E&D News Issue 02 March 2021

MARCH 2021

issue 02

E&D NEWS

Produced by

COVID-19 AND MEntal health

By Ingrid Abraham, Quality Manager and E&D Group Chair

The theme of our March 2021 newsletter is Mental Health. In these unprecedented times, many of us have experienced loss, anxiety and illness, so the aim of this newsletter is to support and promote positive mental health. Positive mental health enables us to feel more optimistic about realising our

in the news

By Saskia Parish, Training Centre Advisor

© Apprenticeship connect

potential, set goals (both personal and professional), have good self-esteem, be confident when faced with new situations or people, and cope with the normal stresses of life. Our overriding message is that support is available, and you are not alone.

With the UK being in and out of lockdown since March 2020, many individuals across the country have been struggling with their mental health due to Covid-19.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of individuals showing symptoms of depression has almost doubled since the start of the pandemic. It has triggered feelings of anxiety, loneliness, and fear.

The NHS talking therapies service receive about 150,000 referrals for common mental health problems on average in each month.

This number dropped in during the summer months but has since increased again.

As we continue to follow the social distancing measures and stay inside, what will you do to improve your mental health?

For more information, please see the full news article.

inside AC

By Tori Weller, Central Services Manager

Image credit: ied.eu

Following the launch of our Equality and Diversity Steering group in August 2020 conversations around equality and diversity have begun spreading throughout AC. As an organisation we have launched a brand-refresh for 2021 to bring our visual identity in line with our current values, beliefs and aspirations as a company. This led us to include a clear statement of commitment within our brand guidelines to consider equality and diversity within our choice of photography and videography to ensure we provide equal representation in our marketing activity. This is just one commitment we are making to invoke change in our approach to considering the impact of the messaging we communicate to our stakeholders.

Whilst visual branding can go some way to supporting the perception others have of you as an organisation, a recent debate in our steering group meeting saw us discuss the efforts of various companies in the public spotlight trying to present themselves as inclusive, diverse and accepting brands. A resounding takeaway from our debate was that to be a true advocate of equality and diversity as an organisation, you have to look beyond the visual branding you create and look closely at your wider operations and activity to truly invoke change. In order for your visual branding, such as advertisements and social media campaigns, to be a true success, your stakeholders need to believe in your messaging and associate what you are saying with how you operate as a business.

MARCH 2021

In 2021, we are committed to looking inwards at how we work as a company to truly be an inclusive employer, recruiter and training provider. We will be working on a series of projects over the coming months to make changes to our operations that remove biases, reduce barriers and encourage equal participation in apprenticeships. Here are just a few areas we will be working on: • Marketing: Considering how we can inspire individuals to see the value in apprenticeships, regardless of their gender, race, age or background.

• HR: Removing personal data from the early stages of our internal recruitment activity to reduce unconscious bias of hiring managers and encourage equal opportunities for all.

• Sales: Considering how we can adapt our processes to reduce unconscious bias of the employers we support when carrying out recruitment activity to encourage equal opportunities for our apprentices.

• Teaching: Looking at how we can educate our learners and employers on the importance of equality and diversity and finding ways to support others to invoke change.

“Small changes can produce big results – but the areas of highest leverage are often the least obvious.”

- Peter Senge

Learning corner

By Olivia Doyle Business & IT Analyst

When you or somebody you know is experiencing a mental health problem, supportive and reliable information is key to accessing the help you need. Use this quiz to test your own knowledge of how mental health affects people both at home and at work, or use it as an activity within your team meetings to facilitate a forum for discussion, questions and education about mental health and the impact it has on us all.

Click here to download the quiz.

Exploring: Protected Characteristics dISABILITY The Equality Act says you have a disability if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial, adverse, and long-term effect on your ability to carry out normal dayto-day activities. The focus is on the effect of your mental health problem, rather than the diagnosis. So, you need to show that your mental health problem: • has more than a small effect on your everyday life • makes things more difficult for you, and • has lasted at least 12 months, is likely to last 12 months, or (if your mental health problem

By Mateen Mohammed, Tutor

has improved) that it is likely to recur.

You can ask yourself these questions: 1. Do I have a mental or physical health impairment?

2. Is it long-term (meaning lasting more than 12 months or likely to do so)?

3. Does it have a more than minor adverse effect on my day-to-day living, if I discount my treatment or medication?

One in four people in the UK experience a mental health problem each year. This means there’s a chance you may know somebody affected by either depression or anxiety, two of the most common mental health conditions.

Click here to find out more about depression and anxiety.

If you answered “yes” to all three questions, then your mental health problem could get the protection of the Equality Act. issue 02

TOOLKIT WORKING FROM HOME: A WELLNESS ACTION PLAN: CLICK HERE Mental health charity, Mind, has created a wellness action plan to provide a personalised, practical tool to support mental wellbeing whilst working from home during the Covid-19 outbreak and beyond…

MENTAL HEALTH ACTION PLAN FOR EMPLOYERS: CLICK HERE Business in the Community has partnered with Public Health England to produce a toolkit to help employers take positive actions to assess staff health and wellbeing, and build a culture that champions good mental health...

BALANCING HOME-WORKING AND HOME-SCHOOLING: CLICK HERE Covid-19 has changed the way we work and learn, with many of us experiencing periods of juggling home-working with being a home educator for the first time.

The NHS has collated a range of resources with some key tips and pointers to help...

MENTAL WELLBEING TRAINING FOR MANAGERS: CLICK HERE Unilever has produced a 60-minute training course to help line managers increase their awareness of employee emotional health, reduce stress in the workplace, and feel more confident about recognising and supporting staff who are struggling with their mental health…

Find more information, advice and guidance at Mental Health at Work and on the NHS Every Mind Matters website. If you have any concerns about your own mental wellbeing and would like to speak to our safeguarding team, please email help@apprenticeshipconnect.co.uk or call on 020 3829 6928.

We want to hear from you! At AC we believe collaboration is key and learning from others is a great way to improve how we work. We want to help each other and so we’re looking to feature you in future E&D News editions. Each edition we’ll be focussing on the great work you’re doing to promote equality and diversity in your workplace. Perhaps you too have launched an internal steering group, or maybe you’ve released a new company procedure to remove biases.

Whatever you’re doing to improve equality and diversity we want to hear it! If you’d be interested in featuring in our next edition, please get in touch by emailing callback@apprenticeshipconnect.co.uk to tell us more about the work you’re doing!

MARCH 2021

issue 02