ABOUT US

We work in a variety of ways to help schools and universities support students and their families in mental health, well-being and safeguarding aspects.

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​This includes providing external 'reflective practice' supervision for school and university pastoral staff (individuals and groups) and training sessions for teaching, leadership and pastoral staff. 

 

Our unique offering in this respect is that we are a multi-disciplinary team from across the mental health and psychological therapies sector, including psychotherapy, counselling, social work and therapeutic coaching.  We were founded by a CAMHS consultant psychiatrist and we offer an understanding of child & young person mental health issues as part of our support to those we work with.  This is a marked distinction from other supervision providers whose team may have a background in education. ​​​​
 

Context 

On top of heavy teaching loads, delivering the national curriculum, and meeting parental demands, members of school staff are increasingly expected to respond to student’s emotional needs. The impact of this on teachers is clearly felt but not always recognised or addressed. Openmind.ed’s aim is to respond to this impact and support staff and students working in a complex institution. We do this by creating safe spaces for teaching staff and/or students to express and reflect on the impact of school life.

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The high attrition rate for teachers, alongside low staff morale, has become a national concern and lead to an OFSTED survey of teachers’ well-being across 2,000 schools in 2019. In response, teachers cited excessive working hours, more time spent out of the classroom attending to school marking and administration, and endless meetings, as being significant factors affecting their job satisfaction.

 

Furthermore, the behaviour of students, often at a low-level in the classroom, alongside the unrealistic expectations and demands from parents, is another source of concern. Teachers have limited training in how to respond to these particular demands and little time and space within the school curriculum for this to be addressed within a supportive
setting.

 

A recent OECD survey conducted in 48 countries looking at teachers and school leaders revealed that teachers in the UK are working longer days than in any other country apart from Japan.

 

Our founder worked within the NHS child and adolescent mental health services for 25 years and was very aware of the increasing need to respond to the increasing emotional demands on staff. Openmind.ed was founded to help meet these needs.
 

Our aims
 

We aim to create opportunities to pause and share experiences that allow us to create a connection with each other. By drawing attention to what is often overlooked in the ‘busyness’ of school life, we allow what is present but has hitherto been unacknowledged to emerge. It is as though the present expands making space for us.
 

It is through such connections and relationship-building that we are able to develop
resilience, which seems in our experience to be as much about the capacity of the
community or team as it is about the individual. OFSTED, when addressing the well-being of school staff through the What Works Centre for Wellbeing framework, refers to occupational well-being as an eco-system which is shaped by the individual as well as collective relationships. Our own experience, working extensively in mental health, is that when we are connected with ourselves and those around us we are most likely to “be well”, and our experience of being well likewise influences the wellness of those around us.