Staff wellbeing

Information and guidance to help you support your staff wellbeing.

The wellbeing of early years and childcare practitioners is an important part of high quality education and care for children. Poor practitioner wellbeing can lead to low motivation and morale, stress and burnout.

Early years and childcare settings need to look after the wellbeing of their teams if they want to reduce staff turnover, improve recruitment and ensure consistent high quality care for children and families.

Talking about wellbeing

It is important for all settings to be having open, honest and supportive discussions about staff wellbeing.

Some ideas to get you started are to:

  • put aside time in your staff meetings to talk about staff wellbeing
  • conduct regular supervision for all staff - you can find more information about supervision on our staff retention page
  • conduct regular wellbeing surveys and use the feedback you receive to improve how you promote staff wellbeing

Supporting staff wellbeing

Being knowledgeable and empathetic when it comes to staff wellbeing is important. Everyone in the setting should understand what the signs of poor wellbeing are. They should also be aware of what to do if they are concerned about themselves or a colleague. Having a staff wellbeing policy will support this.

Taking time to check-in with your teams and encouraging staff to check in with each other increases staff wellbeing. Check-ins should be at appropriate times and in spaces that offer privacy.

Managers can also try to:

  • know their staff – read their mood and recognise how to make adjustments to support them if you recognise their wellbeing is low
  • have an open door policy and model a non-judgemental, empathetic response to staff wellbeing challenges
  • invest in training mental health first aiders
  • have discretionary mental health days – sometimes when a team member is feeling overwhelmed it can be helpful to offer them time out, free of judgement

Creating a supportive environment

The environment that you create in the setting is as important for staff wellbeing as it is for the children. There are lots of ideas on our staff retention page, but you can also try:

  • to create a staff wellbeing board – you can get creative and make your own, or purchase display packs that come with positive affirmations, self-care tips and lots of other resources
  • wellbeing packages – it is the little things that show you care, such as providing tea and coffee, toiletries and little treats for those with low wellbeing can make your team feel valued
  • providing a quiet, safe space for staff to take their breaks or go to when they need time out

Getting outside support

It is important to recognise that you do not have to support staff wellbeing alone, particularly if there are mental health concerns. Knowing when and where to signpost for support will enable you to get the help and support needed in a timely manner.

Training

Additional support