Action Plan Ideas

Create executive vision and commitment statement Form leadership led staff wellbeing action team Collect survey data of executive wellbeing

Culture Building

Objective: Build leadership commitment

Example actions:

• Create executive vision and commitment statement
• Form leadership led staff wellbeing action team
• Collect survey data of executive wellbeing

Objective: Build staff commitment

Example actions:

• Invite staff to join school staff wellbeing action team
• Provide PL on wellbeing approaches
• Seek feedback on whole school processes for supporting wellbeing (flowcharts, response plans)

Objective: Build leader capability

Example actions:

• Provide health and wellbeing group consulting with Adrienne for executive team
• Provide 1:1 wellness coaching to wiling executive team members
• Provide training for managers for understanding the impact of the work environment on social and emotional wellbeing

Strengthen leadership team

Example actions:

• Develop knowledge and skills of executive team through group coaching, whole school wellbeing PL and additional readings

Executive team share best practice with staff

Example actions:

• Communicate how the program is designed to improve the health and wellbeing of workers
• Communicate how workers are able to access important information on the program and specific initiatives
• Communicate how you will deliver the flexibility and opportunity to support workers to enjoy becoming more active and healthy
• Identify needs and preferences of staff to improve wellbeing in focus groups, surveys and PLT meetings

Executive team role model health and wellbeing values to staff

Example actions:

• Executives to head/join staff wellbeing team

Embed a culture of coaching and mentoring across the school

Example actions:

• Explore AITSL Coaching and Mentoring resources
• Network with another school to hear about their coaching and mentoring model and how to implement
• Enrol key staff in GROWTH coaching accreditation and/or training

Physical Health

Improve physical health of staff

Example actions:

• Provide PL on nutrition, lifestyle, and physical health for all staff
• Initiate a healthy recipe exchange
• Host workplace challenges e.g. eat well for a week; try a different fruit or vegetable every day; competition to eat more fruit and vegetables
• Remove the biscuit or lolly jar and replace with fresh fruit
• Provide free water bottles and encourage staff to keep bottles topped up with tap water at their desks/worksite or to take to meetings etc.
• Host cooking demonstrations and taste-testing that showcase healthy options.
• If you have a staff canteen, consider regular healthy lunch days, e.g. once a week or engage a dietitian to advise on increasing the number of healthy tasty menu options available.
• Provide information about walking and cycling routes – and encourage workers to include some physical activity in travelling part or all of the way to and from work.
• Encourage workers to make active choices where possible by distributing written information and using promotional and motivational posters at strategic points
• Establish a lunchtime walking group or a simple ‘Walk Challenge’.
• Establish lunchtime activities such as yoga, belly dancing, or skating – depending on interest.
• Support a workplace ‘lunch club’ – those interested can contribute and share the cost of lunches; or hold a ‘let’s do lunch’ meeting where all bring a healthy dish to share.
• Establish a time-in-lieu arrangement to support individual or group physical activity.
• When catering for meetings, request the food supplier to provide foods of nutritional value.
• If you have vending machines, stock them with at least some healthy food options.
• Provide a fresh fruit bowl in the meeting or lunchroom.
• Provide some standing workstations to reduce sedentary behaviours, if relevant.
• Encourage walking meetings
• Organise and encourage corporate teams for events such as fun runs/walks.
• Introduce walking groups and other activity groups that meet before,during, or after work. There are a number of service providers that can assist in this area.
• Provide incentives to promote physical activity, such as flexible work hours or provision of 15 minutes of work time to supplement 15 minutes of break time to be physically active.

Positive Emotions

Build staff resilience

Example actions:

• Provide PL on workplace wellbeing strategies for whole staff each term

Improve positive emotions of staff

Example actions:

• Provide PL on workplace wellbeing strategies for whole staff each term
• Encourage employee recognition for exceptional efforts, activities supporting a healthier work environment, providing leadership or a team working well together (e.g. host a free healthy staff barbeque, distribute a whole of organisational email celebrating achievements).
• Plan and program fun and informative activities that meet staff needs
• Promote and encourage employees to participate in local recreation and community clubs and activities such as book clubs, walking groups, art and craft groups, relaxation and yoga classes.
• Track the good stuff – e.g. what went well board in the staffroom
• Establish a regular gratitude practice for staff

Improve staff self-awareness

Example actions:

• Provide PL on self-awareness
• Complete personality and strengths assessments with review
• Start a mindfullness practice with all staff

Improve staff awareness of others

Example actions:

• Develop skills in listening (focused PL and activities)

Focus on “optimism” in the workplace

Example actions:

• Focus on solutions in all improvement discussions
• Explore gratitude as a staff
• Asking for (and implementing) feedback
• Recognise and remove roadblocks
• Cutting out micro-management where possible
• Build up the leadership potential of others
• Offer professional development opportunities

