Education workforce – health and wellbeing support: report findings and recommendations

Conclusion

The vision for Scottish education is centred around excellence and equity. Working with partners to develop an empowered and collaborative system, where everyone's contribution is heard and valued and improving children and young people's outcomes is at its heart. Highly skilled, motivated and committed people, working together are needed to realise these ambitions and to ensure the most effective services are being delivered.

The Education Workforce Support project was commissioned in recognition of the fact that to deliver the vision for children, young people and families, there needs to be a national focus on the wellbeing of all staff who work in education.

There is evidence that LAs are making efforts to address workplace challenges and improve HWB by developing and implementing universal and additional provision for staff. However, further consideration should be given to effective strategic approaches which ensure those structures are fully inclusive, become sustainable and authentically value and respond to staff feedback.

To implement changes that have a deep-rooted impact on the wellbeing of the workforce there is a need to break the cycle of surface level change. Commitment to supporting education workforce HWB is a crucial investment in the people who work hard to improve outcomes for children and young people as part of an empowered and nuanced system.

This research highlights that it can be done through approaches that work to develop a workplace culture that puts people at the centre and is:

• jointly determined by all stakeholders
• adaptable to the changes in society and the education landscape
• rooted in true accountability.

LAs nationally continue to face rising complexities and competing pressures on finite resources and it has, therefore, never been more important for organisations to prioritise staff HWB. The SG, ESG's and LAs should continue to work together to ensure progression and the following recommendations have been drawn up to support the delivery of the key improvement priorities highlighted in this report.