Education Supporter A new era for the education sector
Inside this issue: In the wake of the crisis
The magazine from
Autumn 2020
Welcome and thank you Welcome to the latest edition of Education Supporter. What a dramatic few months it’s been. As we start to emerge from the most stressful period that I can remember in my lifetime, I’ve been thinking how fortunate Education Support has been to have come through this relatively unscathed when you see the impact on so many UK charities and businesses. Really we have you to thank for that. We have been simply overwhelmed by the generosity of you all. You have taken meaningful action to ensure that education staff affected by the crisis have received the emotional and financial help they needed and made sure that we can continue to be there for them in the future. Our services are in more demand now than they’ve ever been. We’re having to adapt some of our services in line with advanced technology, so that we can deliver our services to more schools and places of learning throughout the UK. For example, our peer-support group Headspace is now available digitally and we hope that many more head teachers and senior leaders will be able to benefit from this in the near future. I hope you enjoy reading this latest issue and once again, thank you so much for everything you’ve done. We simply could not continue without you. Warmest wishes,
Sinéad Mc Brearty CEO, Education Support
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Contents Welcome and thank you
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In the wake of the crisis
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The lives you’ve changed – Bernard’s story
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Where do your donations go?
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The lives you’ve changed – Margaret’s story
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Your voice
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The lives you’ve changed – Coronavirus Appeal Update & Julie’s story
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Research update
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Break–time
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Donation form
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Keep in touch Address
40A Drayton Park, London, N5 1EW
Phone
0207 697 2750 (general enquiries)
Helpline 08000 562 561 (Free, confidential 24/7 Helpline) Email
fundraising@edsupport.org.uk
Website educationsupport.org.uk 3
In the wake of the crisis At the beginning of lockdown, it was hard to imagine coming out the other side and how on earth we’d return to some form of normality. For the education sector, the impact will be far-reaching:
Impact of coronavirus
Our response to coronavirus In March it became clear that coronavirus would have a significant impact on Education Support. The main areas of impact can be summarised as follows:
• An increase in demand from
beneficiaries for our grants and helpline services.
• Due to social distancing
requirements, a reduction in our ability to provide face-to-face workplace support to schools and education staff.
S chools are dealing with wholesale changes in how they’ve had to operate during lockdown and face huge uncertainties about the future;
• A reduction in our ability to
T here are grave concerns about large increases in the attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils;
• The requirement to transition our
huge number of temporary staff A fell between the cracks of the furlough scheme; ome universities will have too S many students this coming year, and some will have too few. There are about 13 universities that are at risk of going bust this year; T he incidence of mental ill-health and post-traumatic stress is widely expected to rise in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
meet fundraising and commercial income targets. own governance and operations to a remote working model.
We moved swiftly to mitigate the impact and adapt so we could manage the situation:
We increased capacity in our grants team. We cancelled all face-to-face services and began work on producing digital content and reshaping services for remote delivery.
We recruited to a digital fundraising role to support income generation activities.
We moved staff to homeworking and set
up appropriate tools for them to continue to work effectively.
We provided a flexible approach for staff so those with home-schooling or caring commitments were supported.
The Board, operating remotely, signed off a revised 2020-21 budget, reflecting the environmental uncertainty. 4
We will of course continue to support education staff in whatever way they need us and have set out the following objectives for our charity in the wake of the crisis and beyond:
1. To be well known, and trusted,
across the education workforce
2. To move mental health toward the centre of educational policy, using robust data and evidence
3. T o offer a range of high quality
services that deliver clear and substantial impact for places of learning and individuals
4. T o be a centre of innovation,
piloting and evaluating new ideas for wider dissemination
5. To become financially sustainable,
generating enough income to cover the costs of our activities and generating surplus that can be used to fund innovation projects.
Delivering these objectives will only be possible with your help, so thank you for staying with us and ensuring we can be there to provide long-term support.
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The lives you’ve changed… Bernard’s story Bernard lives in South London with his wife who is an ICU nurse, and two sons. A secondary school maths teacher, he began supply teaching over a year ago when family circumstances made it difficult for him to work full-time at school. During the coronavirus lockdown, Bernard’s wife was working long shifts in hospital whilst he cared for and home-schooled their children. Bernard said: “I was about to start working in a new permanent role which I was looking forward to starting after the Easter break.” However, school closures as a result of coronavirus stopped him being able to take up the role, which meant he had no income for as long as the crisis continued. He added: “It was so difficult. I was not entitled to be furloughed
as I was employed by my agency on a daily rate.” We were able to help Bernard and his family with a grant to cover their council tax and service charge for three months. Bernard said: “I didn’t know about Education Support until I found you online. I was so happy that I did. I am really, really grateful for the help you have been able to give us during this time. I hope to get a permanent job as soon as I can again but in the meantime, this has really made a difference to us. Thank you.”
