Pastoral and Mental Health Role Skills Audit Pack

A quick-and-easy pack to audit the skills of a pastoral lead, nurture teacher or pupil welfare officer . This pack contains concise guidance to support you in effectively utilising the skills audit, whether you're line managing a school mental health lead or whether you're a mental health lead yourself who's wanting to evaluate their strengths and areas for improvement.  

Included is a 18-page template covering the different areas of skills that a pastoral office and mental health leader may need. These are split into handy sections, such as supporting pupil wellbeing, knowledge and understanding of mental health, managing and monitoring behaviour and parental engagement so they can be used flexibly. Questions include:

• Do I regularly review the school’s PSHE curriculum to ensure it aligns with the framework for PSHE/RSE, with a focus on discussing mental health and emotional resilience?
• Am I proactive in supporting other staff in identifying signs of poor mental health in pupils?
• Do I collect and analyse behaviour data to track trends and inform decision-making?
• Do I possess motivational skills to inspire pupils to overcome behavioural challenges?

The pack is aimed at supporting pastoral and mental health leads but can be used by anyone who line manages someone in a similar role, such as a senior mental health lead, family support worker, family liaison officer, nurture teacher, pastoral manager or pupil welfare officer. The pack would also support other post holders with mental health, wellbeing and welfare responsibilities, such as a DSL, SENDCo or assistant head. Using a skills audit for anyone in this type of role can help to inform appraisal and performance management processes, as well as identify CPD needs.

Whether staff members are new-to-role or have vast experience in their area, skills audits are a valuable self-evaluation tool. When a staff member reflects on their competencies and expertise, they’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of the strengths they bring to their role while identifying opportunities for growth or next steps. This self-awareness can boost confidence and self-belief, as well as enabling individuals to articulate their unique contributions to the team.

When skill gaps are identified, performance targets can include specific objectives aimed at addressing these gaps, allowing those with line management responsibilities to support the staff member through professional development and further training. Skills audits can also help school leaders to create balanced teams, prepare for change, support staff retention and assist in succession planning. 

Key questions answered:

• Why is it important for staff to utilise skills audits?
• How should a skills audit be conducted?
• How can skills audits inform performance management targets?
• How can leaders identify individual staff training needs?
• What other ways can skills audits be used?

Skills audits can be used as a valuable part of the induction process when a new staff member joins your team. Find out more about how to craft staff induction procedures that allow staff to get off to a flying start in your setting with the following pack:

• Staff Induction Pack

If you know that your staff have training and development needs, and are looking to enhance your CPD planning, this pack will support your thinking:

• CPD Planning and Preparation Pack

If you're thinking about recruiting a pastoral and mental health lead, and want to use the skills audit as part of that process, then you'll find the following packs and pages useful too: 

• Pastoral and Mental Health Role Interview Pack
• Recruitment, Interview and Employment Compliance Guidance Pack
• More information on our job interview packs for different roles
• More skills audits for different roles