Your guide to managing staff wellbeing

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Your guide to managing
staff wellbeing
INSIDE:
• Insights from a national
leader of education:
Kylie Spark
• Tools to assess staff
wellbeing
• Advice on how to
monitor and reduce
teacher workload
• Strategies to encourage
a better work-life
balance
Turn this booklet over for
our guide on how school
governors can support
staff wellbeing

Contents
The Key for School Leaders:
Save time, work smarter,
make a difference
4 How much of a concern is
staff wellbeing?
5 Interview with a national
leader of education: Kylie
Spark
6 Strategies to improve staff
wellbeing and work-life
balance
The Key for School Leaders provides busy school leaders with instant
answers to questions on all aspects of managing a school. Members use our
service to save time, solve problems and increase efficiency. We offer highquality,
impartial information and guidance from authoritative sources and a
wealth of practical resources, including concise summaries of government
policies and legislation, template forms and reports, teaching school case
studies, sample documents, news alerts, and more.
With the wellbeing of staff highlighted as a prime concern for the sector,
our research team has been working hard to answer members’ questions
on addressing this challenge and to produce resources that will help school
leaders create a positive environment in their schools. This booklet features
a small selection of the articles, templates and practical advice available to
members of The Key for School Leaders.
8 Staff surveys: advice and
template
11 Teachers’ workload audit
tools
13 Reducing paperwork for
teachers: examples from
schools
15 Staff wellbeing days:
examples and advice
Event from The Key
Teacher recruitment and retention
Strategies for finding, developing and keeping
talented teachers
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talented teachers to stay and progress at your school.
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Tuesday 19 January 2016 | Central London
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The Key for School Leaders
Your guide to managing staff wellbeing
Staff wellbeing and forecasts for
the profession
Featured
experts
I’m sure you’ve heard the recent survey findings from the National Union of Teachers that a
staggering 53% of teachers are thinking of leaving the profession in the next two years. Last
March, the Guardian reported that almost 40% of new teachers left at the end of their first year
in the job. Government statistics suggest that there is also a 10% shortfall across the board in
the 2015 intake of trainee teachers, and in some subject areas this number is closer to 50%.
Leading expert, Professor John Howson, cautions that we have a crisis on our hands.
By contrast, the number of students in our schools is on the rise. Increases are already being
felt in schools across the UK, and some reports predict that student populations could grow
by as much as 20% over the next decade.
It doesn’t take a maths teacher to put two and two together here. If something is not done about
the current state of teacher supply and retention, the consequences will be devastating for the
nation’s children.
The Key’s last State of Education survey (summarised on page 4) found that more than
three in five school leaders believe their mental health has been negatively affected by their
role; workload, tightening budgets and ever-changing policies are just a few issues which
impact on morale and overall wellbeing.
Bold, confident and well-informed leadership can cope with these issues: we know that the
best schools are not suffering in the way many others are. We want to help you build and
maintain a positive staff culture in your school and have put together this booklet using
resources from The Key for School Leaders website at www.thekeysupport.com/SL.
On pages 6-7, we look at strategies for supporting staff wellbeing and a positive work-life
balance, with tips from the Teacher Support Network. There are tools to help you measure
the workload of teachers in your school (pages 11-12), as well as practical examples of
how some schools have implemented strategies to tackle teachers’ workloads and bring
about positive changes to staff wellbeing and mental health (pages 13-14).
I realise there is no quick fix when it comes to boosting teacher morale.
But my hope is that with the right resources and support, we can
be more effective in addressing these issues and begin to see a
tangible shift in outlook and attitude, and then be able to place more
focus on celebrating teaching success.
Kylie Spark is an accomplished
school leader, with over 13 years’
experience in headship.
Trevor Bailey has extensive
experience in school leadership
and management. He was a
secondary headteacher for
14 years.
Gareth Balch is a school
improvement consultant with a
background in secondary school
leadership. He works in interim
leadership roles and runs mock
inspections and INSET training
on a range of topics.
David Roche is a former
headteacher, currently working
as an education consultant and
school improvement partner.
Nina Siddall-Ward is an
education consultant. She is the
former head of standards and
learning effectiveness for a large
local authority, and has been a
headteacher in three schools.
Turn this booklet
over for advice on
governors’ role in
supporting staff wellbeing
Fergal Roche
Chief Executive Officer, The Key
Sources – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-34426598; http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/mar/31/four-in-10-newteachers-quit-within-a-year;
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/aug/29/shortage-teachers-new-schools-crisis-uk-traineeshortfall;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-33623500
Not yet tried The Key for School Leaders?
You can try it for free at www.thekeysupport.com/free
Ready to join? Save £100
Membership covers everyone in your leadership team and starts at just £45 per month. Join
The Key for School Leaders quoting WB16 before 24 March 2016 and we’ll waive the £100
joining fee. Contact us on 0800 060 7732 or school.leaders@thekeysupport.com.
