Mental Health and Wellbeing - The DfE Wellbeing Charter

Hello everyone, welcome to our next wellbeing blog. 

This month we are focusing on the newly announced DfE Wellbeing Charter.

At Prospect House, we have used the ‘5 ways to wellbeing’ as a framework for our approach to Mental health and wellbeing. This comprises of

5 different elements:

Connect - Making time for relationships with friends, family and colleagues and elsewhere within your community.

Be active - Exercising, physical activity and enjoying good health.

Take notice - Being aware of the world around you and reflecting on your experiences.

Keep learning - Trying new things and challenging yourself.

Give - Doing something nice for others, volunteering, making yourself and others happy

 

The education staff wellbeing charter is a declaration of support for, and set of commitments to, the wellbeing and mental health of everyone working in education.

The charter is for education staff in England. This includes temporary and support staff. All state funded schools and colleges are invited to sign up to the charter, as a shared commitment to protect, promote and enhance the wellbeing of their staff.

Sign up is voluntary and there is no deadline to sign up.

The charter was co-created by:

• members of the education sector including:
  • unions (NEU, ASCL, NASUWT, NAHT, Voice Community, Unison)
  • the Association of Colleges
  • Local Government Association
  • Mind
  • Education Support
  • Tapton School
  • Learning in Harmony Trust
  • Charles Dickens Primary School
  • Kensington Primary School
  • Meadow High School
  • Reaseheath College
• the Department for Education (DfE)
• Ofsted

About the charter

The charter:

• was created by the education sector to highlight staff wellbeing in the education sector
• is a tool for schools and colleges to create, and publicly commit to, their own wellbeing strategies
• is a declaration to protect, promote and enhance the wellbeing and mental health of everyone working in state education
• includes commitments on education staff wellbeing by DfE and Ofsted
• sets out principles of shared understanding on the meaning and importance of wellbeing and everyone’s roles and responsibilities
• sends a message to everyone working in schools and colleges that their wellbeing and mental health matters
• aims to improve wellbeing in schools and colleges by encouraging debate and accountability

Prospect House will use the charter to:

• show staff that we take their wellbeing seriously
• open a conversation with staff about their wellbeing and mental health
• create a staff wellbeing strategy
• create a wellbeing-focused culture

We have already undertaken significant work into staff wellbeing and mental health and this will further solidify our commitment to all that is listed above – watch this space for more exciting updates soon!