Being a member of the Pike Fold Team!

Pike Fold's Employee Value Proposition

At Pike Fold it is our ultimate goal to create and foster a culturally diverse working environment that is free from the stigma attached to poor mental health. We are champions of positive workplace well-being and encourage all of our employees to find a positive work life balance that enables them to excel both professionally and personally.

We welcome fun & quirky workplace vibes which promote team work and collaborative working to help us all achieve one common goal; an outstanding education for the pupils of Pike Fold!

We recognise that all staff are individuals, each with their own journey and goals. We work alongside you wherever possible to shape the future of your career with us through ongoing appraisal and review systems.

Here at Pike Fold, you are not just a resource, you are a valued assett! Your skills and abilities are the vital tools which will deliver and support an outstanding education for all of our pupils, and when you work for us we will support you in developing your skills set to it's maximum potential.

Perks of Pike Fold

Even though we are a Local Authority Maintained Primary School, we try our upmost to give our staff members the best possible employee experience. An experience you will possibly never receive at any other maintained school.

We are innovative and love to challenge new ideas and concepts!

See the below summary of the current Pike Fold Perks available to all employes....

Employee Offer
 

• CPD Opportunities including Performance Management as standard
• CPD Cycle for support staff including an annual appraisal
• Observation of TAs to improve practice
• Opportunities for TAs to job rotate enabling upskilling
• Wellbeing draw for leisure time
• Wellbeing draw for ‘kitty’
• Low cost breakfast available every day
• Free flu jabs and eye test via the SMART Clinic
• Voucher towards the cost of glasses or contact lenses via the SMART Clinic
• Dress down days
• Hot chocolate days
• Time for new TAs (NTA time) to get to know each other all year round
• Lunch provided on inset days
• Monthly 'Feel Good Fridays' - low cost meals for staff subsidised by school
• Lots of enriching events such as summer and winter fun days
• A fun and inclusive, caring organisation

•    Access to free counselling and support

Best Practice with Teaching Assistants Award 2022-2025

We are proud to announce that we are now nationally recognised for our outstanding practice in the effective use of Teaching Assistants accross the school!

Mindful Employer

We are a mindful employer!

Pike Fold Primary School recognise that, in the UK, people experiencing mental ill health continue to report stigma and discrimination. We are committed to creating a supportive and open culture, where colleagues are able to talk about mental health. We are also committed to ensuring that our employees feel safe in disclosing any mental health conditions and confident that they will be properly supported and offered reasonable adjustments when required.

As an employer we are committed to:

ï‚· Providing non-judgemental and proactive support to individual staff who experience mental ill health
ï‚· Not make assumptions that a person with a mental health condition will be more vulnerable to workplace stress or take more time off than any other employee or job applicant.
ï‚· Showing positive and enabling attitudes to all employees and job applicants with a mental health condition. This will include positive statements in local recruitment literature.
ï‚· Ensuring all line managers have access to information and training about managing mental health in the workplace.
ï‚· Ensuring that all staff involved in recruitment and selection are briefed on mental health conditions and The Equality Act 2010, and given appropriate interview skills. Make it clear in any recruitment or occupational health check that people who have experienced mental ill health will not be discriminated against and that disclosure of a mental health problem will enable both employee and employer to assess and provide the right level of support or adjustment.

The Schools Mental Health Champion is Kim Nickson – School Business Manager.  Kim is located on the ground floor (Finance & HR office) and can be contacted on ext number 208 or at k.nickson@pikefold.manchester.sch.uk
 

Who can you speak to?

The schools Mental Health Champion is the first point of contact for all employees within Pike Fold.

However, if you feel more comfortable speaking with your line manager or another member of SLT please do so.

Line managers and SLT information is listed below:

Head Teacher – All staff
Mrs McKeever – 1:1 staff and ARC staff
Mr Morris – KS2 staff
Ms Hawcroft – KS1 & EYFS staff
Mr Gardom – KS1 staff
Mr Graham – Upper KS2 staff
Ms Nickson – All support staff including TA’s, cleaners, LO’s, ASC team, Admin team

If at all you feel that the school are not meeting your needs you can seek support from our Chair of Governors, Smyth Harper. He can be contacted at Chair2@pikefold.manchester.sch.uk.

Mental Health First Aiders

A Mental Health First Aider in the workplace is the go-to person for anyone who is going through some form of mental health issue.  The first aider will be present to help guide the person in distress to the relevant help that they need. Mental Health First Aiders are not counsellers but can offer initial mental health first aid for staff members in distress through a comprehensive framework provided by in depth training.

Your Mental Health First Aiders are:

Mrs Farnell-Hill - Head Teacher

Ms Kim Nickson - School Business Manager 

Mental Health First Aiders will respond to requests for support outside of the normal working day, as your health is paramount to us, please ensure urgent requests out of hours are made via phonecall or text message

Financial Wellbeing - supporting you through the cost of living crisis 2022.

We are committed to supporting our employees with their financial wellbeing. We recognise that worries and concerns about personal finances can have a significant detrimental impact on employees’ physical and mental health, as well as their ability to do their job.

We are committed to ensuring appropriate assistance is provided to any employee who experiences debt or other financial problems.