Not yet tried The Key for School Leaders? www.thekeysupport.com/free
3

The Key for School Leaders
Your guide to managing staff wellbeing
How much of a concern is staff wellbeing?
Insights from our State of Education survey
Thy Key’s second annual State of Education report gives an unparalleled insight into school leaders’ views. Working with Ipsos MORI, we surveyed
1,180 leaders across the country about the big issues facing our education system today. Responses covered views on everything from tightening
budgets to the latest government policies, but one thing that seems to be on the minds of many school leaders is the wellbeing of their teachers.
41% of school leaders put reducing teacher workload in their top three changes that would do most to improve education in England
Fewer in-year
statutory changes
Reduced teacher
workload
Increased funding
45.2%
40.7%
35.3%
64% of school leaders say that their mental health
has been negatively affected by their role
Three-quarters (75%) of school leaders think
teaching is less attractive now than five years ago,
while less than 5% think it has become more attractive
92% say their work-life balance could be improved, and 78% say their
family life has been negatively affected by their role
64.2% - MENTAL HEALTH NEGATIVELY AFFECTED
77.6% - FAMILY LIFE NEGATIVELY AFFECTED
More than eight in ten (85%) think
morale in the teaching profession
has got worse in the past five years
91.6% - THINK THEIR WORK-LIFE BALANCE COULD BE IMPROVED
More school leaders (82%) found managing teacher workload difficult than any other challenge we asked them to rate
Teacher workload
DIFFICULT 82.2%
EASY 5.2%
The removal of
government reporting of
National Curriculum levels
DIFFICULT
EASY
75.3%
7.9%
Teacher morale
DIFFICULT
EASY
69.6%
13.8%
Read the full State of Education report at www.thekeysupport.com/state-of-education-15
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The Key for School Leaders
Your guide to managing staff wellbeing
Interview with a national leader
of education: Kylie Spark
Kylie Spark has been headteacher at Tyntesfield Primary School in Sale, Cheshire since 2008. She is a national leader of
education and has over 13 years of headship experience. Tyntesfield was rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted in 2013 and is both a
national support school and a teaching school, as part of the Trafford Teaching School Alliance. Here she shares her insights into
the teaching profession, what she does to safeguard her staff and advice on how other school leaders can boost morale.
Over the course of your career, how have you
seen the teaching profession change?
It has changed considerably. I think the biggest shift
is in regards to accountability, at all levels, and this
feeds in to every aspect of teaching. Plus, budget
constraints present more and more challenges,
and those constraints are only getting tighter. The
expectations on senior leaders and teaching staff to
do more with less are getting higher and higher.
Do you believe teaching has become a less
attractive career choice?
I don’t believe so, no. Teaching is a fantastic
career! It is important that people go in to the
profession with their eyes wide open – it is a hard
and demanding job. It can be time-consuming
and emotionally draining too. However, the
opportunity to make such an impact on children’s
lives is so rewarding. That’s why I still love
teaching and believe it’s a great career.
A recent survey by LKMCo found that the
second most common reason for teachers
leaving the profession (after workload), is
poor leadership. What can school leaders do
to boost retention in the profession?
Tyntesfield hasn’t had a problem with retention but
where teachers have left this has most often been
due to promotion and professional development
opportunities. As school leaders we must start with
the individual and take their career development
opportunities seriously, whether that’s to benefit
your school and have an impact on teaching and
learning now, or for individuals’ personal and
professional development. It is our responsibility
to encourage, support and develop staff and give
them every opportunity to progress.
Being aware of wellbeing and managing
workload is also important, not creating
paperwork for paperwork’s sake. If it’s not
contributing to teaching and learning, why are
you doing it? At Tyntesfield, our staff do planning,
of course. But they don’t plan for the senior
leaders, they plan to have a clear focus on
learning and how the teaching and the tasks
will achieve this.
It’s also important to encourage communication
among the staff and with school leaders. Staff
should be comfortable voicing their thoughts and
concerns and confident that they can speak up if
something isn’t working or pressures are becoming
too much. As leaders, it is our responsibility to
listen and address the issues as best we can
whilst ensuring the highest standards of teaching
and learning are maintained. Even if it is just
acknowledging the problem and letting staff know
you are listening – don’t ignore their concerns. That
goes a long way to creating a positive environment
and making the school an enjoyable place to work.
Our staff are our best asset in everything we do –
they are our greatest resource, our most expensive
resource and our most valuable. Staff should be
valued and feel valued and we should invest in their
wellbeing and professional development.
What strategies does your school have in
place to address staff morale and wellbeing?
We place a big emphasis on working with staff
as a team, listening to them and valuing their
contribution in tangible ways. We involve our
teachers wherever possible in the development of
policies. We have discussions about good practice
and then develop the policies in line with their
input. Teachers are on the front line, recognising
the real issues, interacting with pupils every day –
they are the experts, so tap in to that!