Build a culture of “helpful” thinking and language

Example actions:

• Explore “helpful” vs “unhelpful” thoughts as teams and with staff

Predict stressors and develop solutuions

Example actions:

• Reguarly review calandar and note key times for additional support/reduction in load

Promote vulnerability and psychological safety

Example actions:

• Develop listening skills

Embed ‘Growth Mindset’ approach

Example actions:

• Present staff with resources for learning
• Create school wide growth mindset learning sequence for students

Provide staff access to talking therapies

Example actions:

• Share EAP information
• Provide 1:1 coaching
• Link staff to local health and wellbeing practitioners

Make working adjustments

Example actions:

• Develop a working hours adjustment plan for key staff
• Develop a role adjustment plan for key staff
• Contact People and Performance to discuss alternative working arrangements for key staff

Engagement

Provide professional development in wellbeing to staff

Example actions:

• Provide professional development in wellbeing to staff
• Host on-site visits from health and wellbeing organisations
• Establish a health and wellbeing notice board or circulate health and wellbeing opportunities to workers via email, newsletters
• Establish a “Book Club” with readings and reflections on health and wellbeing articles and books
• Circulate information such as brochures, fact sheets, websites, and posters that promote positive mental health.
• Allocate a space for a staff lounge with books and magazines on healthy lifestyles.

Identify staff strengths and review findings as teaching teams to improve team dynamics and staff awareness

Example actions:

• Provide PL on discovering strengths
• Provide time to find and review strengths in teaching teams
• Take VIA Survey to identify strengths
• Create a strengths tree in the staffroom

Explore job design with staff

Example actions:

• Redefine job description – what is your real role?
• Survey and find out what means most to staff

Discover staff interests

Example actions:

• Survey staff on areas of interest and expertise

Distribute staff leadership

Example actions:

• All staff complete strengths assessment
• Survey all staff on their interests and areas of strength

Introduce a range of activities to workplace for staff to participate in

Example actions:

• Plan and schedule in hours activities for staff to attend

Promote mindfullness in the workplace

Example actions:

• Embed breathing practices into meetings
• Offer yoga/meditation/mindfulness at work in breaks
• Create mindfulness challenges

Develop and provide flexible working arrangement options for staff

Example actions:

• Adjust working hours for relevant staff
• Create an in-school/off class working arrangement for relevant staff

Relationships

Improve staff communication

Example actions:

• Provide PL on workplace wellbeing strategies for whole staff each term
• Embed conflict management practices

Build teams and relationships

Example actions:

• Organise social functions within the workplace for employees and their families, to help build social networks
• Promote vulnerability
• Identify and share strengths as a team
• Strategise how to build up weaknesses as a team
• Develop team identity and vision
• Set goals together as teams
• Reinforce successes
• Managers focus team on noticing, understanding, and respecting the feelings of team members
• Build executive skills in conflict resolution
• Set aside time to talk without interruption from other people or distractions like phones, computers or television
• Develop listening skills
• Practice communication and listening activities with staff
• Encourage random acts of kindness
• Incorporate thank you cards into staff meetings
• Establish coaching and mentoring partnerships and programs
• Provide opportunities for positive feedback

Develop practices and processes for executive team

Example actions:

• Develop behaviour response timetable
• Create a contact timetable and flowchart for outreach to executives

Develop practices and processes for staff

Example actions:

• Develop and agree on behaviour management flowchart for classroom to executive level

Embed coaching and mentoring

Embed conflict management processes

Plan ‘inclusive’ in hours events

Meaning

Develop shared vision and purpose

Example actions:

• Executive team engages in group coaching to set a team shared vision
• Executive team runs the same vision setting session with the teaching teams
• Executive team develops a shared vision as a whole staff

Set wellbeing goals as a school

Example actions:

• Executive team set school priorities
• Executive team set teaching team priorities
• Executive team review team priorities
• Set staff goals relating to passion, values and interests

Identify the clear purpose of all projects, tasks and innitiatives

Example actions:

• Create team vision for all new initiatives

Find what drives staff

Example actions:

• Find “why’s” with staff

Accomplishment

Provide opportunities for staff to give feedback

Example actions:

• Provide a suggestion box in the staff room
• Create anonymous surveys to seek feedback and staff voice

Celebrate accomplishment

Example actions:

• Encourage employee recognition for exceptional efforts, activities supporting a healthier work environment, providing leadership or a team working well together (e.g. host a free healthy staff barbeque, distribute a whole organisational email celebrating achievements).
• Set personal and professional goals
• Set team goals
• Give regular opportunities to celebrate achievement

Reguarly set staff goals

Example actions:

• Set individual staff wellbeing goals and actions
• Set termly team wellbeing goals and actions

Track and measure success