Cambridge Meridian Academies Trust: a service too good to keep quiet

The Education Support Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) was launched in schools across our Trust a few years ago. Out of the 23 schools in the Trust, 22 use it, and the only one that doesn’t is quite new to the Trust and brought their own provider with them. I think this is truly a testament to the quality, range and value for money that the Education Support service provides. Whenever a new school has switched and come over to the Education Support service we’ve had really good feedback, especially in relation to how accessible the EAP is.

What Education Support provides is a full package; the EAP is not just counselling, but advice, guidance and information too and it’s these things all together that make it standout. Staff can use it for anything from advice on a mortgage, to seeking support when going through a divorce. It doesn’t always have to be something bad; people can access information on such a range of information, it’s just really helpful.

Knowing that we can offer staff the chance to speak to someone either ahead of, or almost immediately after, any difficult conversations that they might be having, and being able to proactively promote this service is an important part of the support we offer to all our staff, that goes beyond and complements what our Trust provides.

We receive data on usage statistics which are really helpful for us; we can see how much the EAP provision is being used, and what sort of thing people are getting support with (it’s all anonymous of course). This helps us tailor our own provision for staff too. We make sure school leaders and Trustees see these statistics, so people can see what great value for money we’re getting.

Promoting and marketing the EAP across the Trust is an important part of what we do. We ask school leaders and senior staff to share information widely across their school, put it into all staff briefings, on posters and flyers, and it’s included in every induction. We also make sure to include it in any communications to staff relating to disciplinary, grievance or capability procedures. Those processes aren’t easy so it’s really useful to be able to offer staff confidential support through the EAP.

The stats also show us spikes in when the EAP is used. For example, we know that around Christmas it might be used more so we share information about it and remind people of the importance of reaching out if they need support. This service is absolutely one that people feel they can trust.

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Our Employee Assistance Programme is a cost-effective staff wellbeing package that can transform your team's wellbeing. If you’d like to know more, please get in touch.