Bournville Village Primary: giving staff somewhere to turn

Bournville Village Primary School in Birmingham has 654 pupils and 80 staff. Strategic Operations Manager, Matt, and Headteacher Amy were looking for a programme that would help staff feel supported inside and outside of work. They tell us why our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) fits the bill. Matt says:

“When we both joined the organisation in January, we found absence high and staff wellbeing low on the agenda. The council EAP was not really delivering, and people didn’t know much about it.

We sought out Education Support, as Amy had some experience of your programme from a previous school. What drew us to you is that you were very clear that it is tailored for the education sector and that you understand the trials, tribulations and pressures and stresses that exist for our kinds of staff specifically.

When I spoke to Education Support, your understanding of why the programme is so important to us as an employer rang true to me. You could see why we were trying to introduce it – not just to reduce absence or pay lip service to wellbeing but that we really wanted our staff to feel that if they are going through something, even if it’s external to work, that we are here to support them, in any way that they need.

In your presentation to our whole school, you were specific about who you are as an organisation, what you stand for, and why you do what you do, which is great. Rather than being a for-profit you are driven by providing practical support to teachers and education staff, and that’s what came through.

I have had a member of staff feed back to me about the service. She contacted you for some mental health support and said just knowing that support was there was reassuring. Which is more important to us than anything, knowing that people know if they are struggling, they can reach out to someone.

The service provides value for money as well. As you are tailored to education and have that background, you are not talking from behind a brick wall or from an ivory tower, you understand the needs and requirements of us as an employer of educators.

It is a double-edged sword. I don’t want anyone to have to need you, but if they do, I’m confident you could give them some level of support that would help them.”