If you’re working or have ever worked in education and are struggling financially, we may be able to help you. For information about our grants, visit educationsupport.org.uk/helping-you/apply-grant or call 020 7697 2772 to speak to the grants team.
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I didn’t know about Education Support until I found you online. I was so happy that I did. I am really, really grateful for the help you have been able to give us during this time. 7
Where do your donations go? We’re grateful that so many of you took the time to complete the survey we sent out with the last issue of Education Supporter. We noted that quite a few of you expressed an interest in hearing about how your donations are used. We believe in being transparent about our financial position and take seriously our obligation to you to use your donations effectively and responsibly. At present, 40% of our income comes from commercial services, 55% from fundraising, and 5% from investments. Our income for the financial year 2019-20 was £2.7 million. We spent £1.7 million of that on our charitable services including our counselling and helpline; grants services; policy and research activity and providing our online information services. We do of course have some overheads to ensure that we can raise this income, including staff costs and the cost of raising funds, but we are proud that we achieve this with a very small team.
How we spent our money Communications, policy and research £343,480
Counselling and mental health advice services £558,034
Training and organisational development £176,186
Information and online advice services £136,134
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Grants £ 502,479
9,911 No. of helpline cases supported
448 No. of financial grants awarded
Service user feedback
88%
Better equipped to deal with problems
85% Service had a positive impact on my situation
What is our reach within the education sector?
1,073 No. of institutions supported
73,584 No. of educators reached
as an organisation?
91%
our service made to individuals
595 Number of cases clinically assessed to be at risk of suicide This indicates the severity of cases dealt with
452,137 Total media reach (web and social media)
Independent clinical audit score for helpline and EAP
If you’d be interested to see more detail about our finances, please visit the Charity Commission’s website – charitycommission.gov.uk – all the information there has been independently audited. 9
The lives you’ve changed… Margaret’s story Some of you may recall that we shared Margaret’s story a few years ago in our supporter magazine. We’re sharing Margaret’s story again because sadly this amazing woman passed away on 19th May due to an aneurism. Our thoughts go out to her family and friends. Margaret was born in 1928 and her life was one of adventure and determination. After qualifying as a teacher in 1949, Margaret worked at several schools in the UK, before her spirit of adventure took her to Africa to teach underprivileged children. It was there in Africa that Margaret’s life changed forever. At the tender age of 30, she was partially paralysed in a road accident on the way to a party. In typical Margaret style, she didn’t let her disability get the better of her. Once she’d mastered using her wheelchair, Margaret became a keen sportswoman in an archery club and was so talented, she even won the first gold medal for Britain at the Paralympic Games in Rome in 1960.
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Margaret won gold for Britain at the Rome Paralympics in 1960
Throughout her working life, Margaret continued to teach Home Economics until her retirement. Margaret came to Education Support a couple of times after retiring when money was tight. We were pleased to be able to help her, firstly with a lightweight wheelchair, then with an electric one when her arms became too weak, and most recently with a new battery for her wheelchair. Margaret also supported us with a regular gift through her pension, which enabled us to help countless other current and retired education staff throughout their careers and beyond. Margaret Maughan’s story truly encompasses what Education Support is all about – that we are here for education staff throughout their career and into retirement. Her story has touched all of our hearts. Rest in peace Margaret.
Margaret carrying the Olympic torch
How can I get help now that I’m retired? At Education Support, we know that retiring can be stressful, especially when leaving a job you love. That’s why we help hundreds of retired and semi-retired education professionals each year, through our 24/7 helpline and with financial grants. If you or anyone you know need our help, please call 08000 562 561 or visit educationsupport.org.uk 11
Your voice
We love hearing from you and have thoroughly enjoyed reading your comments, advice, stories and ideas. We wanted to share just a couple of your letters. If you’ve got anything to add or would like to share your views, please do get in touch.
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Write or email us at: Email: magazine@edsupport.org.uk Write: Education Supporter magazine Education Support 40A Drayton Park, London, N5 1EW 13
The lives you’ve changed… Julie’s story & Emergency Coronavirus Appeal update The coronavirus crisis left thousands of education staff facing extreme financial and emotional pressure. Julie Holden was one of those people. Fortunately, she came to Education Support for help, and thanks to amazing people like you, we were able to be there for her. Julie said:
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My daughter and I
Julie was kind enough to let us share her story as part of our Emergency Coronavirus Appeal back in May when we desperately needed your help to continue being there for people in crisis. Thanks to you all, at the time of writing our appeal has raised more than ÂŁ50,000 and has helped hundreds of families cope during this terrible time. 15
Research update Many of you expressed an interest in hearing more about our research and policy work via the survey that went out with the last issue. We thought it would be helpful to give you some information about one of our key pieces of work, the Teacher Wellbeing Index.
