What if teacher wellbeing could improve? What could schools do?
"No business organisation with a 40% attrition rate would last long in any sector."
This is my 5-point plan for improving teacher wellbeing across England. Staff wellbeing is not a peripheral issue. 'Indeed, it should be a moral imperative for all senior leadership teams and their governing bodies.'
In June 2014, I visited Education Guardian to attend a round-table discussion. The topic in which I wrote a preamble is here: “Promoting wellbeing: How can we support teachers in the face of growing professional challenges?”. On Tuesday
Great article on an often overlooked issue. If a teacher is not happy, that will reflect poorly in his/her work and it’s the next generation that will suffer. Teacher well-being should be a priority!
Thanks for sharing!
Victoria
Reblogged this on Roberts's Room.
Great stuff, Ross. Well-being is key, I think – for school leaders and their teams as well as for all the staff (teaching and support) they lead – and, through them, to the students themselves, who need to understand how to safeguard their own well-being now and in their lives beyond school.
It’s great to highlight the issues and to raise awareness in this way.
There are no easy answers, I know (though I do like a 5-point plan and agree with everything you say in yours). I recorded this for #SLTeachMeet Cambridge earlier this year which I hope might also be helpful to some.
http://youtu.be/8jLNZ7E_LUI
Reblogged this on teachfromthesoul and commented:
A must read for any teachers.
There is a fabulous comment left by DissentingVoice in the Guardian column:
“Whilst a headteacher I always kept in my diary a quote from Brighouse and Woods. It reminded me that whilst I might be feeling burnt out so would my classroom based colleagues who did not have the bolt hole of an office nor the luxury to shut the office door for a few minutes to think things through. The quote was:
“..Teachers know that the inflection of their voice, the movement of an eyebrow and their attitude every minute of the day when they are with children, effect those children’s ability to learn. And they are with children a lot. So teachers get exhausted when the rest of us simply tire.”
I tried not to forget just how tiring and draining a full days teaching could be. Now looking from the outside in I would urge senior leaders to be wary of any future policy directives that seek to “divide and rule” senior leaders from their classroom colleagues. “United we stand, divided we fall.” I particularly fear the new performance management proposals will not be accompanied by a sufficient level of funding to reward all our colleagues who warrant such an award and will also diminish the willingness of teachers to share good practice. This scenario will further damage staff well-being.
Senior leadership teams need to recognise that supporting staff well-being is essential. We can not sustain pupils being taught by the fraught; experienced colleagues “jumping ship” earlier than they originally planned; and two in every five new teachers leaving within five years of taking up post. We need particularly to resist the “control freakery” that can lead to senior leaders demanding our colleagues spend 60 to 70 percent of their time on administration and bureaucracy. The world will not come to an end, for example, if Geography’s scheme of work is presented in a different style to English.
There are organisations out there that will support schools in the management of well-being. They will also undertake online anonymous audits on staff well-being. The audit results can be uncomfortable for senior leaders. However, better to know how people really feel and address what you can. Schools can also do basic things like set up staff well-being groups. Unions also have a role to play and leadership teams should reflect upon feedback from school representatives. My experience is that the unions are not “the enemy within” and can play a constructive role in improving staff well being.
Staff well-being matters. It is not a peripheral issue – indeed, it should be a moral imperative for all senior leadership teams and their governing bodies.”