Creating Opportunities for Colleagues to Support One Another
About the organisation
With around 2,500 staff working across multiple campuses and services, the organisation recognises that supporting employee mental health is fundamental to its ability to support students. A Workforce Wellbeing Coordinator works within the Student Life directorate and collaborates closely with the People, Development and Culture directorate to coordinate and develop the organisation's approach to mental health at work.
The Challenge
Luminate Education Group recognises that educators are increasingly asked to be more than teachers. Alongside teaching, many provide emotional support, signpost students to welfare services, liaise with external agencies and respond to complex situations as part of their everyday roles. The organisation believes that supporting the mental health of staff is therefore fundamental to creating the conditions in which students can also be supported effectively.
Recognising that no single individual or team can provide all of this support, Luminate wanted to create opportunities for colleagues to connect, share experiences and support one another. The organisation sees peer support as an important part of creating a workplace where people feel safe, valued and able to talk openly about their wellbeing.
Approach in action
Luminate Education Group has created a range of formal and informal opportunities for colleagues to connect, share experiences and support one another. Alongside its Wellbeing Champion Network, the organisation has developed Menopause Advocates, an LGBTQ+ Forum, Staff Forums and regular Keeping in Touch meetings between managers and their teams. These provide opportunities for colleagues to build relationships, share experiences and help shape the organisation's approach to workforce wellbeing.
Recognising that confidence and psychological safety underpin effective peer support, Luminate has also invested in developing the skills of its people. This includes trauma-informed practice training for all staff, ongoing development for managers, and staff development sessions covering topics such as recognising and avoiding burnout, physical wellbeing and self-recognition. The organisation sees confidence-building, empowerment and psychological safety as the foundations on which wider wellbeing activity can be built.
Luminate also recognises that supporting one another happens beyond formal wellbeing initiatives. Staff are encouraged to connect through learning, shared interests and wider organisational activities, including staff development events and the annual Luminate League Cup, helping to strengthen relationships and create a workplace where people feel able to ask for help and support one another.
Impact and learning
Luminate has found that creating opportunities for colleagues to connect and support one another helps build the confidence and psychological safety needed for people to speak openly about their wellbeing. The organisation believes that when people feel safe, listened to and know support is available, they are more likely to open up about challenges they may be experiencing.
Over time, Luminate has learned that peer support is most effective when it forms part of a wider workplace culture rather than relying on isolated initiatives. By investing in staff networks, creating opportunities for connection and building confidence through learning and development, the organisation has developed an approach that encourages colleagues to support one another as part of everyday working life.
Key takeaway for other employers
Peer support is most effective when it is built into everyday working life. Creating a range of opportunities for colleagues to connect, share experiences and support one another can help make mental health everyone's responsibility, rather than relying on a small number of individuals.