Why you need to massage your Education Support Staff
Working as Education Support Staff in a school can be a joy when you have the right skills, the right knowledge and the right support.
No matter if your School is in Melbourne, Mildura, Horsham or Healsville, there are many things you can do, you can say and you can give ESS that would fall under the banner of support but jumping straight to action could be a mistake!
We have put together the 3 questions you should ask ESS before you start oferring support. 3 questions that once answered will save you time because you won’t have to guess what will work, you will know what support to provide and you will provide it at the right time.
Before I share the 3 questions, keep in mind that each question will require ‘massaging’ so that your ESS understand them and feel ready to answer them honestly.
That’s right, I’m going to give you permission to massage your ESS – not physically massage – mental massage.
Mental massage is similar to physical massage but you use your words instead of your hands to find out the pain points (areas they need help with) and create a treatment plan (professional development) to ease that pain and help the team member become more confident and able to provide their own treatment (self-care) going forward.
Just like a physical massage, mental massage is about understanding the pain with the aim to create a ‘treatment plan’ and it all starts with 3 questions ie:
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Ask staff what they think is causing the pain – let them talk (even if you know the answer). Responses may be; difficult customer interactions, hard to implement processes, out of date procedures, conflict with co-workers, stress outside of work, lacking in tech skills etc.
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Ask what it would be like if the pain was gone – to motivate change through self identified positive outcomes.
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Ask what they think would alleviate the pain – let them share their ideas before you jump in. This allows you to gain powerful insights into their existing skills, thoughts and behaviours and it confirms you respect their ideas about what they need.
Create a ‘treatment plan’ together – professional development that matches ESS goals for now and their future. These 3 questions are great to us when it’s time to create PDP’s.
If the pain requires more than a ‘mental massage’, refer accordingly. Business Managers are often great all-rounders but may not be specialists – so reach out for help instead of making yourself the only help available. This is limiting for you and your team.
Mental massage – good for you and great for your ESS. Just remember, pain responds well to both gentle and firm pressure – but never harmful.
If you want more ways to help your team to vent and become ESS service professionals who have what they need to succeed, explore our onsite training and how we can help.
By Cate Schreck – Director of Just For Schools.