Wistaston Church Lane Academy

Initiatives to support staff wellbeing

As well as a reasonable working expectation, the school offers various initiatives intended to support staff wellbeing. The list of initiatives include: 

Leadership

• Clear and visible school leaders who take the time to listen and get to know you
• Reasonable and fair expectations
• A performance management process designed to encourage personal growth
• Weekly staff briefing to improve communication
• Continuing professional development for all staff members
• No expectation to reply to emails at unsociable hours

 Non-contact time

• Protected PPA Half day - taken off site if needed, and time with a colleague wherever possible
• Subject leader release time

 Feedback and Marking

• Revised feedback and marking policy to reduce marking commitment but ensure maximum impact for the children’s learning - reviewed annually
• Revised home practice so that is more internet based to reduce teacher marking workload

 Assessment and Reporting

• Removal of Mid-Year Reviews as we felt it created work for little work for impact
• End of Year Report reduced in size

 Planning

• No individual lesson plans and no requirement to hand in short term plans
• Short term planning formats are entirely up to the teacher
• Time offered to Teaching Assistants to plan Phonics
• Non-contact time for class cover Teaching Assistants

 Lesson Observations

• A typical maximum of three lesson visits a year and these are not used for performance management, i.e. not used in isolation for pay progression decisions

 Comforts

• Free tea and coffee
• Staff meeting time back in relation to residentials
• Where appropriate, twilights will be used instead of an INSET day
• Colleagues can leave straight after school as long as they are up-to-date with things
• Staff Shout Out Board
• Free Christmas dinner/Easter dinner
• Free staff wellbeing support including 24-hour GP line, counselling and free physiotherapy sessions
• Employee benefit scheme giving discounts at shops
• Fair policies regarding dependents leave
• Regular staff social events
• An annual collection of funds from all staff members which will be used to pay for gifts at difficult times and for special occasions
• Comfortable staff room
• PPA room available

 Unique to Church Lane

• Low exclusions and well-behaved children
• We listen to feedback and act on it where it is felt reasonable and practical, e.g. removal of Take Part Days as colleagues felt it was a lot of work for little gain
• Resources, like whiteboard pens and glue sticks available at all times