McBrearty is encouraged by recent progress in FE in terms of engagement with issues of wellbeing and mental health. But she says: “However important we all think wellbeing is in the workplace, leaders may have very little leeway to do things differently, especially if doing things differently requires resource.” Stuart Rimmer, principal of East Coast College, says


that levels of stress and anxiety are increasing across FE despite a growing recognition of mental health issues, and a determination by staff and managers to improve matters (see case study on page 14). “We are attempting to do more and better work on the back of 10 years of austerity,” says Rimmer, who chairs the Association of College’s Mental Health Policy Group that helped to develop the AoC’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Charter (see below and the link at the end). “In addition, the communities we serve are under pressure and that pressure is leaking into the further education sector.


“No matter how well-equipped


teachers, trainers, leaders and support staff are you cannot


override the environment in which we function.” Picking up on Rimmer’s observation, Andy Bell, deputy chief executive of the Centre for Mental Health, says that the evidence shows that people experiencing social disadvantage and exclusion are at greater risk of poor mental.


“This includes people who are economically


disadvantaged, LGBT+, disabled people, people from BAME communities, and so on,” says Bell. “And so FE is very much a part of that story.”


Another big issue for FE staff is that many of their learners are young adults, among whom undiagnosed childhood issues can start to crystallise into more acute mental health problems. This can add to staff workloads and stress levels. But Bell is careful when it comes to heaping all the blame on workplaces as the key causal factors of stress, anxiety and mental health issues. “Work can exacerbate issues, but it can also help people. Unemployed people are at far greater risk of mental health difficulties,” he says. “Good management and supporting staff can significantly benefit people in the workplace.” The ETF’s report on


SET members’ wellbeing discovered that good management, which places trust in staff and allows people a meaningful degree of professional autonomy, was key to creating a healthy working environment. The ETF’s programmes for leaders,


including the Preparing for CEO Programme, all have a strong underpinning of people skills, emotional intelligence and inclusive leadership. The need to engage and involve staff to a greater degree in the running of things is already recognised by forward- thinking providers as important in creating a healthy workplace. Sarah Haynes, head of adult and community learning at Leeds City College, spoke in a round table session on wellbeing at the SET Conference last November about the devolved budgeting process at her college


inTUITION ISSUE 39 • SPRING 2020 13


Cameron Law


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40