All our staff are involved in everything we do –
senior leaders, teachers, teaching assistants and
support staff. Everyone is involved in training and is
part of our development of teaching and learning.
We also take an individualistic approach to
appraisal. We measure teacher progress in
much the same way we measure pupil progress,
by seeing how they have developed, rather
than setting a benchmark. We start with where
teachers are at now and look at their areas
of expertise and, conversely, how best to
develop them as professionals and individuals.
Recognising the strengths of your staff not only
helps to identify areas for improvement, but also
makes it possible to tailor responsibilities and
ensure your team is as strong as it can be.
One of the biggest things I stress is
understanding that staff have a personal life as
well as professional life. They all have pressures
and commitments at home, perhaps they have
their own children who have a sporting event,
or a recital, or award presentation, and they are
entitled to appreciate that family life as well.
Give support to your staff and they will give it back
to you, in school with their performance. A happy,
supportive environment means an enjoyable
workplace. Opportunities for the staff and children
to smile and laugh together is so important. And if
staff enjoy coming to work, they will perform better,
their quality of teaching will be higher and they will
be more engaged in their roles.
What advice do you have for senior leaders
facing staff morale and wellbeing challenges?
Make an effort to really understand the situation
– of the school, the staff as a collective and the
individual.
Address what you can. You can’t fix everything,
but you can acknowledge everything and
tell your staff why you can’t fix it at this time.
Communication is key. Having that dialogue and
that link with your staff is essential. Let staff see
you care, even if you can’t solve everything.
Be clear about what is expected and have a shared
vision with staff of where you want the school to go.
I place high demands on staff, but they understand
why – we don’t do anything for the sake of it, only if
it adds value to teaching and learning.
You can hear more insights from Kylie
at our conference on teacher recruitment
and retention in London (see page 2 for
more details).
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5

The Key for School Leaders
Your guide to managing staff wellbeing
Strategies to improve staff
wellbeing and work-life balance
This booklet features
a selection of articles
we’ve written in
response to school
leaders’ questions.
Over 3,500 up-todate
articles are
currently available
online on www.
thekeysupport.com/SL
How can schools improve staff
wellbeing and work-life balance?
Improving teachers’ work-life
balance: advice from a charity
We contacted the Teacher Support Network, a
charity which offers coaching, counselling and
money advice to teachers. An adviser suggested
the following:
• Consider reducing or cancelling non-essential
meetings at particularly busy times of the year
• Set up a working group made up of staff members
from different departments that can explore ways to
reduce workload
• Bring in an external consultant to review the
systems and procedures in place at the school and
identify anything unnecessary or ineffective
• Give staff access to a counselling programme so
they can receive professional help before they
reach crisis point
• Ensure that school policies on workload are clear
and everyone adheres to them
• Encourage staff to share resources and plans, and
facilitate this by making time for teams to meet
• Devote a training day to work-life balance and
wellbeing and ask staff to commit to one small
change they can make every day that will make a
difference to their wellbeing
Link on our website
Contact or find us, Teacher Support Network
The workload challenge:
suggestions from teachers
In February 2015, the Department for Education
(DfE) published an analysis of its research into
teachers’ opinions on the main causes of high
workload, and how it could be reduced. Page 9 of
the research report lists some of the most common
solutions suggested by teachers. These include:
• Modifying marking arrangements
• Reducing the need for data inputting and analysis
• Increasing time for planning, preparation and
assessment
• Enabling the delegation of administrative and nonteaching
tasks to support staff
Link on our website
Workload challenge: analysis of teacher
consultation responses, GOV.UK – DfE
(Adobe pdf file)
Encouraging staff to speak up
when demands are too much
Tips from the Teacher Support Network
The adviser from the Teacher Support Network
said it is important to create a culture in schools
where teachers feel encouraged to speak up when
workload pressures are too much, and gave some
tips for how this can be achieved:
• Remind staff that speaking up is not a sign of
incompetence; rather it is a strength to be willing to
seek help before a crisis is reached
• Put in place some wellbeing ambassadors who are
positive, well-respected by staff and representative
of the whole staff body
• Use a staff survey to bring widespread issues into
the open and encourage open and frank dialogue
• Make sure staff know that no concern is too small
to be taken seriously, and everyone has someone
they can speak to
• Have a ‘worries box’ where staff can post concerns,
and make sure these are responded to in a nonjudgemental
way
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The Key for School Leaders
Your guide to managing staff wellbeing
• Build consideration and discussion of wellbeing
and work-life balance issues into the performance
management process
• Ensure that absence management procedures are
rigorous and fair, and address work-life balance and
wellbeing issues
Policies and guidance on staff
wellbeing and work-life balance
