CREATING A CULTURE OF WELLBEING IN SCHOOLS: INSIGHTS FROM FORMER HEADTEACHER JOE MANGAN

successes achieved and led to the school being recognised with a national award for its work.

Establishing a positive wellbeing culture requires completing a number of steps. Identifying the needs of all individuals was the first task. Engaging everyone in conversations and questionnaires allowed us to identify and triage levels of need. Resources were then allocated quickly and appropriately. Gathering feedback became a vital part of our everyday practice as individual’s circumstances changed. We upskilled so we could identify markers for people in need and established teams of wellbeing champions and mental health first aiders across the school. An area on the school’s website was given to resources and links and we used social media to keep our community informed. Ongoing workshops helped develop resilience for all

Joe Mangan is a former school leader who has worked as a Headteacher for over 10 years, most recently for Maricourt Catholic High School. Joe now helps Schools across the North West realise the potential of a flexible workforce, as a Senior Business Development Manager for SupplyWell. Today he shares his insights on wellbeing culture in schools… Since the pandemic, organisations have responded to support people who are struggling to re-establish the calm and repair the disconnect and lack of routine that lockdown forced upon us all. As the former headteacher of a large secondary school, Maricourt Catholic High School, I saw the impact the isolation and restrictions had on students, families and colleagues. Our determination to help our community ‘reset’ to a normal way of life encouraged us to be creative in what we did internally and to engage with external agencies to provide the additional layers of support where needed. Having an outstanding senior leader, Danielle Lawler, coordinating the work across the school was key. Her relentless determination to continue the open and honest discussions around mental health and wellbeing and provide the appropriate support where needed remains key to the

WHAT IS ESG?

As a company, we don’t currently have an ESG strategy. There, I’ve said it! And I know we aren’t alone (be honest!) because I’ve asked a few people and they aren’t sure either! Over the years, there must have been loads of new slogans, abbreviations and techniques that companies have faced, that at first, must have bamboozled and raised anxiety levels but which is now considered the norm. So, my question is, where do you start?

Research seemed to be my starting point. Any good search engine will tell you the 3 factors; environmental, social, governance. It will also tell you lots of different frameworks you can use to begin to map out an ESG strategy, but it is important to review a few and decide what suits your business best. Once I was armed with some more information, my panic calmed as I began to see we have already begun to think about some aspects of ESG – we just haven’t put them in a framework.

My next stop…Training. I’ve registered for a course…no better way to learn. I could sit and google all day, but time is precious, and I need to capitalise on every second. Plus, further training often leads to a plethora of new ideas and a chance to learn from others experience– positives and negatives!

Then we need to review; what are we already doing and what are our easy wins (small, low effort changes). What are our ESG goals; where do we want to be, how are we going to get there, and how will we know when we have arrived (what are our KPIs and who is going to report on our progress). And of course, reviewing business performance never ends…nor should it! Every ESG strategy should be regularly reviewed and updated –as there will always be new ways to address your ESG as a business.

So as for us…watch this space, I’ll report back in the next well-connected.

Liverpool Dinner Club

Last year, The Social Desk purchased Liverpool Dinner Club. It has been a fantastic space for networking, dining, and building relationships across the city and we have had some incredible feedback.

and wellbeing events were calendared in throughout the year.

Now I am working as a Senior Business Development Manager for SupplyWell, it was important to me that I joined a company that shared the same commitment to their colleagues and am delighted to say our philosophies are very much aligned. The improvements were significant at Maricourt Catholic High School. The work continues, as it does across many organisations up and down the country. For it to have the impact you desire, it must become part of your culture and be led by people who are passionate about making the difference within your organisation.

If you would like to discuss how your school could be benefitting from a flexible workforce, contact me directly by emailing Joe@supplywell.co.uk

A massive Thank You from myself and Lee to everyone who has been so far.

For our next event, on Thursday 11th May, we are going bigger than ever before and taking over the entire Gino D’Acampos 360 Sky Bar on Old Hall Street, to host an “Evening of Eurovision” in association with the Liverpool Chamber. We have sold half our tickets, so don’t miss out and get yours now. There will be food, drink and live entertainment all evening, but of course our core value of the chance to network and build some solid relationships will always be the focus of our events. And its not just the size of the event we are changing. Liverpool is a very special city, its vibrant, dynamic, passionate and holds its own charisma – it’s a big community and all these things are why it was chosen to host Eurovision. So, in that spirit, we have decided to donate all profits from the event to two charities: Strawberry field and AUGB. These two charities not only have a great connection with Eurovision, but they also have some incredible plans together on how to support many of those affected by the War in Ukraine.

There are very few reasons not to come, tickets can be purchased from www.liverpooldinnerclub.com we would love to see you there!