Positive Workplace Programme

Bring out the best in your team

Supporting you to be your best

What is the Positive Workplace Programme?The programme focuses on developing your team’s commitment to your school’s goals and values, supporting their engagement with the school’s success, while developing their overall sense of well-being and resilience.

The programme provides a broad range of analysis, organisational, management and individual support and development aimed at maximising the overall potential and performance of the school.

The full programme includes:

• Education Support Partnership’s Employee Assistance Programme for an initial two year period

• The Positive Workplace Survey – conducted twice over two years.

• Training and Consultancy arising from the survey.

• Positive Workplace Award assessment – normally conducted towards the end of the two years – recognising the progress and achievements of the organisation.

How the programme worksEvery member of staff is given a voice through a confidential online Positive Workplace Survey. The resulting data highlights your organisation’s strengths and supports your Senior Leadership Team in identifying areas for development and informing organisational strategy.

Our consultants work with you providing flexible levels of support to meet your specific needs. This can include:

• Induction for senior leaders to ensure the programme is as effective as possible.

• The opportunity to develop a bespoke section of the survey to reflect your specific requirements. Introduction of the process to all staff.

• Guidance and support for the confidential online survey.

• Data analysis and feedback focusing on the differing needs of staff groups alongside advice and support for further action.

• Provision of training and development sessions to address specific needs.

• Review of progress.

“ I would wholeheartedly recommend the Programme it has served as a timely reminder of the importance of investing in the engagement and resilience of the staff, who represent our most valuable resource.”

Headteacher

The benefits to your organisationOur purpose is to help organisations improve their effectiveness by promoting staff engagement.

Improving communication and engagement with change management

Developing and sustaining a thriving, supportive working environment

Bring out the best in people

Enabling individuals to manage their own resilience and personal effectiveness

Developing a solutions- focused culture

Education Support Partnership Employee Assistance ProgrammeAll staff have access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) throughout the duration of the programme.

The service is available 24 hours a day 365 days a year, is completely confidential and provides expert support by telephone or online on a wide range of issues including:

• Emotional support and counselling. Specialist information on worklife issues. Financial guidance and debt counselling.

• Legal signposting and guidance.

• Management consultation to support those responsible for managing others.

• NQT support line.

• Enhancing staff morale and relationships. Addressing workload issues.

• Supporting staff retention and recruitment.

• Reduces short term staff absence. Up to five sessions per case of face.

• to face counselling as appropriate.

“ I think the programme gives people a personal responsibility… helps people to think about how they can improve their situation within the constraints of the working environment, and gets them to take more responsibility.”

Middle Leader

The survey generates a comprehensive data profile that is a measure of your staff’s perception of what it is like to work in your organisation. The generated report contains a detailed analysis of your staff’s responses and collates the data under common themes.

The resulting data not only highlights your organisation’s strengths but also supports your leadership team in identifying areas for development and informing organisational strategy.

Training and DevelopmentTargeted training sessions can be delivered to suit your organisation’s needs and can include;

Smart Communication – develops individual communication skills that will also enhance relationships and sustain a more positive working environment.

Smart Work – enables staff to be more productive by utilising practical strategies and approaches to use their time and energy more efficiently.

Smart Relationships – enables staff to improve the quality of their own professional relationships, increasing personal and organisational effectiveness.

Smart Change – enables managers and leaders to improve their ability to manage the change process in their organisations.

Smart Resilience – enables staff to increase their own wellbeing and resilience leading to the improved effectiveness of the organisation as a whole.

Supporting staff in educationStaff are most effective when they feel positive about their personal lives and are motivated at work to achieve the ambitions and goals of your organisation.

Getting colleagues in touch with the right resource at an early stage can:

• Avoid Problems escalating.

• Maintain productivity.

• Reduce staff absence.

• Save management time.

Positive Workplace SurveyEducation Support Partnership currently helps around 1,000 schools and academies to create a thriving workplace in which staff can truly flourish.

We believe every organisation has the capacity to become an even better place to work where engaged, effective employees are more productive, have lower absence rates and are less likely to leave.

Our Positive Workplace Survey identifies underlying factors within your organisation that, through effective action planning, will improve morale, engagement and effectiveness of your people.

How does the survey work?Our Positive Workplace survey is an online diagnostic survey that is completed confidentially by all members of staff in your organisation.

Positive Workplace AwardOur programme is tailored by our experienced staff as it develops and can include an assessment for the Positive Workplace Award.

The Positive Workplace Award (formerly Staff Engagement Award) is the first education specific award that acknowledges the positive workplace culture achieved through the active engagement of the school’s staff.

The Award• Offers a practical, easy to follow framework.

• Gives an external validation of your organisational wellbeing and staff engagement. Is tiered to reflect where your school is on its journey and celebrates the achievements.

• Builds on Education Support Partnership’s extensive experience of working in thousands of schools.

Why work with us?

We have worked with over 4,000 schools and not for profit organisations.

The Health & Safety Executive recognise that by following the process of the Positive Workplace Programme and by addressing the emerging issues it enables organisations to meet their duty of care in their capacity as the employer.

We can provide national benchmark data from over 180,000 staff.

We currently support around 60,000 people working in education throughout the UK.

Find out more by visiting edsupport.org.uk or ringing 020 7697 2754