Call for nurseries to be more open about staff mental health

The findings, based on a survey of just under 1,500 nursery staff, published today by the Anna Freud Centre, also found that around half of nursery and pre-school staff have experienced work-related stress during the past year.

Early years staff working in nurseries or pre-schools would like their settings to be more open about staff mental health, and to ensure staff wellbeing policies are in place and upheld.

While many find their managers supportive, they would like more done to foster staff wellbeing in the workplace, particularly as the impact of the pandemic is still being felt.

The Anna Freud Centre was approached by Salford council and was then joined by local authorities in Tameside, Bury, the London Borough of Hackney and Norfolk, as well as the National Day Nurseries Association, to develop a resource to support early years practitioners.

The findings are based on responses to a survey of 1,458 nursery staff working in nurseries and preschool settings across England, which was carried out in January this year, and have helped to develop a free resource for practitioners.

This new, free resource contains the survey findings, ideas for boosting staff wellbeing and an activity checklist. 

The survey findings show that:

• Nursery staff love their work, and many feel their settings are actively engaging with staff mental health and achieving positive results. 
• Less than half (47 per cent) were aware of whether their nursery had a mental health and wellbeing policy in place, and where no known policy was reported, staff stress levels were also found to be highest. 
• Nursery staff also said that the pandemic had taken its toll on their mental health, with 50 per cent reporting that they felt unwell as a result of work-related stress during the past year and 66 per cent reporting that the pandemic had impacted their wellbeing and mental health.

Dr Camilla Rosan, head of early years and prevention at the Anna Freud Centre, said, ‘It’s clear from this new research how much early years staff love their work, but it’s also clear that it can at times be emotionally demanding and stressful. Staff wellbeing needs to lie at the heart of nursery settings, so we can best support those who look after young children in the first years of their lives. Those early years are so critical to a child's longer-term development and happiness.’

The research identified four key areas which could make a difference to the wellbeing of staff in nursery and pre-school settings:

1. Supporting each other: Staff value it when they find support among colleagues, check in and show an interest in each other, and can be honest and open about sharing difficult workplace experiences. They said it was important to recognise themselves as a team, reflecting and learning together.
   
   
2. Supportive management: All staff, including managers, have a role to play in promoting peer support. Managers determine the extent to which staff wellbeing is a priority, supported by policies, procedures and resources. Guidance can include practical basics, like having enough breaks throughout the day.
   
   
3. The physical environment: Having access to an environment which promotes wellbeing and provides a safe space can help staff to recover from stressful situations. They recognise the importance of openly displayed health and wellbeing information, and the option to join in with fun or social activities. 
   
   
4. Outside support: Staff value being given training opportunities and access to peer networks, as well as signposting to local services when extra wellbeing support is needed. Other outside pressures also impact on wellbeing, like the cost of living and a sense that the profession is under-valued.

Staff at Juice Nursery in Altrincham, Greater Manchester also worked with the Anna Freud Centre on creating the resource. Sarah Leary, manager at Juice, said, 'We believe that staff are the lifeblood of a nursery, and therefore supporting their mental health should be a key priority. 

'It’s so important for settings to introduce policies and initiatives to enable staff to focus on their own wellbeing, whilst supporting them both professionally and personally. This resource will be incredibly useful to settings, and we hope it will inspire many new initiatives across the UK.’

Stella Ziolkowski, National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA)’s director of quality and training, said, ‘It’s heartening to read that the majority of nursery practitioners love what they do. This commitment and passion needs to be properly recognised by the Government as looking after very young children can be stressful and challenging although it’s clear that this is also a hugely rewarding career. 

‘Having faced such a tough time over the past 18 months, any additional support for staff and settings is really welcome. We have heard time and again how fears around Covid and the pressures of having rooms and whole nurseries closing and reopening have taken its toll. That’s why we were delighted to work with Anna Freud Centre on this project and a much-needed resource for the sector.

‘We know all about the pressures on the workforce which is made worse as a result of the chronic underfunding of the sector. Nurseries already do so much to recognise and celebrate their staff. This report and toolkit can help them make sure they have the right training and mentoring for staff to progress. 

‘It’s important for settings to have a staff wellbeing policy in place and to support the sector, alongside the publication of this report, we have made our sample policy available for any nurseries to download and use.’

Dr Rachel Lyons, deputy principal educational psychologist, Salford and Bury Educational Psychology Services, said, ‘The content of this new resource is inspired and informed by the insightful and practical feedback that we received from those in settings based on their lived experiences, and this is what makes it so valuable. We hope to see it having a real impact in early years settings, for the benefit of staff and the children they care for.’

Commenting, Neil Leitch, Early Years Alliance chief executive, said, ‘Low pay, long hours and excessive paperwork are all common aspects of life in the early years, so it is no surprise that staff wellbeing has been placed under severe pressure for a number of years now, or that the Covid-19 pandemic has only added to this problem. 

‘We want the early years workforce to be in the best possible mental and physical health not just for themselves, but also for the benefit of the children in their care, as we know that young children pick up on the stresses and strains on the adults in their lives, which can in turn affect their wellbeing too. 

‘Our own research suggests the vast majority of early years professionals who come forward with mental health concerns to their colleagues have those concerns taken seriously.  

‘However, there is clearly more work to do to make sure every practitioner is also aware of, and has access to, the right kind of professional and practical support, should they need it – and also that settings have the support which they need to ensure this is the case.’