John Spendluffe Technology College: staff are your most important resource

We want to demonstrate this by showing our staff that we take our duty of care very seriously. Through the EAP, our staff now have an enhanced support service that is there for them whenever life throws them a problem.

The pandemic showed us that we cannot provide the right level of care, mental health first aid and counselling all by ourselves. We had our own system of 'care calls' in place during lockdowns (often signposting staff to the Education Support general phonelines and website) but we knew the limitations of our capacity and the shortcomings of this system. We are living in extremely challenging times and we wanted the reassurance that professional advisers and counsellors were on hand to care for our staff, if needed 24/7, 365.

We weren't looking for an EAP that supports just teachers - we wanted one that could reach all our staff and offer a comprehensive range of services. The breadth of support from Education Support attracted us - the support for managers, legal, financial and debt and personal counselling services represents excellent value for money.

I was familiar with Education Support as a well-established charity and impressed by the ambitious scope of the organisation - anyone in education can call them for help, you don't have to be a teacher. I liked the fact that it can reach everyone in need; you don't have to have an EAP to call. They help all staff in education through their general helplines and website. I like this ethos.

It's reassuring for staff to know that the EAP is there. When we see a staff member in need, we can now immediately remind them of our EAP. We know that they will get rapid, excellent care; we don't have to be searching ourselves for the appropriate support to signpost them to.

Feedback from staff has been 100% positive. One member of staff was delighted that they had a call back from your legal team in less than 24 hours (they were told that they would hear back within 48 hours). The advice they received resolved their situation promptly. Staff are your best resource. You should choose the best support service for them – in my opinion it’s Education Support.