Recently PATA were fortunate enough to be invited to a Healthy Workplace event hosted by the VSC Alliance who are an organisation set up to represent the voice of the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises of Gloucestershire.
We went along to the event with interest and were introduced to a whole host of wonderful, useful, free and easy to access services to signpost staff to regarding healthy living and wellbeing, which we wanted to share with you, our members.
In March 2023 AXA conducted a survey about stress in the workplace which highlighted some concerning statistics:
- Work related stress cost the UK £28,000,000,000 in 2022
- 47% of the country are struggling with mental wellbeing.
Early Years and Out of School settings are already stretched for time, resources and money and being able to adequately address the problem of the wellbeing of their staff and volunteers can feel like an insurmountable challenge. The danger is that it is so overwhelming that it just gets ignored or put to the bottom of a long ‘to-do’ list and it’s never addressed. With the recruitment and retention issues in the sector (including for managers!) you can’t afford not to be looking after the health and wellbeing of your team.
The NHS mental health and wellbeing provision locally and nationally is already stretched to maximum capacity, with people seeking help being put on waiting lists for up to 6 months or longer to access free or affordable support. This can be soul destroying and worsen the mental health of an individual. Settings need to be able to signpost their staff towards quick, accessible resources that can care for their immediate requirements.
Here are a few options that we’ve heard about which might help:
The Wellbeing Line provides a confidential mental health and wellbeing support for anyone working within health and social care in Gloucestershire. They confirmed to us that they would include anyone working in the Early Years or Playwork (OOSC) sector in their remit. It was set up in November 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic to provide support to health and social care staff in a proactive, rapid way. When the initial funding stopped, Gloucestershire ICB (Integrated Care Board) decided that it would fund The Wellbeing Line for another year until March 2024 and they are hoping to continue for the long term as they recognise it as a valuable resource.
Their phone lines are currently open 9:00am – 4:30pm Monday to Thursdays and 9:00am to 12:30pm on a Friday and there is also an email contact. They say that 100% of their initial contacts are answered within two days and up to 78% of their calls for help are currently responded to in one day. They did emphasise that they aren’t a crisis service so if you have a staff member in a crisis situation (i.e. they need immediate and urgent help) they should go through the NHS crisis team.
As well as support for individuals they also offer consultations with managers and leaders, which might be you looking for advice on how to support a team member, or something more specific or at an organisational level. Their wellbeing team also run health and wellbeing champions forums which you can take part in (so why not have someone from within your setting designated as the champion).
The service can be accessed confidentially and free of charge on 0300 421 7500, email: hello@thewellbeingline.co.uk or Visit: www.thewellbeingline.co.uk for more information.
As well as addressing mental health issues we all know that our physical health can make a big difference to our daily lives. Healthy Lifestyles Gloucestershire is another proactive service that you can signpost your staff towards with concerns relating to keeping active, alcohol, healthy eating, weight, smoking or even support when you are a mum to be or mum returning to work and struggling to keep up with work, baby and life beyond.
Staff will be contacted within 3 working days of signing up and the Healthy Lifestyles team will provide them with weekly support (for up to 12 weeks) in person, over the phone or online.
To access the service, you can call 0800 122 3788 or for more information visit www.hslglos.org.
The criteria for accessing this service are that you must be:
- over 18 years of age (12 years of age for smoking cessation support)
- registered with a GP in Gloucestershire or live in a GL postcode (see below if you are outside of this)
The programmes are aimed at those who are either:
- Currently smoking tobacco
- Have a BMI over 25
- Have current physical activity levels of under 150 minutes per week or
- Approaching alcohol dependency
Although the service is only offered to mainly contacts within GL postcodes, they can help with some additional postcodes within the county as well and Healthy Lifestyles are happy to help you with contacts in other areas that you are operating in as there are similar services set up throughout the UK by local councils.
