emergency service
Theresa Donnelly

The EAP is a free, confidential telephone counselling and support service which is available to every member of staff. Theresa explains that one colleague recently had a very stressful time finding alternative residential care provision for her severely disabled brother who was about to be rehoused several miles away in substandard accommodation. One quick phone call gave her peace of mind and access to a lawyer who gave her clear guidance on the health and safety aspects of the issue and the fact her brother needed to be locally based to be near to both her and her elderly parents.

Next Steps
Although already recognised as an outstanding special school, Linden Bridge continues to keep focused on managing change and on developing a committed staff. The School Leadership Team feels that the Worklife Support WellBeing Programme has strengthened team work and helped them to continue to ensure they develop education that meets the needs of the children.

What we do
We work with schools and other organisations to help achieve their full potential. We do this by taking a structured approach focusing on the wellbeing and effectiveness of staff. Our many years experience working both at an organisational level and with individual employees puts us in a unique position to enable effective change.

Get in touch
Worklife Support Ltd Suite G, Maples Business Centre, 144 Liverpool Road, London N1 1LA T: 0845 873 5680 (office hours 8.30 to 5.00) F: 0845 873 5685 E: info@worklifesupport.com
Company registered in England and Wales 03840751. Registered for VAT GB-752664907.

Find out more at www.worklifesupport.com