Well-being In Education: Whose responsibility?

'Wellbeing is not about fluffy, bolt-on things. At the heart of teacher wellbeing is a sense of professional integrity and trust.'  

Adrian Bethune and Emma Kell

Over the last year the well-being of education professionals has been brought to the fore as schools and early years settings have found themselves on the frontline.

However, with COVID restrictions  being lifted, more of us  being vaccinated and schools , from an outsiders perspective at least, increasingly looking more ‘normal’ - it could be easy to forget the relentless challenges and stress that our profession has been and continues to be under.

 As the NAHT survey in March showed many headteachers and teachers are on their knees. Four in ten teachers say they have experienced all components associated with burnout since September, according to analysis of the latest survey for education Support.  

Our education professionals need to be well equipped if we are to support our children and young people to successfully recover from the impact of this global crisis.

This, at least, has been acknowledged by the DfE who have pledged to spend £800,000 on “tailored mental health and wellbeing support” to school leaders across England. But this is also everyone’s responsibility, including governors. Is everyone in our schools and settings continuing to take this seriously?

Blog Archive

The SAfE
Virtual Book Corner

Visit SAfE's Virtual Book Corner for top reading recommendations from the SAfE team. We have compiled a list of  book and articles which we believe support our leadership and professional development programmes.

Recommended Reads - Books

• 'The ResearchED Guide to Leadership: An evidence-informed guide for Teachers' - Various

• 'Research-Informed Practice' – Jennifer Ludgate 'A practical but evidence informed book on how to design a CPD programme.' - Maria Dawes, SAfE CEO

• ‘An Updated Practical Guide to the Pupil Premium’ - Marc Rowland 

• ‘Learning without Labels’  - Marc Rowland's latest book!

• 'Education with Purpose – the Heart of What Matters' – Stephen Tierney 'Looking at what mattersm not just what works. I particularly like the chapter on ‘What is your why'.' - Maria Dawes

• 'Flip the System: Changing Education from the Ground Up' - Renae Kneyber and Jelmer Evers  'This book looks at ways to embrace a more humane, more democratic approach to education, a move that places teachers exactly where they need to be - at the steering wheel of educational systems worldwide.' - Louise Yarnell, SAfE SI Advisor 

• 'Leading Academy Trusts – Why Some Fail but Most Don't' – Sir David Carter with Laura McInerney. 'A must read for any CEO (or aspiring CEO) or chair of a MAT trust board.' - Maria Dawes

• 'Leader: Know, Love and Inspire your People' -  Katy Granville-Chapman and Emmie Bidston (all purchase proceeds to the Prince's Trust)

• 'Back on Track' - Mary Myatt

• 'Putting Staff First' - John Tomsett

• 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People' – Stephen R Covey 'His seven habits help to develop the tools to lead better, but he also helps you to understand how you can get the best out of those that you lead and manage' - Louise Yarnell

• 'Supporting the Emotional Work of School Leaders' – Belinda Harris 'When the pressures of the role seem insurmountable, this book will remind you that you are not alone! Helps to develop your own emotional resilience and a few tools to help you bounce back when needed.' -  Louise Yarnell

• 'Staying A Head – Stress Management Secrets of Successful School Leaders' - Viv Grant 

• 'Riding the waves' - James Hilton 'This book looks at both primary and secondary school leaders and how they can find fulfilment in their challenging roles in order to lead their schools successfully.'  -  Louise Yarnell

• 'Teacher Resilience – Manging Stress and Anxiety to Thrive in the Classroom' – Jamie Thom 'A really good book to dip into with practical actions teachers and leaders can take to build resilience.' - Maria Dawes

Recommended Reads - Articles

• UCL Centre for Educational Leadership - Visiting Professor Christine Gilbert's April 2021 Thinkpiece 'Coming Back Stronger'

• 'Wise Leadership in Frenetic Times' - Stephen Tierney for Headteacher's Roundtable

• 'Disadvantage in Early Secondary School - Report from Will Cook, Bart Shaw and Stephen Morris from the Nuffield Foundation and Manchester Metropolitan University 

• 'Two must-read frameworks for CPD: Leverage Leadership + Practice with Purpose.' - Tom Sherrington for Teacherhead

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