Mount Carmel is committed to ensuring that staff health and wellbeing is a key school priority and consequently all our staff enjoy coming to work and feel equally valued and respected.
Our school strapline focused on family, faith and learning provide the foundation of our mission statement and is well known and truly lived as a school community.
We signed up to the Department for Education Wellbeing Charter in the autumn of 2021 and we continually strive to improve and enhance staff wellbeing, following the commitments outlined in the charter.
Our School Wellbeing Co-ordinator leads a well-established working party made up from all roles in school, who meet every half term to drive forward the wellbeing agenda in school.
We always risk assess changes of policy and practice with staff workload in mind. We regularly consult with all staff on a range of issues and undertake annual staff surveys to monitor and evaluate our wellbeing programme. The feedback from staff surveys really does help shape school policy and practice and is captured in our Staff Health & Wellbeing action plan. To ensure staff health and wellbeing is a high priority by school leaders and governors it is included in our School Improvement Plan.
In January 2025, 89% of staff who completed the survey agreed that health & wellbeing is a priority in school and 87% agreed that we have an effective wellbeing programme in place.
We are currently looking at how to further reduce staff workload and also reviewing our flexible working arrangements across the whole staff body with a view to making further wellbeing improvements for staff.
Wellbeing Programme Initiatives
Below are some of the Wellbeing Programme initiatives that regularly take place at Mount Carmel;
- Discount for Teachers access
- Employee Assistance Programme Plus subscription. 24 hour/365 days support: – legal/emotional/financial. Access to tailored website and resources for staff and family members.
- Blues & Two’s in school promotion for staff savings/loans
- Staff attendance at LA retirement courses
- AVC’s– My Money Matters (LGPS members)
- Blue Light Card
- Flexible Working Policy in place and updated annually
- Wellbeing Vouchers for paid leave annually
- Mental Health awareness information/Mental Health awareness weeks
- Employee Assistance Programme Plus subscription. 24 hour/365 days support: – legal/emotional/financial. Access to tailored website and resources for staff and family members.
- Free NHS health Checks in school
- Mental Health First Aider /Wellbeing Champion in school
- Work Related Stress Policy in place
- Staff walking group
- Flu Jabs free for all staff
- Workplace wellbeing app via Optima Health. Wellbeing app and Wellbeing Hub
- Workplace Wellbeing Calendar – monthly initiatives
- Working party since 2018 – half termly meetings approx. 12/14 members from across school.
- Staff Wellbeing Policy in place and updated annually.
- Staff Wellbeing Surveys annually
- Staff Wellbeing action plan – formed from Staff Wellbeing survey sent out annually
- Staff Wellbeing included in the SIP
- Staff suggestions: wellbeing party review first then SLT for approval
- Staff Wellbeing newsletter – termly
- Recently refurbished staff kitchen and dining area, including new dining room furniture
- Staff outdoor picnic area
- Car valeting on site
- Reduced loadings on timetables
- Signed up to DofE Wellbeing Charter autumn 2021
- Staff consultation’s i.e. workload/behaviour/holiday pattern
- Golden week – end of summer term annually – no meetings/staff wellbeing initiatives
- Free breakfast weekly
- Free refreshments/biscuits all day
- Inset Gifts – start of school year
- Staff attendance awards
- Staff recognition awards
- Cups of love
- Winter wellbeing
- Regular communication re events across the local area and Lancashire wide
- Staff book club
- Christmas/Spring/Summer staff competitions and wellbeing initiatives