Staff Health & Wellbeing: Part 10 - Getting help

In 1942, liberal economist William Beveridge published a report on ways to address the ‘five giants on the road to post-war reconstruction’ – want (poverty), disease, ignorance, squalor (poor housing) and idleness (unemployment). Given the impact of the pandemic on all aspects of life, there have been calls for a similar overhaul of social policy to raise current and future wellbeing.

Children’s Commissioner for England Rachel de Souza published a review of the future of childhood inspired by the Beveridge report in September 2021. Her report calls for a Government commitment to creating 50,000 new apprenticeship starts, community mental health hubs and a package of measures to reduce child and family poverty. Meanwhile, Sir Michael Marmot published Build Back Fairer in December 2020, with recommendations including increasing pay and qualification requirements for the childcare workforce.

A raft of initiatives and schemes have been developed, both national and local, to support the wellbeing of children and adults. The question is how much of this support comprises ad hoc initiatives aiming to plug a gap but without long-term funding, and how much is sustainable and represents lasting change. There are a number of tools and resources which early years settings can use to support staff wellbeing, although the uniqueness of the sector means general workforce resources are not always applicable or relatable.

According to feedback given to the NDNA, when it comes to resources, the majority of settings value a space for reflection and sharing their experiences with others. Any support or resources need to be easily accessed and delivered in bite-size chunks – bearing in mind the time constraints nurseries face. Practitioners also valued being signposted to resources.

The Early Years Alliance says from apprentices to managers, opportunities to share experiences have been key to reducing stress and anxiety, so maintaining this during the pandemic through interactive online sessions has been important.

Mental health

The pandemic has fast-tracked a number of schemes such as the 24/7 NHS mental health crisis helplines.

Able Futures (https://able-futures.co.uk) is a nationwide specialist partnership set up to provide a free Access to Work Mental Health Support Service on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions. Vocational rehabilitation consultants offer a free nine-month support plan including regular meetings and telephone calls. There is also specific support available for apprenticeship providers.

The Mental Health Foundation toolkit Our Frontline: Support for Key and Essential Workers (https://bit.ly/3JVCdMK) is aimed at key workers. Resources include Shout – anyone needing support should text ‘KEYWORKER’ to 85258 or call 116 123.

Time to Change is a social movement launched in 2007. Although it ended in March 2021, there is still a toolkit of resources available (https://bit.ly/3FbQhhL).

Some setting managers have accessed support from local authorities, including free mental health first-aid training (see box), although this varies from area to area. Southampton City Council, for example, has run a Wellbeing@Work programme (https://bit.ly/3ncnq6B). ‘It provided a support network where you could share ideas with other companies,’ says Catherine Baker, curriculum and quality lead at Paint Pots Preschool and Nursery in Southampton. ‘They also shared information about local charities that we could signpost staff to for further support.’

The charity Mind’s website is flagged up by many settings as a useful resource (https://bit.ly/3n89vOT) and includes a Workplace Wellbeing Index enabling employers to celebrate the good work they are doing to promote staff mental wellbeing, and get further support. ‘There are free useful guides on taking care of yourself, taking care of your staff, and information resources for workplace wellbeing,’ says Baker.

Physical health

Nurseries might like to point practitioners towards the NHS and the Government’s recommendations on exercise (www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise) and healthy eating (https://bit.ly/3n8lHiY), or use them to develop wellbeing support.

Many settings have found Physical Activity and Nutrition Coordinator training invaluable for supporting practitioners’ health and wellbeing (https://bit.ly/3FbUiCE). Developed by PurpleBee Learning, the qualification has been designed to promote positive nutrition and physical activity among staff and children.

PurpleBee also offers Start Life Well, an online toolkit and award scheme that ensures that the whole setting reinforces the value of physical activity, healthy eating and emotional wellbeing in everything it does. Resources include CPD, an assessment of existing nutrition and physical activity policy and practice and a personalised blueprint for making improvements across the setting.

Stress can have an impact on sleep, while lack of sleep can contribute to stress and ill-health. The Sleep Foundation’s Sleep Diary can be useful in helping staff to monitor their sleep patterns and identify issues that might be impacting their sleep (https://bit.ly/3JScu8d). The organisation also has advice on how to improve sleep (https://bit.ly/3ndNChs).

Financial health

Nursery World research carried out before the pandemic revealed that more than one in ten practitioners live in poverty, with a household income of £17,000 or less. The pandemic is likely to have made things worse for many households, and the Institute for Fiscal Studies has reported that income inequality is set to increase. Financial insecurity can drive stress levels, something that was highlighted in the Early Years Alliance’s Mind Matters research and which has led some practitioners to leave the sector.

The NDNA says that members report a gap when it comes to support for financial health. MoneyHelper (www.moneyhelper.org.uk) is a Government-backed resource which settings can signpost staff towards. Advisors can provide support and guidance around pensions, budgeting, debt, borrowing, mortgages and other issues.

Focus on early years

In July 2021, the Anna Freud Centre published Early years staff wellbeing: A resource for managers and teams (https://bit.ly/3K8ew4f), which includes information on writing a wellbeing policy and putting ideas into action. NDNA made its template staff wellbeing policy available to everyone.

Early Years Alliance’s Building a Resilient Workforce in the Early Years (https://bit.ly/3r2Vl2R) acknowledges the common causes of low mental health and wellbeing in the sector and focuses on the steps early years providers and practitioners can take to help prevent this, including guidance and advice on improving workplace practices and providing support to colleagues. The organisation also runs Alliance Connect events (https://bit.ly/3GeVFlo), networking sessions which focus on issues including mental health and wellbeing.

NDNA offers a 1.5-hour online course, Nurturing Well-being and Resilience for all Staff (https://bit.ly/3tdaql3), which includes a workplace wellbeing survey so practitioners can reflect and take ownership of their own wellbeing at work. Other relevant courses include the online training Managing Time Effectively (https://bit.ly/3GbPnmA), and face-to-face management course Supporting Staff Well-being and Resilience in Early Years (https://bit.ly/3F6YkMB). The organisation’s publication, Supervisions and Appraisals, also contains guidance on supporting staff (https://bit.ly/331Ff1m).

Mental health first-aid training

Many settings have found Mental Health First Aid training to have a positive impact on staff wellbeing, training one or more practitioner in each setting to be a mental health first-aider with the skills, knowledge and confidence to recognise the signs and symptoms of common mental health issues and signpost a person to further support.

The evidence-based Mental Health First Aid Program began in Australia in 2000 and has now been delivered in 24 countries. In England, social enterprise Mental Health First Aid England (mhfaengland.org) is the licensed training provider and offers online and face-to-face training.

Rebecca Tinker, director of Little Tinkers in Stockport, and her nursery manager undertook the training in 2020, funded by Millie’s Trust. ‘It covered all sorts of areas, looking at anxiety, depression, psychosis, self-harm and other issues,’ she says. ‘It is a very good qualification to have, very in-depth.’ However, Tinker felt that while the course was valuable, it concentrated on the ‘worst case scenario’ side of mental health, when people are in crisis. She decided to undertake a Level 2 qualification in Understanding Young People’s Mental Health, which she says gave her more of an overview of ‘low-level rumblings’ that might be a sign of the need for early interventions. She also undertook a Virtual College course, Supporting Your Staff Through Mental Health (https://bit.ly/3GggWuY).

These training courses have caused a shift in workplace culture, says Tinker. ‘In the past there may have been a feeling that personal and professional lives are very different spaces, but now we are unpicking that and realising if something is going on for our staff personally, it absolutely affects them professionally,’ she says.