CARING FOR THOSE WHO CARE: PROFESSIONAL WELL-BEING AND BURNOUT AMONG EDUCATORS IN THE LEPS PROGRAMME IN ITALY

It is widely acknowledged that care work and educational support, which unfold within complex emotional landscapes, are among the professions at risk of burnout. This vulnerability is closely linked to the centrality of interpersonal relationships in educational practice, particularly in contexts characterised by high relational intensity. The contribution focuses on the experience of LEPS, namely the minimum levels of social services and provisions that public administrations are required to provide nationwide. In particular, the focus is on LEPS PIPPI Programme aims to guarantee every child the right to harmonious development within stable, safe, and supportive family environments through educational support for parents. Engaging with, observing and managing situations involving vulnerability, suffering and material and non-material poverty exposes care professionals to significant emotional, cognitive, psychological, behavioural and identity-related risks. Based on this premise, this paper presents the results of a questionnaire given to educators and social workers involved in implementing the LEPS PIPPI programme. The aim is toinvestigat e the emotional and relational impact of educational work within an intervention model that focuses on relationships with families, home-based work, co-constructing educational support pathways and integrated work within multidisciplinary teams. The study specifically explores perceptions of emotional workload, professional satisfaction, stress, and protective factors, as well as formal and informal support networks. The questionnaire consists of both closed and open questions and seeks, on the one hand, to capture practitioners’ perceptions of care work within the LEPS PIPPI framework and, on the other, to encourage reflection on ways to strengthen organisational and training provisions focused on the well-being of care workers. Indeed, caring for those who care represents an essential component of educational welfare policies and practices. This is to prevent the risks inherent in the educational profession and enhance the effectiveness of interventions for families and children in vulnerable contexts, in line with a community empowerment and educational sustainability perspective.