“We teach the students that mainstream can’t teach”: A Mixed- Methods Examination of Staff Wellbeing, Resources, and Digital Support Potential in Ireland’s Alternative Education Sector

Background Staff at Youthreach, an alternative secondary education program in Ireland, provide crucial support for early school leavers. These roles are highly demanding, as staff provide a range of individual support for young people with specific wellbeing and educational needs. Despite the high demands of this role, several Youthreach staffing positions do not receive the same benefits as staff in mainstream schools. Methods This research investigates the wellbeing needs of Youthreach staff, and their opinions on digital supports in three phases: 1) a national survey to assess staff wellbeing needs, 2) a focus group with staff at a Youthreach center in County Dublin to further explore their wellbeing needs and supports, and 3) co-design sessions with the same group of staff to ideate digital wellbeing tools. Results The national survey represented responses (n = 233) from Youthreach staff across each position (teacher, resource persons, and coordinator) in 22 of the 26 Republic of Ireland counties. Using an ANOVA and Tukey’s post-hoc test, stress scores from the Perceived Stress Scale revealed significantly higher stress in coordinators (p = 0.017) and resource persons (p = 0.001) compared to teachers. To promote staff wellbeing, resource persons and coordinators expressed a need for access to sufficient recuperative time. The focus group revealed further challenges in relation to a lack of specialized support for students, difficult working conditions, emotional burdens from their work, and a lack of resources available for staff. Focus group participants were also interested in digital wellbeing supports which developed into ideas for wearable stress monitors and support apps through co-design sessions. Conclusion Despite interest in digital wellbeing resources, structural supports remained the paramount concern for Youthreach staff. They outlined specific requests that must be addressed to support wellbeing across all positions and to ensure the sustainability of this program and the continued benefits to the students.