A narrative exploration of the lived experience of pastoral staff employed in social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) secondary schools to gain a deeper understanding of the psychological impact of their work

This study aimed to explore how the experiences of working in social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) secondary schools impacts the psychological wellbeing of pastoral staff. Psychological wellbeing is a complex concept, widely used in the literature, despite the absence of an agreed definition. Extant literature has predominantly focused on teachers and pastoral staff working with pupils with SEMH needs in mainstream schools. Whilst these studies provide insight, they do not explore the experiences of pastoral staff in SEMH secondary schools. Five participants, recruited from schools in the Northwest of England, took part in face-to-face narrative interviews, conducted via video conferencing. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. As narrative research can be complex, with themes often interwoven and conflicting within stories, a two-stage analytic approach was used. The first stage focused on each individual narrative, preserving it as a whole story. The second stage involved analysis across the five narratives, identifying common themes. Both stages used Fraser’s (2004) seven stage approach, enabling long sections of narrative to be broken down into themes, whilst preserving the nuances within and across narratives. The first stage of analysis identified numerous themes specific to each participant, the second stage identified three themes common across the narratives: ‘It’s a struggle,’ ‘My emotionally dirty work’ and ‘Protecting myself’. This is the first study to explore the psychological impact of working in SEMH secondary schools, from the perspective of pastoral staff. Findings extend the conceptualisation of psychological wellbeing, encompassing feeling good, functioning effectively and the role of coping mechanisms. Findings have policy and practice implications; defined professional standards, appropriate training, and tailored supervision. An ‘ethos of care’ within SEMH schools could mitigate against the impact of struggles and work perceived as emotionally dirty