Alternatively if staff are interested in improving their health but want a more ‘hands off’ approach, they can download a free app called Best-You from the App store or Google Play. You can find out more about the app here: https://www.hlsglos.org/programmes/best-you-app/ 
Healthy Lifestyle Gloucestershire also run MECC (Making Every Contact Count) training which is available for front line staff and volunteers. This will give confidence in everyday situations to give concise health information as part of normal conversations. This could be particularly helpful for staff who have direct contact with parents who might benefit from this type of support. This is free training which you can book onto by clicking on the following link Healthy Lifestyles Gloucestershire Events | Eventbrite. If you want to find out more about MECC you can see an NHS document here https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/making-every-contact-count.pdf
Health and wellbeing at work can be affected by other things going on in staff’s home life and whilst we can’t fix everything, knowing where to signpost to can be helpful. At the event we listened to a presentation from ARA Gambling Service who provide support for those affected by gambling, either as an individual or as the family of someone with a gambling issue. ARAG can be contacted by
Email: info@recovery4all.co.uk, Social media: @ARArecovery4all or for more information you can visit www.recovery4all.co.uk
To bring together information about all these services for your staff, you may find it useful to write a wellbeing policy to support your setting. The Healthy Workplace Gloucestershire, a free initiative (funded through the public health service) provides advice and help to guide you through how to adapt your policies and procedures to optimise the wellbeing of your staff/volunteers within your setting.
Most settings will already be supporting their staff through all sorts of ways, including organising team social outings, mental health and mindfulness awareness, regular team meetings, supervisions and your employee and volunteer contract pack with induction when they commence employment with you. If you want to consider all the wellbeing support that you offer and maybe improve it where needed then you might want to join the Health Workplace Awards.
This is a scheme that guides you through the information you may already have in place and helps you to focus on areas that need improving. Similar in style to Investors in People, this is a free of charge scheme. You can become accredited with a Foundation Level Award and if successful implementing this scheme within your organisation, you may like to go on and complete the Enhanced Level Award. Once the award is achieved you can add the award logo to your social media, website and policy documents. The scheme can help support you with initiatives you would like to implement within your organisation, such as Health and Safety, Back Pain and Prevention, Alcohol and substance misuse, Mental Wellbeing and Stress, Personal Health, Healthy Eating, Stop Smoking and Physical Activity. To sign up to the awards programme and for further information on Healthy Lifestyles Gloucestershire visit www.hwglos.org
If you are interested in developing your health and wellbeing within your organisation but do not have the funding, the VCS Alliance have launched their new funding initiative called Small Grants for Workplace Wellbeing which opened this week.
The VCS Alliance are inviting applications from the VSCE sector groups and organisations in Gloucestershire seeking to implement ideas that support employer / and or volunteer wellbeing. A maximum of 40 grants will be given to successful applicants worth £500.
The criteria to apply are as follows:
- Your application must have a clear rationale for how your proposal is linked to wellbeing. Examples include: A team day or social event, Coaching sessions, Backfill to enable an organisation to work towards the Healthy Workplace award, Personal wellbeing, Entry to sports facilities, Entry to green spaces, Access to a wellbeing app
- One application per organisation
- Turnover less than £500,000
- You must have a business bank account
- Grant must be spent by 31st January 2024
- The money can’t be used to fund any service or treatment that should be provided by the NHS
If you are interested in applying for the grant, you can click on the following link Small Grants for Workplace Wellbeing Application Form (smartsurvey.co.uk)
Don’t forget to log in to the PATA members area of the website where you can access other wellbeing resources, which are being added to on an ongoing basis.
If Morton Michel are your insurers for your setting, your staff can access a free 24/7 counselling helpline on 0333 000 2082. The helpline is run by ARAG qualified counsellors and are able to provide telephone support on any matter causing upset or anxiety – from personal problems to bereavement. If longer term support is required, you can be assigned to a counsellor to for weekly/ fortnightly meetings for up to 6 sessions.
If this all seems like a lot to do then don’t panic! You’re probably doing a lot for staff wellbeing already and it might be helpful to have a session where you and your team note down all the ways that you already help. Using this list you can then develop either a policy or a place where staff can access resources like the ones mentioned above. You could also have a wellbeing ‘slot’ in all of your team meetings, where you mention one way that you’re offering support, which will really start to develop an ethos of openness and emphasise the importance of wellbeing.
