Health epidemic of the 21st Century?

Did you know that stress is the ‘health epidemic of the 21st Century, according to the World Health Organisation? Staff in FE are not immune, with 7 in 10 experiencing stress, according to a poll by the National Education Union. Yet research shows that only 32 per cent of organisations provide training to support staff experiencing stress, anxiety or mental health difficulties. Have you trained your staff recently? Do you know that Ofsted inspectors are interested in your actions?

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Staff mental health – did you know?

Did you know that mental health difficulties is now the primary cause of long-term sickness absence for many UK organisations? Did you know that recent research shows that only 32% of organisations train line managers on how to support staff with mental health difficulties? Do your managers know how to support their staff experiencing stress and other mental health difficulties at work? Would new guidance and training help?

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Mind the gap

Do staff know that someone with a mental health difficulty may well be covered under the definition of a disabled person, and therefore entitled to reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010? Are they aware of the common adjustments that can be made for staff experiencing mental health difficulties? Would new Acas guidance help?

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£347,000 compensation for a teacher experiencing disability-related discrimination

A teacher with a bipolar mental health difficulty has been awarded £347,000 after a school failed to make reasonable adjustments and caused her to experience discrimination related to her disability. Identifying and implementing reasonable adjustments for disabled staff and managing performance – how does your practice shape up?

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Teenage mental health

The Ofsted 2015 inspection framework has an increased focus on safeguarding, supporting vulnerable learners and meeting individual learner needs. Do tutors know that it’s likely that at least three students in a class of 30 will have a mental health difficulty? Are student services staff clear on how best to support learners with mental health difficulties into learning? Do tutors know how to provide effective support for learners experiencing these difficulties?

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