W is for Wellbeing
Authentic wellbeing: A whole setting approach for meaningful change.
Implementation - meaningful engagement in practice for increased staff wellbeing and ultimately the whole setting:
Often as early years leaders we may think of wellbeing as an add on, a benefit we buy in to, although these perks are fun and enjoyable, what’s really needed for overall wellbeing is a true understanding and respect for wellbeing needs holistically and systemically threaded through all aspects of the setting.
As leaders and educators, as we learn by remaining open, non-defensive, and curious, we role model the attitudes and behaviours to learning and growing for the staff and children at our setting.
Staff with raised wellbeing markers are ultimately better able to care for children well and enable children to have raised wellbeing markers, just like parenting.
For all children but especially neurodivergent/disabled/SEND children this is especially important as there is an increased need for the child to rely on the staff member ‘co-regulating’ the child to regulate themselves in the setting. If one is not regulated it is very hard to co regulate another or be able to respond to a variety of needs in the room.
It has been well researched and evidenced that creating an enabling environment is central to humans reaching their full potential – it is one of the overarching principles of the EYFS. The environment of the childcare space, the home, the community, the workplace… it’s all connected, and we need to feel safe emotionally and physically. When we do, we can blossom fully.
As such, the first port of call in laying the groundwork to achieve staff and setting wellbeing is for us to mindfully create working environments that lend themselves to it.
Key areas to focus on are below:
Supervision
Take the time to self-audit your setting and ensure you’re checking in on the experience of others. Think about supervision quality, ongoing outcomes, and consistency, as these are central to effective engagement with your team and ultimately overall wellbeing.
For example:
- Think about how much time is built into the working week or month for effective supervision of educators.
- Consider what effective supervision looks like for your setting.
- Think about whether your setting and educators would benefit from a set format, a casual chat, or a more formal structure.
It’s important for any supervision to be well-being- and mental health-informed as well as standard needs such as safeguarding discussions.
We further need to consider if the person carrying out the supervision has the right skill set and mentality to do so. Are they emotionally mature, stable and equipped to carry out this role?This is especially relevant as we move through the early years staffing crisis and are forced to make adaptations to our judgement calls on staff which in turn impacts wellbeing for all.
Emotional maturity in this context means looking at if the person conducting the supervision meeting can ‘create space’ for the person they are supervising, in order for meaningful discourse and effective communication to actually take place. If not, it cannot be highly effective or meaningful and cannot create a culture of wellbeing well and is also a potential safeguarding risk.
We also need to consider if the relationship between supervisee and supervisor is healthy, appropriate and positive. For example, ask whether there are any issues that may get in the way of communication being effective? Here, effective means that it supports useful and meaningful progress toward the best possible outcomes for children, families, and staff and overall wellbeing.
Ultimately, reflect on whether the systems in place will pick up on any issues consistently and resolve them appropriately and quickly.
Transparency and an open-door culture of communication
Another major consideration when working to authentically identify issues, resolve and increase well-being is whether staff, families and other professionals feel they can talk openly to leaders in a meaningful way.
We need to look at whether the atmosphere in the spaces leaders occupy is welcoming, accepting, and emotionally safe. Communicators need to know if they will be heard, so that any issues are managed well and swiftly, and that leaders will be present in all senses and be able to support, fix things where necessary and create emotional safety. These steps are important if we are to enable wellbeing for all.
Simple measures, such as leaders being on hand to greet families and staff in the morning, are important for example.
Reflect on your setting’s ethos and policy around expectations for practitioners around transparent and open communication. Ideally, this would happen from the beginning, but reviewing and assessing at any time is essential and valuable too.
For example:
- Remind yourself what the initial discussions were at the onboarding stage during the recruitment process, regarding an open-door policy.
- Reflect on how clear this is in your setting ethos now.
- Consider how this intersects with safe safeguarding culture in your setting too, as it is connected and how you are checking in with staff to see how they are feeling at work. If staff are feeling anxious and undermined they are less likely to be able to report any safeguarding issues and be able to care for children well.
Work-life balance
The deepened awareness and ultimately increased accommodation of wellbeing support systems in the workplace is arguably a positive outcome of the pandemic.
There is now increased focus on the role of leaders to reduce the potential emergence of mental health needs, through identifying potential causes. These can be things like heavy workloads and taking care of other staff.
Staff who are not experiencing an adequate level of wellbeing at work can present their unmet needs in a range of ways, such as physically, mentally, emotionally, and physiologically.
Authentic wellbeing for staff and settings requires leadership reflection and honesty but is ultimately highly rewarding for staff, the children and parents, the setting and the business model.
Contact Yasmin: I have over 28 years’ successful experience working with individuals, families, educational settings, organisations and more to empower, educate, advocate & change make in order to advance the life opportunities and observe the rights of neurodivergent/disabled people individually, collectively and systemically. Reach out here.
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About the Author
Yasmin Darling is a consultant, writer, and speaker specialising in neurodivergence, SEND, early years, wellbeing, and systemic change. A neurodivergent Londoner in the Cotswolds, she is a single parent and carer. With 28+ years of experience, Yasmin excels in leading transformative change and fostering community through humour and warmth.
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