Work-life balance policy from a community
primary school
Clarendon Primary School, Surrey, has a worklife
balance policy which describes strategies the
school puts in place to support a balanced lifestyle
for its staff. These include:
• Clearly identifying the duties involved in each
role and reviewing them annually to help manage
workload and expectations
• Consulting staff on decisions that affect their work
and encouraging them to seek advice from union
reps if appropriate
• Granting special leave and putting flexible working
practices in place
• Increasing administrative support for teachers
Link on our website
Work-life balance policy, Clarendon Primary
School, see page 4 (Adobe pdf file)
• Organising weekly professional development
sessions for staff
Link on our website
Staff wellbeing and work-life balance policy,
Farlingaye High School (Adobe pdf file)
Local authority guidance
Wiltshire Council has produced a model staff
wellbeing policy and guidance document for
schools and academies in its area. On pages
15-22 it suggests a range of actions to improve
staff wellbeing issues linked to different causes
of stress. For example, it says that if staff are
experiencing excessive workloads, possible
actions could be to:
• Review workload regularly as part of the appraisal
and performance management process
• Support staff in planning their work and try to
establish what aspects of their job they find
challenging
• Redistribute work where possible, or set different
work priorities if staff are not coping
• Assess training needs
Link on our website
Model staff wellbeing policy and guidance
for schools and academies, Wiltshire Council
(Word doc file)
Staff wellbeing and work-life balance policy
from a secondary academy
Farlingaye High School in Suffolk also has a staff
wellbeing and work-life balance policy. On page
4 it describes practices the school has in place to
support staff, which include:
• Holding consultative staff meetings once a term for
staff to voice any concerns
• Offering a schools advisory service which provides
counselling for stress
• Providing team rooms for each faculty to relax and
work in
Find more on our website
This is an edited extract. The full article, with additional
guidance from a union and an adviser to the DfE, is available
on www.thekeysupport.com/SL.
Members of The Key for School Leaders can find the article
quickly by entering its reference number, 2556, in the website
search tool.
2556| Search
Not yet tried The Key for School Leaders?
You can try it for free at www.thekeysupport.com/free
Ready to join? Save £100
Membership covers everyone in your leadership team and starts at just £45 per month. Join The
Key for School Leaders quoting WB16 before 24 March 2016 and we’ll waive the £100 joining
fee. Contact us on 0800 060 7732 or school.leaders@thekeysupport.com.
Not yet tried The Key for School Leaders? www.thekeysupport.com/free
7

The Key for School Leaders
Your guide to managing staff wellbeing
Staff surveys: advice and template
This booklet features
a selection of articles
we’ve written in
response to school
leaders’ questions.
Over 3,500 up-todate
articles are
currently available
online on www.
thekeysupport.com/SL
What should be in a staff survey
questionnaire?
Conducting staff surveys
We asked Trevor Bailey, one of our associate
education experts, for advice on conducting staff
surveys. He said that although staff surveys are
not a statutory requirement, it is good practice to
carry them out.
He said that engaging staff in dialogue, valuing
their contributions, and acting on them when
appropriate are key ways of building a positive
staff ethos, which supports school improvement.
In addition, a carefully structured survey can
demonstrate trends over time. This provides
valuable evidence of planning for reporting to
governors, sponsors, local authorities and Ofsted.
Trevor suggested that schools could also get
feedback from staff through:
• Setting up working groups to discuss specific issues
or areas where developments are being considered
• Open or structured discussions with groups of
staff; such groups might be made up of a particular
department or Key Stage, or include a crosssection
of staff
• A structured schedule of one-to-one conversations
between members of the senior leadership team
and members of staff
• Exit interviews with staff who are leaving
• Informal discussions, for example in the staff room
You may decide that you wish to:
• Conduct a general survey of staff views and
attitudes, across a range of issues
• Review a new initiative that has been put in place
• Survey views about a particular aspect of the school
An annual review survey may cover behaviour,
health and safety, staff morale, resourcing, and
key aspects of the school’s improvement plan
which have been implemented during that year.
Choosing a format for the survey
Trevor suggested three possible question formats.
He advised that the formats you choose will
depend on the purpose of the survey, as well
as the number of staff being surveyed and the
resources your school can allocate to analysis.
1. ‘Yes’ or ‘no’ questions
Questions that encourage ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers
can be useful when you need a quick snapshot of
views on a straightforward matter.
2. Scale of satisfaction
Respondents are asked to select an option
from a range – such as ‘strongly agree’, ‘agree’,
‘disagree’, or ‘strongly disagree’. This allows you to
see a full range of opinions across the staff team.
3. Open-ended questions
Asking some open-ended questions can be helpful if
you want to get detailed feedback. However, you will
need to build in more time to analyse the responses.
Writing a staff questionnaire
Choosing which questions to ask
Trevor explained that, when deciding what to ask
staff members, you should consider the purpose of
the survey and what it is that you want to find out.
