Staff Wellbeing
At Kippax Ash Tree we believe that good staff wellbeing is essential for cultivating a mentally healthy school, for retaining and motivating staff and for promoting pupil wellbeing and attainment. There's never been a more important time to support school staff wellbeing. Below are some things we do at Kippax Ash Tree to support staff wellbeing:
- We have a Senior Mental Health Lead with the responsibility for staff wellbeing.
- We promote openness about mental health in our school.
- We offer supervision.
- We signpost staff to supportive services.
- We look at simple ways to reduce workload.
- We provide spaces for staff to be non child facing at break times and lunch times.
- We send a annual staff wellbeing survey.
- PPA is timetabled and is consistent week on week to support staff's routines and organisation.
- We create a sense of belonging through out the school (e.g. through team development opportunities).
- Staff recognition and praise is part of our school’s culture.
- Tea, coffee and milk is available daily for all staff (including treats on the staff treat trolley).
- We provide excellent training and development opportunities for staff at every level.
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Teaching, Learning, Planning and Curriculum:
- Published Curriculum ensure you don’t have to plan what to do – just how to do it
- No pressure to put on a show – no observation gradings
- LTP curriculum planned and provided for all year groups
- Schemes of work to be adapted to fit the needs of your children
- Teachers plan their best apporaches to learning in their classrooms
- Adaptation – teach from the top model with some children requiring more support than others
- Every year group has a member of support staff
- In house Speech and Language intervention
- Whole school approach to Personal Development and nurture
Behaviour:
- Everyone has the highest of expectations with behaviour – all staff not just teaching staff
- Clear consistent behaviour systems, silent signals and school rules
- SLT run Keep Calm club at lunch times
- Try to use internal cover to cover teachers where possible
- Pivotal positive behaviour system
- SLT ‘on call’ to support with behaviour conversations
Assessment:
- Give as much valuable oral feedback where possible- we use messy marking systems
- ‘No more marking’ national moderation activities for writing
- Marking is for one audience and one audience only – never tick and flick
- We never ask for the same data to be entered twice
- Reports to parents are about the child as a person – not restating the curriculum covered and that is taken care of by Dojo
- Dojo allows for positive parent and teacher relationships to build
- Training days used for the analysis of data and development of planned approaches alongside curriculum learners
- 3 data drops per year, assessments provided by BLP
Professional Development:
- CPD tailored to staff needs, all staff receive little but often CPD during directed time through deliberate practice morning meetings
- Staff meeting time to put things in to action- no meeting that could be an e-mail
- Assessment update time given to staff
- CPD for support staff team delivered via paid training days
- In house subject leadership allowing for leaders to be in house experts in their leadership field and support other staff (SENCO lead, Maths lead etc)
- Targeted support plans for teachers who need some extra support and development
- Limited number of meetings before or after school ; as and when basis
- Develop leadership positions amongst middle leaders and beyond into the MAT – wher the focus is upon ‘ building our own’
- Access to Apprenticeships, NPQs and other CPD supported across school
- Comprehensive support for ECTs with dedicated mentors and regular meetings.
- Comprehensive support for Red Kite students with dedicated mentors and regular meetings.
- Performance management meetings – data targets are aspirational – we begin with the assumption that everyone will get a pay rise unless they haven’t done all they can to improve pupil outcomes.
Staff Wellbeing:
- There are no prizes for staying late – work in a way that suits you and allows you to make time for your family and yourself.
- Opportunities for staff wellbeing check-ins
- No expectation of answering emails outside school time
- 7pm-7am email curfew
- Constantly trying the streamline processes so systems take less time. We never add anything to the workload without asking ‘what can we take away?’
- No tick box culture – never do anything unless it’s going to make a positive difference
- Surveys for staff – honest opinions how can we improve?
- Staff shout out board
- A culture of positive praise (Pivotal green and gold behaviour system)
- Open door SLT – no problem is too small
- Staff social events out of school hours
- School dogs and tortoise offer everyone some nurture
- Seasonal event for everyone to showcase their less serious side – Themed days, Talent Shows, Christmas Jumper Day etc …
- Thank you Staff breakfasts/ lunch on training days
- Lunches are provided for those eating with the children
- Child Care Voucher and Cycle to work offer
- PPA with colleague teacher to share the load.
- Lieu time for support staff coming to additional training beyond paid hours
- Staff can visit the FareShare ‘pay as you feel’ shop
- End of term collective activities in the hall to support with the ‘end of term-ness’ led by SLT
- All Assemblies led by SLT
- SLT take groups for Y6 before and after school to help out with the learning
- DHTs available to model, team teacher as needed
- Weekly thank you’s shared in staff briefing and on briefing notes
- Access to SEMH services made available to all staff at all times
- Planned lunch time rota with range of activities to keep children engaged and busy as lunch times
- Year 6 roles and responsibilities provides extra help around school, librarians, play leaders, Computer Clubs – overseen by SLT
Key Documents
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