Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Top Priority with Charter Commitment
Employees at North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College (NWSLC) are set to benefit from further commitment to supporting their wellbeing and mental health after the college joined a new Department for Education scheme.
The Education Staff Wellbeing Charter has been created by the education sector to highlight staff wellbeing and enables schools and colleges to create, and publicly commit to, their own wellbeing strategies. It is a declaration to protect, promote and enhance the wellbeing and mental health of everyone working in state education, and sets out principles of shared understanding on the meaning and importance of wellbeing. The charter was designed to improve wellbeing in schools and colleges by encouraging debate and accountability.
Marion Plant, OBE FCGI, Principal and Chief Executive of NWSLC said, “We are delighted to be joining schools and colleges from across the country to support this important initiative. NWSLC is a caring employer that looks after its employees, and we are proud of the strategy that we already have in place to support mental health and wellbeing.”
NWSLC employs over 700 people, including 200 teaching staff across seven campuses and supports around 8,000 students in full and part-time study, apprenticeships, higher education, professional courses, and distance learning. The college has been accredited with gold status from Investors in People reinforcing the college’s ongoing commitment to people management excellence.
The college has a people strategy in place which has been designed to support the development of a diverse and inclusive world class workforce and supports NWSLC’s overall vision to be recognised as a high-quality learning institution for its students and a positive learning partner for individuals and businesses helping to drive up productivity and growth within the East and West Midlands.
NWSLC has made a commitment to this charter as part of its overall ambition to support its employees’ mental and physical health and wellbeing which already includes a wide range of activities including sessions on menopause, diabetes risk, mindfulness, and opportunities to get active.
Nicola Morrison, Executive Director – People and Commercial at NWSLC said, “We aspire to be an employer of choice, creating a culture and work environment that makes the college a great place to work. This includes investing in our people, celebrating success, giving our people the tools and resources to enable them to be knowledgeable, healthy, and engaged, as well as valuing individual and collective contribution. We strive to promote a culture of positive mental health and wellbeing because we appreciate that our workforce is our greatest asset.”