It is important to be
transparent with staff and
share the survey results
Presenting the results of staff
surveys
Trevor said it is important to be transparent with
staff and share the survey results once they have
been gathered. A good way to present the results
is during a staff meeting, as this gives staff a
chance to discuss the outcomes of the survey and
suggest ways forward.
We also asked Gareth Balch, another of our
associate education experts, for advice on
presenting the results of staff surveys.
Gareth advised presenting the results in a positive
setting, such as an INSET day or a meeting at the
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The The Key Key for School for School Leaders Leaders
Your Your guide guide to to managing staff staff wellbeing
start of the school year. He suggested presenting
them as simply and clearly as possible, using
slides so they can be easily understood.
Actions to take after staff
surveys
Trevor also said it is important to show that you
are dealing with any issues that have become
apparent. This could be done by:
• Developing and sharing an action plan
• Setting up a task group to investigate how to deal
with or improve a particular issue
• Delegating a member of staff to lead on tackling
an area of concern
Trevor said that sometimes it is not possible or
desirable to implement some of the changes that
staff want. In these cases it is important to be
open with staff, and communicate why something
cannot be done. He also emphasised the
importance of allowing space for discussion at this
point in the process.
Trevor added it is crucial that staff feel engaged
in the outcomes of the survey if it is to be used
effectively for school improvement.
Gareth also suggested some ways to show that you
are taking the survey results seriously. He said that
line management systems can be used to further
discuss any major issues identified; for example,
focus groups of line managers’ direct reports could
be used to gather further feedback on particular
areas and to discuss possible improvements.
Gareth also recommended incorporating survey
results and issues identified in the school
improvement plan. He said that this clearly signals
to staff that the school is directly addressing any
key concerns.
Find more on our website
This extract and the KeyDoc on the next
page are are part of a longer article that
contains detailed guidance on how to
conduct staff surveys effectively, including
subject-specific surveys.
Members of The Key for School Leaders
can find the article quickly by entering its
reference number, 8770, in the website
search tool.
8770| Search
If you found this
article useful, you
might also like:
Staff wellbeing
questionnnaires
(quick-search
ref. 2480)
à See page 10
for a staff survey
template from
The Key, created
with one of our
expert contributors
to this article.
Not yet tried The Key for School Leaders?
You can try it for free at www.thekeysupport.com/free
Ready to join? Save £100
Membership covers everyone in your leadership team and starts at just £45 per month. Join The
Key for School Leaders quoting WB16 before 24 March 2016 and we’ll waive the £100 joining
fee. Contact us on 0800 060 7732 or school.leaders@thekeysupport.com.
Not yet tried The Key for School Leaders? www.thekeysupport.com/free
9

The Key for School Leaders
Your guide to managing staff wellbeing
KeyDoc: template questionnaire for a staff survey
We worked with one of our associate education experts, Trevor Bailey, to produce this KeyDoc template for a staff questionnaire.
(Please note this is an extract. See page 9 for details of how to find the full template on our website.)
Please circle a number for each statement, according to the following key:
1 – Strongly disagree 2 – Disagree 3 – No opinion 4 – Agree 5 – Strongly agree
I enjoy working at this school 1 2 3 4 5
I feel supported by leaders at this school 1 2 3 4 5
My professional development is well supported 1 2 3 4 5
I am consulted when new initiatives are under consideration 1 2 3 4 5
I know what we are trying to achieve at this school 1 2 3 4 5
[Add further questions as necessary]
What are the school’s greatest strengths?
What could the school improve?
What are the three most important issues that the school should address in the next year?
If you wish, please add any further comments that you feel would be helpful
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The Key for School Leaders
Your guide to managing staff wellbeing
Teachers’ workload audit tools
Are there examples of workload audit
tools for teachers?
KeyDoc: teachers’ workload
audit tool
We worked with David Roche, one of our
associate education experts, to create an audit
tool for assessing how many hours teachers are
working per week, and how long they spend on
different tasks. The audit tool (see extract over
page) can be used to look at the workload of
teachers across a faculty, year group or school.
David said that this tool is designed to help
teachers, departments and schools to see where
they can become more efficient, and to help
improve the work-life balance of teachers.
Advice on conducting workload audits
David suggested conducting the audit over a few
weeks to a month, as workload can peak and
trough at different points from week to week. He
also said you could ask teachers to use the audit
tool at certain times in the year when workload is a
particular concern.
David recommended explaining the purpose and
potential benefits of the audit to teachers, as this
will incentivise them to participate, and help avoid
them feeling that they are being monitored.
DfE: teacher workload surveys
2014 workload challenge
In 2014 the government conducted a survey which
asked teachers three questions:
1. Tell us about the unnecessary and unproductive
tasks which take up too much of your time. Where
do these come from?
2. Send us your solutions and strategies for tackling
workload – what works well in your school?
