The wellbeing of our staff is hugely important to us at BGLC and something we are determined to look after as best as we can.   We know our staff are the most valuable resources in school for securing the best education for our young people and a warm learning environment for our whole community.  We very much believe in these two quotes from Sir Richard Branson:

“If you look after your staff, they will look after your business, it is that simple.”
“Train people well enough so that they can leave.  Treat them well enough so they don’t want to.”

Vicki Varney is the Senior Mental Health Lead on campus. If you have any suggestions or improvements to our mental health response for staff or students, please email or speak to Vicki. 

Our core belief is prevention of burnout and stress is the best approach and as such we have spent a lot of time looking at how we can protect our staff from unnecessary work and allow for a suitable work life balance.  We have pulled all our approaches together in our Workload Charter Document below.  You will see there is a wide range of approaches designed with staff at the heart of what we do.

BGLC Workload Charter                 BGLC Wellbeing Offer

Despite these approaches we know that life isn’t always straightforward and at times we will all face our own unique curve balls and at these times it is important to know that you have support that can be called upon.  We would always advise discussing issues with your line manager first but know there may be times you may feel uncomfortable doing that, in which case we have dedicated staff that you can seek support from, these being:

We also link into other support services that may be of use and offer mindfulness support to both staff and students at times of need.   

Sandy Colman is our contact here: mindfulself@outlook.com

Teaching staff – if you would like a session with Sandy, please contact her on the email address above and ask for cover from Karen Middleton with a meeting.

Support staff – if you would like a session with Sandy, please contact her on the email address above and tell your Line Manager that you are unavailable. You do not need to disclose the reason for your absence.

We also have access to counselling services too, should the need arise.  We will always do our best to support individual needs as they arise and appreciate that everyone’s circumstances will be different. 

Ultimately we want all our staff to know there is always support should you need it, please reach out to the staff identified and they will guide you towards the support we can offer and other services we have access to.  

Will Teece

To make sure you are well equipped for tackling the week ahead, we invite you to access the Mental Health at Work tips.  By clicking this link you will be able to:

  • Access all of our Mental Health Blogs
  • Watch our Stress Awareness Video Series with expert Julian Hall from Calm People
  • Read our Mental Health First Aid course feedback from HR representatives
  • Find out how best to assist and prevent panic attacks

Useful Websites/Apps

Staff at BGLC should be aware that we agree with the Department for Education’s Staff Wellbeing Charter (found here).  Staff wellbeing is important and central to our decision making.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1034032/DfE_Education_Workforce_Welbeing_Charter_Nov21.pdf?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery