Ideas and Resources to support Staff Wellbeing

Want to improve your wellbeing but not sure where to start? Check out these links to resources, blogs and more to get you on the right track throughout the school year.

The annual Teacher Wellbeing Survey from Education Support (2023) reports that 78% of all education staff feel stressed. Broadly speaking, staff wellbeing can be divided into two areas: the whole school ethos and individual actions. We’ll examine both here:

Supporting Staff as a Whole School

Taking care of staff wellbeing just makes sense: staff who are well and happy are more effective.

In the UK, about 10% of schools have signed up to the Staff Wellbeing Charter, and nearly all schools recognise the importance of staff wellbeing in policies and procedures. But what are the underlying principles that can support a healthier workforce?

A Manageable Workload

The calendar should be managed so that times of high demand (which of course there are, such as parent’s evenings and exams) are balanced out across the year. When new initiatives and tasks are introduced, the workload should be reviewed to ensure that it is achievable. This blog post from Third Space Learning has more practical tips.

Flexibility

Many schools are exploring ways to support more flexible working, which helps staff achieve a better work-life balance and is also beneficial for recruitment and retention.

Examples of this include:

PPA (Planning, Preparation and Assessment) time taken as work-from-home,
Later starts and/or earlier finishes,
Job shares,
Two week timetables,
Allocated wellbeing days that can be pre-booked.

The UK government has published guidance for schools on how to manage flexible working.

Shared Planning

The availability of technology such as Google Drive or OneDrive makes sharing planning across year groups and subject teams much easier. This allows staff to share the responsibility of planning and do it at a time that suits them. It also makes reusing planning much easier. This blog post examines the challenges and benefits of this approach.

Communications Policies

There are a few approaches to this, but however it is managed, it should be clear there is no expectation to read or reply to emails outside working hours.

Using scheduled send means that those who prefer to can compose emails out of hours, ready to be sent the next working day. It’s easy to do when using Google Mail and Outlook.

Creating a Supportive Environment for Staff

Working and relaxing areas for staff should be pleasant to be in so that staff want to use them. It doesn’t have to cost a lot, as this blog post shows. End-of-term treats are nice, of course, but it is more important that staff can recharge, socialise and enjoy their lunch throughout the term.

This blog has many more ideas for supporting staff in school.

Individual Actions to support your Wellbeing

Taking Care of Yourself

Whatever your circumstances, putting yourself first is not selfish. Remember that teaching can be demanding, and taking breaks is essential to maintaining your energy and focus.

Take Time for You

Block out time for an activity you enjoy and commit to it every week. A gym session, a long walk, crafting, or whatever you like – taking time away from work will help you return to it refreshed. It can help to organise these things with other people, making you less likely to skip it.

Manage your Notifications

Remove work emails from your phone and personal devices. Check your emails when it suits you, not when that little alert dings!

Eat Healthily

We all know we should eat healthily, but short lunchtimes and lesson preparation can make that difficult. The key to having a healthy lunch is a bit of forward planning: you don’t have to go in for full TikTok-style meal planning; simply cooking a few extra veggies in the evening or a batch meal at the weekend can give you the basis of a healthy lunch. This BBC Good Food page has lots of good ideas to inspire you. Avoid high sugar and ultra-processed foods, which make you feel temporarily better but bring your energy levels down in the afternoon.

Get Moving

Exercise is a key way to improve your wellbeing. Fitting in a gym session before work might not be possible, but could you park off-site and walk in or get off the bus a couple of stops away? This blog post has suggestions for easy exercises you can even do in your chair.

Make Use of What’s on Offer

Most schools offer a wellbeing support package, like this one from Schools Advisory Service, but you may need to ask or actively opt-in to use it. Counselling, discounts and other services are also usually available from unions.

Useful Wellbeing Links

We have gathered some useful links here; please send us your favourites so we can add them.

UK

Mentally Healthy Schools brings together quality-assured mental health resources, information and advice for schools and further education settings in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Anna Freud is a world-leading mental health charity for children and families. Their 5 Steps to Mental Health and Wellbeing is a free, evidence-based framework to help you develop a whole-school or college approach to mental health.
Education Support is the only UK charity dedicated to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of teachers and education staff in schools, colleges and universities. The site has lots of useful resources, like these tips for avoiding burnout.
Governors for Schools has lots of resources.
The National Education Union offers Wellbeing resources.
The HSE and NASUWT have published a Talking Toolkit for Schools, to help staff talk openly about stress.
The Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools has a wide range of training opportunities in developing mental health and wellbeing in school.
There is a lot of support on the EIS (Educational Institute of Scotland) website.
The AHDS Union, for promoted teachers in Scotland, has a wellbeing scheme, called Health Assured.
Education Authority delivers staff wellbeing services and resources in Northern Ireland.