3. What do you think should be done to tackle
unnecessary workload – by government, by
schools or by others?
Link on our website
Government response to the workload
challenge, GOV.UK – DfE, see page 20
(Adobe pdf file)
2013 workload survey
In 2013 the Department for Education (DfE)
conducted a workload survey in which it asked
teachers to record all their work-related activities
on two days of the week.
Link on our website
Teacher workload survey 2013, GOV.UK –
DfE (Adobe pdf file)
ATL: work-life balance toolkit
The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL)
has produced a guide to work-life balance for
teachers in independent schools. These include:
• A form that allows teachers to note the tasks they
routinely undertake that could be carried out by
another person
• A working week diary where teachers can record
details of the work they do before and after school,
and in breaks during the school day
• A questionnaire on procrastination
• General workload survey to identify where
improvements could be made
Link on our website
ATL’s guide to work-life balance for
teachers in independent schools, ATL
(Adobe pdf file)
This booklet features
a selection of articles
we’ve written in
response to school
leaders’ questions.
Over 3,500 up-todate
articles are
currently available
online on www.
thekeysupport.com/SL
If you found this
article useful, you
might also like:
Marking:
maintaining a
work-life balance
(quick-search
ref. 12281)
à Turn the page
for a workload
audit tool template
from The Key.
Not yet tried The Key for School Leaders?
You can try it for free at www.thekeysupport.com/free
Ready to join? Save £100
Membership covers everyone in your leadership team and starts at just £45 per month. Join The
Key for School Leaders quoting WB16 before 24 March 2016 and we’ll waive the £100 joining
fee. Contact us on 0800 060 7732 or school.leaders@thekeysupport.com.
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11

The Key for School Leaders
Your guide to managing staff wellbeing
KeyDoc template: teachers’ workload audit tool
On our website you will find the full version of this KeyDoc as a download that schools can use to monitor teachers’ workload and
evaluate where improvements can be made. Staff are asked to record the tasks they perform by category, how long each task takes
and make daily and weekly tallies of time spent working. We created this with David Roche, one of our associate education experts.
Task
code
Task category
Explanation and examples
A Timetabled teaching Any teaching scheduled in for the day
B Cover Covering lessons for an absent colleague
C Planning and preparing Preparing lesson plans on your own or with colleagues
D Marking and assessing Marking tests and workbooks
E Professional development INSET, conferences, courses, working with a mentor, etc.
F
Extra-curricular clubs and societies
Time spent directing pupils during extra-curricular activities, such as breakfast
clubs, netball club, drama production (includes time spent preparing)
Example Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
• 07:30-08:35, C, 1hr 5mins
• 9:00-10:00, A, 1hr
• 10:00-11:00, A, 1hr
• 11:00-12:00, D, 1hr
• 12:30-13:00, D, 30mins
• 13:15-14:15, A, 1hr
• 14:15-15:15, A, 1hr
• 16:45-17:30, C, 45mins
• 19:00-20:00, C, 1hr
• 20:00-20:30, D, 30mins
DAILY
TOTAL:
DAILY
TOTAL:
DAILY
TOTAL:
DAILY
TOTAL:
DAILY
TOTAL:
DAILY
TOTAL:
DAILY
TOTAL:
Example Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
Weekly
Total
A: Timetabled teaching 4hrs
B: Cover 0
C: Planning and preparing
2hrs
50mins
D: Marking and assessing 2hrs
E: Professional development 0
F: Extra-curricular clubs
and societies
0
Find more on our website
This KeyDoc and the extract on page 11 are part of a longer article with links to sources and further reading.
Members can read the full article and download the complete KeyDoc by visiting www.thekeysupport.com/SL
and entering the reference number 11718 in the website search tool. 11718| Search
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The Key for School Leaders
Your guide to managing staff wellbeing
Reducing paperwork for teachers:
examples from schools
Are there examples of schools that
have reduced teacher paperwork
to a minimum?
Example of a school where
lesson-planning time has
been reduced
We spoke to the headteacher of William Tyndale
Primary School, an academy in Islington, about
how her school has reduced the amount of
paperwork that teachers are required to complete.
She explained that when she arrived at the school,
teaching required improvement and teachers were
overloaded with work. To focus on improving the
quality of teaching, it was important to free up
teachers’ time from administrative tasks such as
writing lesson plans.
Teachers are not required to write lesson plans for
every lesson, and plans are not scrutinised by the
senior leadership team (SLT). However, teachers
do write an overview for each term. The school’s
computer system is used for medium and longterm
planning, which can be helpful, for example,
when teachers change year groups or when cover
staff have to take classes.
Because of these changes, teachers have more
time to focus on developing the quality of their
teaching – for example, through the ‘lesson study’
approach, which allows groups of teachers to
plan and observe lessons together. According to
the headteacher, there is more dialogue between
teachers and sharing of good practice. She said
there is a higher level of trust, and teachers
take more responsibility to ensure the quality of
teaching and learning in their classes is high.