The purpose of this policy is to assist with creating an open and supportive workplace where managers and employees can discuss any issues associated with financial wellbeing, and to ensure the available resources are known about and offered to employees when needed.

Employee Responsibilities

It is important that, as an employee, you prioritise your personal health and financial wellbeing. If you find that personal financial concerns are affecting you, you should discuss this with the Deputy Head related to your key phase who will be referred to in this policy as a ‘manager’.

They will treat the matter with complete confidence. In order to ensure we can provide you with the best support possible, we encourage you to be open in these conversations.

However, we recognise that this is a sensitive issue so if you don’t feel comfortable discussing your situation with your usual manager, you are encouraged to speak with an alternative manager including the School Business Manager (Kim Nickson) and Head Teacher.

Employer Responsibilities

We aim to normalise conversations about money worries at work and break down any stigma. Managers will maintain an open-door policy so that employees feel comfortable in approaching them with their concerns. They will support you to talk openly about your current situation and will not make presumptions about how it is affecting you. Your manager will explore with you what support or adjustments you feel would be beneficial. Your individual needs will be addressed sensitively and confidentiality will be maintained.

If you need additional support, we would encourage you to speak to our Mental Health First Aiders (Kim Nickson & Rachael Farnell-Hill) or our Wellbeing Champion (Kim Nickson).

We have adopted the following measures to support employees with their financial wellbeing:

• As a Manchester City Council employer, we demonstrate our commitment to paying a fair and liveable wage by being a Real Living Wage employer, we fully support in-work progression, we provide access to financial education and guidance.

• We provide discount on our after school club facilities for staffs own children at a rate of 50%.

• We currently subsidise the cost of staff lunches once per month and provide low cost breakfast daily*

• We have appointed a team of financial wellbeing champions who take a lead role in financial awareness activities in the workplace.

• We have provided a dedicated ‘Pike Fold Pantry’ for staff. Employees can make donations or withdrawals however they wish. This is available throughout the school day in the hygiene suite.

As a City Council employer, all of our staff have access to a wide array of additional benefits including:

·         Lifestyle Savings

A wide range of retail discounts at big national chains and local businesses. Employees can save on the weekly shop, eating out, holidays around the world, high street fashion and more. (Currently unavailable due to procurement exercise)

·         Manchester Credit Union

A range of savings accounts and affordable loans are available via Manchester Credit Union. Savings or loan repayments can be conveniently taken directly from salary each month to make things simpler.

·         Travel Options

Reduced cost season tickets covering trains, buses and Metrolink trams. There’s the option of an interest-free loan, with monthly payments taken directly from salary over twelve months. There's also the Cycle to Work Scheme, offering loans through salary sacrifice, potentially saving over 35% off the cost of a new bike and accessories. A cycle allowance is also available and many of our buildings have changing facilities and showers for cyclists. For those who need to drive, we have car sharing and short-term car hire options. There's also discounted annual season tickets for city-centre parking from NCP.

·         Pension Schemes

The City Council's pension schemes offer employees the option to save for their retirement in a tax-efficient way.  There are lots of benefits to join the pension scheme which include:

Defined benefit scheme, guaranteed and backed by law.

Employer pays 18.5% - A big contribution which is lost when not in the scheme.

Tax relief on contributions so doesn’t always cost what you might think.

Life Cover– 3 x salary as a lump sum if you die in service.

A number of ways to top-up your benefits, including a shared cost salary sacrifice option, meaning savings on National Insurance Contributions and Income Tax on additional contributions.

• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)

The EAP is a 24/7, free and confidential support service for all employees and their immediate family.  The EAP provides immediate access to, but is not limited to, the following:

• Counselling, over the telephone and face to face;
• Financial advice, including debt support;
• Legal advice e.g. consumer issues, motoring etc;
• Family advice e.g. divorce, safeguarding, custody arrangements etc;
• Medical advice, from highly qualified nurses and practitioners.

• We also have a health portal available via smartphone or PC. There's information about work life balance, nutrition, sleep and much more.

• Occupational Health

All our managers have access to high quality occupational health advice, if required, to support employees in their role. Managers can make fast-track counselling and physiotherapy referrals to support employees to get the support they need as quickly as possible.

• Discounted Gym Membership

Employees can take advantage of discounted rates on 6 and 12 month gym memberships at one of nine leisure centres across the city. There are three different membership options from as little as £11.99 per month, and monthly payments can be taken directly from your salary.

• Carers Support

We support employees who have caring responsibilities to have flexibility when needed. We have a range of policies and guidance to support both working carers and their managers. We have a Carers Passport - a document that can facilitate a discussion with managers about caring responsibilities, how this may impact work, and the support agreed. We also have a virtual Carers Network, where working carers can find peer support, as well as information and local events relevant to carers.

• Training

MCC offer a range of learning and development opportunities which promote positive health and wellbeing. They have a package of e-learning modules covering topics such as health and safety, managing stress, and building resilience. They also regularly offer bite-size mental health resilience training sessions.

Access to External Help and Advice

You can get free, confidential and independent money and debt advice from the Government’s Money & Pensions Service. Further external information and support is available from organisations such as Citizens Advice 

Other help and support

Other help and support is available through our Employee Assistance Programme

What is an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP)?

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