Background Education Support, in conjunction with YouGov, has run an online survey at the end of each academic year, for the past three years, to investigate the mental health and wellbeing of education professionals working in the UK. Staff from all job roles take part. The survey has expanded over time, from having 1,250 participants in 2017 to 1,502 in 2018 and 3,019 in 2019. At the present time, when mental health and wellbeing are at the forefront of people’s minds, this makes our evidence base an important tool to deliver meaningful and sustainable change.
Impact of the Index As with any piece of research, it is important to consider its impact. The 2019 Index had an audience reach of over 14 million people. Specifically it was mentioned 86 times in the media, with exclusive stories published in the Guardian/ Observer online and in print, by the Times Education Supplement (tes) and Schools Week. It also featured in the Sun, Star, Express, Metro and The Scotsman, the latter after a mention in the Scottish Parliament.
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The Index has also been useful in helping to secure the appointment of Sinéad Mc Brearty, our CEO, to a 26-member Expert Advisory Group, set up in July 2019, to advise the Department for Education, Multi-Academy Trusts and Local Authorities on the wellbeing of school and college leaders and teachers.
This year’s Index (2020) On 20 March 2020, all schools/colleges in the UK closed in order to try to combat the spread of the coronavirus whilst the country went into lockdown. However, during this period, many institutions did remain open in a limited way to look after vulnerable children and children of key workers. Thus, the working practices of staff could be very different to previous years. Therefore, for 2020 we are planning two publications. The first addresses the impact of the coronavirus on the mental health and wellbeing of education professionals, and this will be published in mid-September. The second, will contain the key benchmarking data (a slightly smaller publication than in previous years) and will be published in midNovember. We are currently working hard to analyse all the data for both these reports!
A sample of key findings One benefit of conducting an annual survey is that trends over time can be analysed, and yearly differences identified. Some key findings from the 2019 Index were:
Levels of stress felt in the education profession are increasing
The number of education professionals experiencing a mental health issue is increasing
The numbers of education professionals considering leaving the profession are high
In 2019, 72% of all education professionals described themselves as stressed (84% of senior leaders), whereas in 2018 this was 67%
In 2019, 34% of all education professionals had experienced a mental health issue in the past year, which is an increase from 31% in 2018
In 2019 and 2018, 57% of staff had considered leaving the sector over the previous two years due to pressures on their health and wellbeing. In both years, the main reason was the high volume of workload and seeking a better work/life balance.
Should you have any questions relating to the Index, please email research@edsupport.org.uk.
The Index reports are available from our website at: Teacher Wellbeing Index (2019) – educationsupport.org.uk/Twix19 Teacher Wellbeing Index (2018) – educationsupport.org.uk/Twix18 Health Survey (2017) - educationsupport.org.uk/Twix 17 17
Break-time Taking care of your own wellbeing often means finding a helpful diversion and having a bit of fun – which is why we’ve made you another quiz. We hope it’s not too challenging.
From the classroom to the books
Anagram Round
Working in education often means inspiring others to go and do great things, and these former teachers went on to do some pretty amazing things themselves. How many of these famous teachers do you know?
Can you unjumble the names of these school based TV dramas?
1. W hich former Latin teacher described
3. Teenie new herbs
teaching as “Just like performing magic” and hasn’t said much since?
2. Which former English and Philosophy teacher from Salisbury gave us the definitive answer to, “how badly could this trip possibly go”?
3. Before teaching “History and Combat” at a famous fictional academy, who taught P.E. (without superpowers) in Rutland?
4. Which real taskmaster taught English and Drama in the same classroom that would later be used as a set for the hit sitcom he starred in?
5. Who ran a school for deaf students, was a tutor for Helen Keller, and found a way to help us all communicate in 1876? 18
1. Back greedily 2. Hanger gill 4. Wear a tool rod
Marking challenge Can you spot the the mistake?
12345 6789 10 11 12 13 14 15 (Answers on back of covering letter)
Let us know how you did or contribute a question to the next quiz! magazine@edsupport.org.uk
We know you already support us whenever you’re able to. But if you’d like to and feel able to send a gift, thank you so much. We promise to put it to good use as always. £25 could help fund a place to sleep An increasing number of education staff apply for a grant because they’re facing the threat of losing their home. Some even spend nights sleeping in a car. Your donation could help make sure they have a bed for the night. More than half of the grants we awarded last year were to people facing a housing crisis.
£50 could help someone at risk of suicide Every day, two educators calling our Helpline are clinically assessed to be at risk of suicide. Your donation could make sure we’re there to answer those desperate calls. Our dedicated 24/7 Helpline team handles more than 9,000 conversations every year.
£150 could provide household essentials Many educators come to us when they can’t afford to replace or fix essential items in the home during times of financial struggle. Your gift could replace a vital kitchen appliance or even a bed to make life easier for them and their family. In the past three years, we have awarded more than £90,000 in grants to replace or repair essential household goods.
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educationsupport.org.uk I 40A Drayton Park, London, N5 1EW I Registered charity no. 1161436
