College Merthyr Tydfil achieves MIND Silver Award in recognition of its commitment to Workplace Wellbeing

The College Merthyr Tydfil is delighted to have been awarded Silver in Mind’s Workplace Wellbeing Awards

Mind’s Workplace Wellbeing Index aims to provide a benchmark of best policy and practice, celebrate the good work employers are doing to promote and support positive mental health, and provide key recommendations on the specific areas where there is room to improve.

There are three categories of award – gold, silver and bronze.

Achieving the silver award showcases that the college has made demonstrable achievements in promoting staff mental health, demonstrating progress and impact over time.

Receiving the award, Samantha Gunnarsson, Assistant Principal Learner Experience at the College, commented “Taking part in the MIND Wellbeing index has allowed us to measure how our staff feel about their own mental health and wellbeing and how they view the support they receive from us as their employer. We already have an established Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy in place and the outcomes and feedback from the index survey will now enable us to develop and build upon this strategy and make further improvements to our current mental health policies and procedures, thus ensuring that we are providing the very best support possible.”

Rosanna Lewis, Mental Health Co-ordinator, commented “The college is committed to addressing mental health in our workplace and it’s so great to receive external validation and acknowledgement of this commitment.”

Over the last year the college has worked hard to introduce a range of activities and initiatives to support staff wellbeing and this outcome showcases that these actions are making a difference and having a beneficial impact.”

The college’s current mental health and wellbeing strategy focuses on a number of key actions and measures around support for staff and learners, working with parents and carers, working with external partners and promoting a TCMT Wellbeing Culture.

Utilising the feedback from the survey, the college will now further develop this strategy, including driving forward the development of a buddy system to support new managers, development of additional staff support groups and the development of sustainable spaces that incorporate elements of nature to promote and support health and wellbeing. 

Rhian Francis, Head of Wellbeing and Learner Support at the college, commented “As a college, we continue to listen to staff, take on board feedback and build upon our commitment to staff wellbeing to ensure that we are providing the best support possible. We have therefore really valued the opportunity to participate in the MIND Wellbeing Index and look forward to participating in future years as a measure of checking that we are moving in the right direction and continually making improvements.”