Staff at St. Louis Grammar School in Ballymena have put in place a Health and Wellbeing Action Plan to prioritise the health of their teachers and school staff.
The school has trained a number of qualified ‘Health Champions’ to roll out the strategy through the free programme ‘Work Well Live Well’ which is available to workplaces across Northern Ireland in all industries.
The programme which is delivered by leading local charity Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke (NICHS) and funded by the Public Health Agency (PHA) aims to help workplaces improve their employees' health and wellbeing through personalised support. NICHS support organisations with carrying out a health and wellbeing survey, developing a bespoke 3-year action plan and strategy for their team as well as providing access to training, webinars, resources and networking opportunities, all completely free of charge.
Bronagh McGreevy, Head of Pastoral Care and Vice Principal at St. Louis Grammar School, says, “I was asked to oversee staff welfare at St. Louis Grammar School, and I wanted to take this role seriously so I spent a considerable amount of time researching staff welfare programmes and potential training. The NICHS Work Well Live Well Programme stood out as one of the front leaders in my mind as it merged the importance of serious training alongside up to date and interesting information on a wide variety of issues and areas related to health and welfare. Not only would staff receive specialist training to become certified Health Champions, but we would receive training in a range of areas, access to an incredible database of health and wellbeing information and a dedicated member of staff to speak to and answer any questions. I initially contacted Stephanie from NICHS and after meeting with her, I knew it was the programme to go for. Her professionalism and passion for the programme sold it to me and her support afterwards concluded that it was the right choice.”
“Before starting the programme, I was very aware that each member of staff would have different interests, age ranges, health, and wellbeing priorities. It was therefore important to ensure that a long-term view of staff welfare was established. Initially I contacted all teaching and non-teaching members of staff to ask if anyone would like to start the training to become a certified Health Champion. I was very pleased that seven staff took up the training, and all of us thoroughly enjoyed it.”
“The training enabled us to create our Staff Health and Wellbeing Action Plan. Some of the activities we have been able to roll out as part of the plan within the first year of the programme have included offering a menopause health presentation, yoga and fitness classes, hand reflexology, and stress control classes for staff. The yoga and fitness classes in particular were so beneficial to help clear the head and motivate everyone to get moving after school. Some staff have indicated in the past that they have found it difficult to switch off from school but the activities like these have helped to improve their work/life balance.”
“We were also able to provide Silver NICHS Health Checks for staff which were very informative, with many staff saying that the health check was a wakeup call and has gave them the motivation to keep going in improving their diet and fitness overall, and encouraged them to participate in other staff health initiatives like our May Movers step challenge and Couch to 5k group to improve their health and wellbeing.”
“One member of staff indicated that the Couch to 5k was her biggest achievement this year as she had never done anything like this before and she thought she would never be able to run 5k, but she did thanks to the programme and the motivation from all involved.”
“Staff members have also availed of free Mental Health First Aid Training through the programme, and a Walk and Talk Event for the whole school community took place on World Mental Health Day on October 10th. We have even established a staff choir which is still ongoing, and they had an incredible night recently when they performed live at the Spring Concert at the Braid theatre!”
“The Work Well Live Well programme has helped us create a real sense of community amongst staff, and new staff also said that the wellbeing activities have been instrumental in helping them to build relationships.”
“I hope to embed a culture of wellbeing and health so that we have health and wellbeing conscious staff. I am delighted with the programme and know we are only at the start of our journey. I am looking forward to what’s to come.”
To other businesses considering signing up, Bronagh says, “Definitely get involved and dedicate the time and resources to it. Staff are the most important resource!”
Emma McCrudden, Work Well Live Well Programme Manager at Northern Ireland Chest Heart & Stroke says; “As a local charity, our mission is to prevent chest, heart and stroke conditions and support people affected and our vision is a healthy Northern Ireland free from chest, heart and stroke illnesses. We recognise that the workplace is a priority setting for influencing the physical and mental wellbeing of employees and the PHA funded Work Well Live Well programme which we deliver, helps to promote good health in workplaces across Northern Ireland to prevent serious illness in the long term.”
“St Louis Grammar School is a great example of a workplace which wanted to make a positive change and put staff health first. The initiatives put in place by St Louis staff have been a great success and have made a real difference to the health and wellbeing of the team.”
“We are now recruiting new workplaces to take part in the programme and would encourage organisations of all types and sizes to get in touch to find out how Work Well Live Well can help them.”
For more information and to register for Work Well Live Well, visit nichs.org.uk/workwelllivewell
