"We want being part of the HARI team and The Harris Federation to be part of a life journey and to contribute to a sense of worth and personal growth."

Below you can find the entire contents of the 'Staff wellbeing policy 2021.'

If you are a member of staff please complete our Wellbeing Policy Consultation

The pdf version is downloadable from the bottom of this page 

Staff well-being policy

Principles

At Harris Academy Riverside we expect all adults to role model outstanding habits of behaviour and outstanding habits of learning. We also expect adults to act with kindness, compassion and empathy towards students and each other.

It is therefore incumbent on the academy to treat its staff with the same standards of care and respect.

According to the NEU’s 2017 workload survey, 81% of teachers considered leaving the profession in in the previous year due to workload. Additionally, a survey carried out by the BBC in 2015 found that 83% of teachers had experienced workplace stress.  

The COVID 19 pandemic has only increased such stresses and placed further strain on systems and processes.

Harris Academy Riverside is therefore committed to doing all it can to identify, highlight, monitor, assess, mitigate and minimise such stresses and to provide assistance to members of staff who may be suffering any kind of adverse effects on wellbeing.

The academy accepts the Health and Safety Executive definition of work-related stress as “the adverse reaction a person has to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed on them.” This is a clear distinction from what would be considered ‘reasonable pressures’ which stimulate and motivate employees and ‘stress’ where an individual feels they are unable to cope with ‘excessive pressures’ or demands placed upon them.  

Approach

In order to ensure that our approach to wellbeing is broad and comprehensive, the academy follows a model based on a legitimate and widely accepted models of workplace motivation; Maslow’s Heirarchy of Needs.

In consultation with staff, leaders and governors, the academy has developed five layers of wellbeing based on the five stages of Maslow’s pyramid;

1. Fundamental basic needs
2. Belonging
3. Respect of others
4. Self Esteem
5. Self-actualisation

The academy aims to consider and improve wellbeing in each of these five layers as follows;

 

Workload

The academy recognises that there are many factors in a traditional secondary environment which can cause undue workload, stress and anxiety; the academy works to organise itself and actively to find innovative ways to reduce undue workload, as follows;

Members of the senior leadership team relieve the traditional workload of teachers by carrying out the following tasks;

• creating and maintaining whole academy and subject displays in corridors and in class rooms;
• quality assuring, editing and working with subject planners on schemes of work and prep;
• making pastoral and behaviour calls to parents;
• analysing data;
• producing, processing and publishing parent reports;
• handling all subject and whole academy budgets;
• designing seating plans;
• stocking class rooms with stationery and exercise books;
• creating models and templates for planners to follow and
• writing initial plans and resources for new or extra-curricular initiatives such as RSE curriculum, student briefings and safeguarding briefings.

Other ways in which the academy attempts to reduce undue workload are;

• publishing deadlines and requirements well in advance;
• encouraging collaborative planning;
• restricting the collection of assessment data to twice per year;
• maintaining a marking policy which does not require marking to be carried out outside of timetabled lesson times (except in respect of external assessments and in year 11 and 13;)
• maintaining a policy where no homework needs to be set or marked (except in years 11 and 13; )
• reducing the need for duties by employing a dedicated non-teaching pastoral team and restricting requests to carry out duties to class room staff who are under teaching load and
• maintaining a policy of rare unplanned cover.

Authorities

The academy believes that this policy meets and goes beyond the recommendations of the publication by the Department for Education in conjunction with education unions including the NEU, and OFSTED as update in July 2020 ‘Reducing school workload’ in its three main areas of focus;

• marking,
• planning and resources and
• data management

Roles and responsibilities:

All members of the HARI team

All members of the HARI team are responsible for considering staff wellbeing at the forefront of their daily thinking, their planning and their execution of daily duties including

• treating everyone with respect and kindness;
• looking after the environment;
• maintaining a positive atmosphere;
• taking part as a team member and
• following routines and expectations.

In particular, all adults in the academy have a responsibility to raise potential wellbeing issues to their line managers with openness and honesty and without delay.

Senior Leadership Team

All members of the senior leadership team are responsible for highlighting, discussing, monitoring and dealing with issues of staff wellbeing through their roles as line mangers.

Staff Wellbeing Lead:

Mr J Ward is the Staff Wellbeing Lead.

The Staff Wellbeing Lead is responsible for the operational implementation of this policy;

• promoting and ensuring that members of the HARI team are aware of and have access to the resources outlined in this policy;
• collecting, monitoring, and responding to feedback and consultation on this policy and its provisions;
• reporting to the senior leadership team on matters of staff wellbeing arising from new developments, initiatives or research and
• maintaining a research and evidence based response to the changing climate of staff wellbeing and the needs of the HARI team;

Governor Responsibility:

Mr. T. Moore is the Staff Wellbeing governor and is responsible for;

• monitoring the workload of the Principal;
• monitoring the workload of the Senior Leadership team;
• receiving any concerns from members of staff where the employee prefers not to inform a member of the senior leadership team or the Principal;
• ensuring that the academy has the resources needed;
• reviewing this policy in conjunction with the Principal and
• ensuring that other academy policies do not contradict the aims of the wellbeing policy.

Consultation

The staff wellbeing policy will be subject to consultation with all members of the HARI team from time to time and prior to each annual review.

The consultation will be arranged by the Staff Wellbeing Lead and its findings reported to The Principal prior to the annual review.