The headteacher explained that standards have
not been compromised as a result of reducing the
amount of paperwork. At its most recent Ofsted
inspection, the school was rated ‘outstanding’.
Link on our website
Home, William Tyndale Primary School
Workload challenge: strategies
to tackle workload
A document outlining the government response to
the workload challenge survey conducted by the
Department for Education (DfE) (see page 6 of this
booklet) sets out some of the strategies used by
schools to tackle workload.
Strategies relating to reducing paperwork include:
• Reducing written lesson plans (for example, by
introducing the ‘five-minute lesson plan’ from the
@TeacherToolkit blog)
• Collaborating to plan and develop new schemes
of work
• Sparing use of more detailed marking and written
feedback
• Effective use of whole-school data management
systems
• Effective use of support staff, for example by
removing administrative tasks from those with
pupil-facing roles
The full list of strategies is in annex C of the
document, on page 22.
Link on our website
Government response to the workload
challenge, GOV.UK – DfE (Adobe pdf file)
This booklet features
a selection of articles
we’ve written in
response to school
leaders’ questions.
Over 3,500 up-todate
articles are
currently available
online on www.
thekeysupport.com/SL
à Article continues
on p.14
Not yet tried The Key for School Leaders?
You can try it for free at www.thekeysupport.com/free
Ready to join? Save £100
Membership covers everyone in your leadership team and starts at just £45 per month. Join The
Key for School Leaders quoting WB16 before 24 March 2016 and we’ll waive the £100 joining
fee. Contact us on 0800 060 7732 or school.leaders@thekeysupport.com.
Not yet tried The Key for School Leaders? www.thekeysupport.com/free
13

The Key for School Leaders
Your guide to managing staff wellbeing
à Continued
from p.13
Example of a school where reportwriting
time has been reduced
The following example is a summary of a case
study from Teachernet, which is now hosted on the
National Archives website.
Ridgeway Infant School, Derby, began using a
computerised report system after it found that each
pupil’s report was taking approximately 30 minutes
to complete. The reports lacked consistency and
their presentation was unprofessional.
The school introduced a computerised system with
a bank of five statements developed by staff. The
statements covered the following themes:
• What I can do, developed from the “I can” National
Curriculum statements
• How parents can help, identifying and suggesting
areas their children could improve in
• General progress of the pupil, including strengths
and areas for development
• The pupil’s contribution to the life of the school
• A message to each pupil
The school found that this system halved the
time taken to write reports. It also found that the
content of reports was more focused and their
presentation was improved.
Link on our website
Reporting to parents using statement
banks, National Archives
To view further Teachernet case studies on
reducing time spent on report writing, visit the
National Archives website:
Link on our website
Pupil report case studies, National Archives
Administrative and clerical tasks
in the STPCD
The School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions
Document (STPCD) sets out the professional
responsibilities of teachers in maintained schools.
Academies can set their own conditions, but may
choose to refer to the STPCD.
In section 2 of the STPCD, paragraph 54.8 on
page 54 says:
A teacher should not be required routinely to
participate in any administrative, clerical and
organisational tasks which do not call for the
exercise of a teacher’s professional skills and
judgement …
Link on our website
STPCD 2015, GOV.UK - DfE (Adobe pdf file)
Previous versions of the STPCD also included
a list of 21 administrative and clerical tasks that
teachers were not expected to routinely undertake.
This list has not been included since the 2014
version of the STPCD. Another article from The
Key has more information on this:
Related article from The Key
The restriction on teachers undertaking
administrative tasks
Find more on our website
This is an edited extract. The full article,
with further examples of how schools
have reduced paperwork, is available on
www.thekeysupport.com/SL.
Members of The Key for School Leaders
can find the article quickly by entering its
reference number, 10746, in the website
search tool.
10746 | Search
Not yet tried The Key for School Leaders?
You can try it for free at www.thekeysupport.com/free
Ready to join? Save £100
Membership covers everyone in your leadership team and starts at just £45 per month. Join
The Key for School Leaders quoting WB16 before 24 March 2016 and we’ll waive the £100
joining fee. Contact us on 0800 060 7732 or school.leaders@thekeysupport.com.
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The Key for School Leaders
Your guide to managing staff wellbeing
Staff wellbeing days: examples and advice
Are there examples of staff wellbeing
and motivation days?
Staff wellbeing days:
expert advice
We spoke to Nina Siddall-Ward, one of our
associate education experts, for advice on
organising wellbeing days for school staff.
Consult staff
Nina said that the arrangements for the day,
including any activities, will depend on the needs of
the staff and the reasons behind the wellbeing day.
