Written by One of the best aspects of working within a Multi-Academy Trust is the fact that efficiencies we create and working at scale enable us to do more for our schools than they would independently. This includes a range of support resources for our schools on areas that affect them all. For example, the work we have undertaken – from policy through to practice in our schools – around menopause awareness and support has been widely praised and appreciated as really impactful on employees and their families.
November sees a national focus upon men’s mental health, and at John Taylor MAT we are launching a series of resources and think pieces to stimulate the conversation, enhance awareness, further understanding and – critically – improve support.
Back in September, I was invited to present at a staff meeting on the first day of the new academic year. On that Monday, of all Mondays, many colleagues working in schools up and down the country do not feel at their best. The summer break is over, and the new academic year begins – always with some uncertainty (new staff, new pupils, changes to policies and systems etc.) – but hopefully also with some excitement and enthusiasm. I shared the poster depicted here, which I had found circulating social media. It resonated with me, and I could see from the response of the staff that it resonated with a number of them also.
“How your people feel” is a hard concept to grasp, and to quantify. After all, “our people” are not homogenous, and there will be a spectrum of attitudes to work and life that span across and within our schools and teams. In addition, how we “feel” is far from fixed. Feelings are dynamic. But, those caveats aside, the sentiment of the poster for me still rings true. An organisation is measured by how its people feel about it, not how it declares it would want, hope or expect them to feel.
With 1200 employees, we have a duty of care to provide an environment conducive to the physical and mental wellbeing of all our stakeholders. In relation to mental health, the charity Mind states that research indicates that approximately one in four people in England will experience a mental health problem of some kind each year. NHS England in its Mental Health of Children and Young People in England (2023) report stated that 20.3% of eight to 16 year-olds had a probable mental health disorder, and among 17 to 19 year-olds that figure rose to 23.3%. And whilst we know that mental health problems can affect any individual regardless of age, background or sex we also know that some groups are more susceptible to crises in their mental health. The charity ManUp states on its website that “male suicide is a public health emergency. In the UK, suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50 and in 2022 three-quarters of all suicide deaths were male.”
You will appreciate from the above that a focus on mental health in men is important and worthwhile. As an individual, I have been affected by mental health issues both professionally and personally – as will have most people. I have seen mental health crises in colleagues and friends and endeavoured to support them as best I could, experienced a childhood with mental health challenges in the family home, and had times when my own mental state was nowhere near as healthy as I would want. I feel incredible gratitude to those who have supported me and those I care about through these times, and I feel comfortable sharing this with you as a result of their kindness and encouragement. Not everyone is so fortunate, and in our schools and across our Trust the message needs to be very clear: that mental health is important, it is OK to not be OK, that healing is not linear but it is possible, and that we all deserve a life free from mental health struggles.
Please look out for our resources and work this month on men’s mental health.
Thanks, as always, for reading – and take care.
Mike.
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