Staff Well-being

Staff well-being is a key part of our success as a school. A hard-working staff should be well supported and cared for to allow them to meet the demands made of teachers in a modern context. All staff are provided with their own personal laptop and extensive training. A well-resourced support team of ICT technicians, science technicians, art and workshop technicians, admin staff, chaplaincy staff and site staff work hard to make sure the Academy runs smoothly and that teaching staff are well supported to focus on our core business of teaching.

Staff at St Mary’s receive a full induction programme and access our outstanding weekly professional development. All teaching staff also have 90 minutes of additional non-contact time per fortnight to focus on their own area of interest in enhanced professional development. Our appraisal system is designed to support staff in developing through enhanced CPD and does not include any formal lesson observations. New staff are supported by weekly coaching meetings and support from their subject areas; a range of leadership development programmes is also available

Workload issues are regularly discussed with our staff committee and policies around marking, assessment, reporting and homework are carefully designed to try and manage the workload for staff. An email protocol ensures staff are not disturbed by emails in an evening and small gestures like free tea, coffee and biscuits served by our amazing housekeepers; free access to the school fitness suite; free annual flu jabs; a car valet service and regular staff social events including a free Christmas “do” and a Trust summer ball all help to make our Academy and Trust a rewarding place to work.