Wellbeing

Renowned Education Consultant and author, Jenny Mosley, outlines five key ways you can actively promote wellbeing in your school. Jenny's ideas would also be suitable for KS3 students.

Adrian Bethune is a writer, teacher and Healthy Body and Mind leader at a primary school in Hertfordshire. In 2012, he was awarded a ‘Happy Hero’ medal at the House of Lords for his work on developing wellbeing in schools. Here he explores the benefits of showing kindness, and how the smallest acts can make a big impact.

Victoria Hewett is an education blogger and creator of the #Teacher5adayBuddyBox wellbeing scheme. She is a passionate advocate for improving teacher wellbeing and reducing workload. Here she shares her ideas for strategies you can use to support your own wellbeing.

Val Payne has over 30 years’ experience in education and social care and Peter Harper is a former NHS consultant clinical psychologist. They are the authors of '50 Ways to Feel Happy' and volunteer for Action for Happiness. They explain why it is important to teach emotional wellbeing skills, and share a range of strategies.

According to a survey by the Teacher Wellbeing Index, in 2021 an alarming 72% of education staff reported experiencing symptoms of poor mental health due to their work, and 54% had considered leaving the sector in the past two years.

These statistics are sobering and sad. Teacher wellbeing needs investment at the highest level in order to affect significant and lasting change. Until then, it is down to us to look after ourselves in order to look after others, however hard or self-indulgent it may seem. The resources below are designed to support you in finding ways to make your wellbeing a priority and, as the saying goes, 'Put your own oxygen mask on first'. 

This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week runs from 15–21 May and will be on the theme of anxiety.

Hosted by the Mental Health Foundation, the Week offers an opportunity for people to talk about all aspects of mental health, with a focus on empowering individuals to improve their own mental health and support others to do the same. The Foundation aims to explore the experience of anxiety, its effect on our mental health, and how we can all play a part in reducing anxiety in our communities.