Enya Last talks to Angelica about educator and employee wellbeing. Enya is the co-owner of Enya's Childcare which she started with her husband. She shares with us her personal journey as a business owner and leader, and provides us with tips on how to support your team's wellbeing.

This episode is in partnership with Edufeel - Edufeel is committed to increasing the mental health literacy of our workforce and creating zero stigma to safeguard the wellbeing of educators for the present and the future. Learn how your educators feel through daily check-ins and get the analytics you need to increase well-being, build a better setting culture and improve outcomes for children. To find out more visit: https://thevoiceofearlychildhood.com/partners/

Episode break down:

00:00 - Why are we talking about educator wellbeing? 01:30 - Building your team is a labour of love 02:20 - You're not interviewing just an educator but a human being 03:30 - Bringing your whole self to work 04:50 - We care for our employees - without your team you don't have a nursery 05:20 - You have to be the pillar of strength 100% of the time as a leader 06:45 - Leaders should show their vulnerability 08:40 - The team supporting the leader 09:40 - Why did you create Edufeel? 10:25 - Daily check-ins 11:55 - Unspoken dialogue is important 12:45 - Baboons and humans - what do they have in common? 14:00 - Educators come across as unicorns with no problems 15:15 - Stress is contagious - both for other adults and children 16:15 - It's not always about offering solutions all the time 17:30 - Stigma is suffocating 18:30 - The cycles of mental health 19:40 - The 'Sunday scaries' and seasonal depression 21:30 - Leaning into mental health cycles and patterns 22:20 - But are we opening up a can of worms? 22:50 - Focus on the long term with your team 24:20 - Don't allow bottling - create space for challenging conversations 25:10 - A wellbeing category for every staff meeting 26:00 - Staff meeting tip 1: What do you admire about yourself? 26:50 - Staff meeting tip 2: Silent human knot challenge (constant unspoken problem solving) 27:55 - Staff meeting tip 3: The power of play for adults and not just children 29:00 - Staff meeting tip 4: Show and tell 30:39 - Self-care is not always the nice fluffy stuff 31:50 - Help your team to get things off their shoulders 32:40 - A wellbeing evening: Allowing your team to take time for themselves 35:00 - Employees, ask yourselves: Is this a healthy place for me to be? Does it have a detrimental effect on me? 36:07 - Employers, ask yourselves: What is making people stay here? How consistent are you with your wellbeing approach? 37:00 - Is your wellbeing approach embedded? 37:40 - 1 in 4 of the early years workforce are considering leaving the sector due to stress or mental health difficulties 39:00 - If you can't self-regulate then how on earth are you going to co-regulate? 39:50 - Passionate, well qualified, amazing educators are leaving the sector 43:30 - Sharing your feelings or your mental state provides a sense of releif 45:15 - Knowing your team's love language 46:00 - Praise and feeling valued is vital: Send a letter of appreciation 48:00 - A happy team is good for business 49:00 - Knowing your team's individual needs, just like the unique child 50:50 - Identify emerging patterns in the team e.g. do you need to arrange a sleep workshop for your team? 52:00 - Looking at individualised and wider team data you can rely on as an owner or manager 54:00 - Does this feel intrusive? 54:50 - Return on investment? The proof is that your team is staying: You can't put a figure on wellbeing and mental health 56:15 - The need to feel heard and know that people are aware of how you are feeling 01:00:50 - Supporting new members of staff to settle and feel welcome 01:02:40 - You are within your rights to have wellbeing support from your employer

For more episodes visit The Voice of Early Childhood website: https://www.thevoiceofearlychildhood.com

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The Voice of Early Childhood

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Supporting employee wellbeing