The (almost) Impossible Ask

At Greater Space we ask principals to spend money they don’t have on something they’ve probably never budgeted for. I know how tight school budgets are. I've worked in schools. So we'll try to explain the ask.

Most schools have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) of some sort. It isn't created specifically for educators, and it shows. Industry-wide, less than 5% of staff use theirs in a given year. That’s not because teachers don’t need support. It’s because a service that doesn’t understand the job doesn’t earn their trust.

At Greater Space, our counsellors are educators too. We’ve been in the classrooms, the staffrooms and, occasionally, the car park having a quiet cry before the bell. 

With us, the school pays and because we know the job, the staff actually use it. In some schools, utilisation is more than ten times that of comparable EAPs.

Here’s what staff tell us after their sessions:

• 94% solved a problem that would otherwise have needed to be brought up somewhere else

• 88% feel more positive about their work

• 82% feel more connected to their school

• 100% say their work with students was positively impacted

That last number is the one I’d put in front of a school board. A teacher who has somewhere to put the weight of the day doesn’t stop caring. They get to keep caring for longer. What’s good for the educator is good for the student.

Expecting educators to do their best work without support isn’t a strategy. It’s a hope. And increasingly a hope that isn't paying off.

Greater Space is not a perk. It’s one of the important parts of what lets educators who want to continue in their work feels supported and resourced.