Debbie Hinton

The Links Education Support Centre provides support for children who have been excluded, are at risk of exclusion from school or have emotional or behavioural difficulties. In the three years Tracey has been Headteacher, the Links has moved from a barely satisfactory Ofsted rating to one that is "outstanding" and level 1 in every category. When she took over, the Centre had 12 demoralised staff working out of a run down building and only six children on its roll. The Centre covers a wide area of Hertfordshire and currently has a staff of 40 working with 100+ students out of new, improved premises. It also undertakes outreach work in schools, including running sessions to support new and young parents.

Anna Pool, Head of English at Links, who nominated Tracey, says: "She has done the most amazing job in leading this school. We work with some very challenging and troubled pupils and she has made this school a place they want to be. Both the kids and staff have a huge amount of respect for her because, although she is tough, they know she cares deeply about the children."

Tracey puts much of her success down to making staff well being central to the Centre's working ethos. "Working with challenging and emotionally charged young people can be stressful and I encourage staff to use flexi time to keep on top of pressures," she says. "All staff have one 'occasional day' to use as an extra well being holiday and we have a very flexible TOIL policy. Our high staff levels mean they can cover for each other when family commitments and unexpected events crop up and we never use supply staff. As a result, we have very little sickness absence and the young people have continuity of care."

She says of her own work-life balance: "I know what it's like to have challenges as a parent as I have an adopted son. Managers often feel they have to set an example of working really hard but this can be very punishing. Down time is crucial and giving yourself permission to have similar flexi time and benefits as the staff is important."

John was nominated by Business and Admin Support Manager Denise Harrison for the competition, which is run by work-life balance charity Working Families and supported by BT. She said: "John is a successful boss because he is emotionally intelligent and empathetic, as well intellectually energetic and technically competent. He genuinely cares about the people he works with and the community we serve."

John says: "We have a highly trained workforce and it would be absolute madness not to allow them some flexibility to work around family needs, to make sure we retain their talents. I believe strongly that, if you have your home life squared up, you will give 120% at work because you don’t have any distractions. I actively encourage staff to quickly talk to their managers if they are going through a difficult time, to set up working arrangements which will help them through.

"Two of my close colleagues and I currently work condensed hours to give us the flexibility we need. In my case, this is currently so I can help with elder care but, when I was younger, I was part of a job share so I could share care of our young family."

Daniel was nominated by a member of his staff for the competition. He said: "Daniel shows that you can work really hard but still enjoy your job and help others enjoy it, too. He is incredibly dedicated and focused and our guests see that he enjoys his job and is a great leader."

Daniel says: "I always encourage flexibility when my team have family commitments or need to work particular shifts. As a result, we have excellent staff retention and we get a lot more parents applying for jobs than we used to. My team have great work-life balance and this means they are happier at work - our guests have commented on how happy and engaged the team are."