Foundation Programme for Workplace Wellbeing

Headstart

Create a Shared Understanding of Workplace Wellbeing and Mental Health

HeadStart is the foundation programme for workplace wellbeing and mental health awareness, designed to give every employee a practical understanding of wellbeing, mental health and how to support themselves and others.

Through expert insight, lived experience and engaging interactive learning, HeadStart creates a common language and baseline understanding across your organisation, helping to build healthier cultures and more confident conversations.

Whether someone is joining the organisation, leading a team or working on the frontline, HeadStart provides a shared starting point for creating a mentally healthy workplace culture.

What Is HeadStart?

HeadStart is Headtorch’s foundation programme for workplace mental health awareness.

Designed for organisation-wide deployment, it introduces employees to the key principles of mental health and wellbeing through a highly engaging, documentary-style learning experience.

Rather than treating mental health as a specialist topic, HeadStart makes it relevant, practical and accessible for everyone.

Participants gain the knowledge, confidence and language needed to contribute to a healthier workplace culture while learning practical steps to support their own wellbeing and recognise when others may need support.

The programme covers:

Looking after your own mental health and wellbeing
Recognising signs of poor mental health in others
Having supportive and confident conversations
Understanding workplace wellbeing responsibilities
The Health and Safety Executive’s Six Management Standards of Stress

For many organisations, HeadStart becomes the launch point for wider wellbeing, leadership and culture change initiatives.

Why Is It Important?

Creating a mentally healthy workplace starts with awareness and understanding.

Many organisations have robust approaches to physical health and safety, but employees often receive little or no introduction to workplace mental health and wellbeing.

Without a shared foundation, organisations can experience:

Inconsistent understanding of mental health
Low confidence in supporting colleagues
Stigma and silence around wellbeing concerns
Increased stress and burnout
Reduced engagement and performance
Missed opportunities for early intervention

HeadStart addresses this challenge by giving every employee the same understanding, language and starting point.

By creating a consistent baseline across the organisation, HeadStart helps establish the conditions for healthier conversations, stronger cultures and more effective wellbeing strategies.

It is often the first step in building a workplace where wellbeing is understood, prioritised and embedded into everyday working life.

Organisational Benefits

Creates a shared language around mental health and wellbeing
Establishes a consistent foundation across the workforce
Supports culture change and wellbeing strategies
Encourages earlier support and intervention
Increases engagement with wider learning programmes
Demonstrates commitment to employee wellbeing
Efficiently reaches every level of the organisation

Individual Benefits

Increased awareness of workplace mental health
Greater confidence discussing wellbeing
Practical tools to support personal wellbeing
Improved ability to recognise concerns in others
Increased confidence having supportive conversations
Better understanding of workplace wellbeing responsibilities

Watch and learn

It’s a 30-minute video e-learning programme that you can fit around your schedule.

Learn together or individually

Your team can take part individually, or as part of a group in a classroom setting

Fun and engaging

HeadStart is a great way to get everyone on-board and enthusiastic about workplace mental health.

Results & Impact

HeadStart provides organisations with a scalable and efficient way to establish a strong foundation for workplace wellbeing.

By ensuring everyone receives the same core learning experience, organisations can:

Build awareness consistently across the workforce
Create a shared language around wellbeing
Increase confidence and understanding
Strengthen engagement with wellbeing initiatives
Support long-term culture change

From the boardroom to the shop floor, HeadStart ensures everyone begins their wellbeing journey from the same starting point.

Related Programmes & Solutions

You may also be interested in other cire programmes and advanced solutions:

HeadWay
HeadCoach
HeadSkills
HeadMax
Psychological Safety
Leading with a Wellbeing Lens