She recommended that schools consult members
of staff to find out what activities they would
appreciate and/or enjoy doing. Schools do not
have to fulfil all of their requests, especially as the
requested activities may be expensive, but it is
good to be aware of staff members’ preferences.
Look at the rules on perks and incentives
Nina advised that, when organising staff wellbeing
days, schools should be aware of the rules and
regulations on rewarding staff, as well as those on
buying gifts for staff. The Key has articles that look
at both of these topics:
Related articles from The Key
• Rewarding staff: payments, perks
and incentives
• Using school funds to buy gifts for staff
Activities for the day
Nina said that possible activities or events for a
staff wellbeing day could include:
• Interesting, motivating and/or inspiring external
speakers
• A class on relaxation techniques
She added that the headteacher could allocate
some of the day to celebrating the school’s main
achievements over the past year. For example,
you might ask each team or department to
nominate someone to give a presentation about
what it has done well over the past year.
Provide catering
As a treat for staff, the school could provide
catering on the day.
Alternatively, if catering is too expensive, each
member of staff could be asked to bring in a dish
that can be shared. This will create a communal
buffet for everyone to share and encourage people
to eat lunch together, rather than eating packed
lunches separately.
Another article from The Key looks at using the
school budget to pay for refreshments:
Related article from The Key
Paying for refreshments out of the school
budget
Redecorate the staffroom
Nina suggested that the school could hire people
to redecorate the staffroom during the wellbeing
day. This will be a pleasant surprise for staff, and
the new surroundings in the communal space will
help to create a positive atmosphere. This will also
provide staff with a lasting memory of the day.
A further article from The Key looks at whether
maintained school funds can be used to upgrade a
school’s staffroom:
Related article from The Key
Maintained school funds: can they be used
to upgrade the staffroom?
This booklet features
a selection of articles
we’ve written in
response to school
leaders’ questions.
Over 3,500 up-todate
articles are
currently available
online on www.
thekeysupport.com/SL
à Article continues
on p.16
Not yet tried The Key for School Leaders? www.thekeysupport.com/free
15

The Key for School Leaders
Your guide to managing staff wellbeing
à Continued
from p.15
If you found this
article useful, you
might also like:
Rewarding staff:
payments, perks
and incentives
(quick-search
ref. 2101)
Staff wellbeing days: example
Primary schools in Swansea
The TES has an article with a case study on an
INSET day focused on staff wellbeing. Teachers
from eight primary schools took part.
The day described in the article included
massages, holistic therapy sessions and selfdefence
classes. Health professionals were on
hand to offer healthy living tips and dietary advice.
Hairdressers and beauticians were also available.
The organisers of the INSET day are quoted as
saying it cost “next to nothing” and that it had attracted
positive feedback from the teachers who took part.
Link on our website
The INSET day with a difference, TES
Staff awaydays: advice and
examples
Some organisations aim to improve staff motivation
and resilience by organising an awayday. The
website of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in
England and Wales (ICAEW) has information and
tips on organising such a day, summarised here
under the first three headings below.
Determine what you are trying to achieve
The article recommends that before organising an
awayday, employers should be clear about what
they are trying to achieve. They may wish to consult
staff on what they would like to get out of the day.
Choose activities relating to your goals
The article explains that most awaydays start with an
ice-breaking activity followed by activities that relate
to the day’s objectives. These can include tablebased
problem-solving or decision-making games.
Employers can also choose to run outdoor
activities, such as a treasure hunt or bridge
building, which require co-ordinated teamwork.
Reflect and act on lessons learnt
Following the day, staff and their managers should
have a chance to reflect on how they approached
the tasks. They should then discuss how they can
apply what they learned to the workplace.
Link on our website
Organise a staff away day, ICAEW
Examples of activities for staff awaydays
The website Employee Benefits has case studies
of awaydays that it says helped improve teamwork
and motivation in several organisations. They
include case studies of:
• Trips involving physical activities or entertainment,
such as go-karting, bowling, wine tasting and karaoke
• An awayday during which staff were asked to work
together to plan and implement a fake robbery, deal
with villains and security staff played by actors, and
then carry out the fake robbery and getaway
• Volunteering for a charity
Link on our website
Awaydays help team building and
motivation, Employee Benefits
Find more on our website
This is an extract. The full article, with links
to sources and further reading, is available
on www.thekeysupport.com/SL.
Members of The Key for School Leaders
can find the article quickly by entering its
reference number, 10861, in the website
search tool.
10861 | Search
Not yet tried The Key for School Leaders?
You can try it for free at www.thekeysupport.com/free
Ready to join? Save £100
Membership covers everyone in your leadership team and starts at just £45 per month. Join
The Key for School Leaders quoting WB16 before 24 March 2016 and we’ll waive the £100
joining fee. Contact us on 0800 060 7732 or school.leaders@thekeysupport.com.
16 Not yet tried The Key for School Leaders? www.thekeysupport.com/free