ABSTRACT

In this ®nal chapter Gary Winship explores the question of staff support for teachers, and presents his initial meeting with the staff of a school following a number of incidents of self-harm, to discuss the offer of support. In Chapter 2 we examined some of the dif®culties staff have in asking for or accepting support, and here we see how areas of potential con¯ict and rivalry within a team, and rejection of the need for support by some members, can put a brake on the school taking up Winship's offer. The chapter highlights the importance of the initial request in setting up a support group ± which we explore in Chapter 4 ± in particular knowing why the request is coming from a particular person in the organisation and the support it has from the head of the organisation. Winship also re¯ects on the details involved in managing feelings of anxiety and the need for safety in a ®rst meeting with a staff group. It may be a suitable cautionary note to end on.