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The Wellbeing Curriculum with Andrew Cowley

Reading Time: 6 minutes I am joined today by Andrew Cowley. I last spoke to Andrew two years ago when The Wellbeing Toolkit was published and I am delighted to see a follow up in the form of The Wellbeing Curriculum. So Andrew, I asked you two years ago if writing had changed your life. Has it changed now? […]

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Senior Mental Health Lead Training from the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools

Reading Time: 3 minutes The idea of a Senior Mental Health Lead for schools was first mooted in a 2017 green paper. The stated aspiration was for every school and college to have a Designated Mental Health Lead by 2025.  That was before the pandemic, which has only intensified the need for a lead in schools with strategic oversight […]

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Book Review: The Designated Mental Health Lead Planner

Reading Time: 2 minutes The Designated Mental Health Lead Planner by Clare Erasmus published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. The Designated Mental Health Lead  (DMHL) is a fairly new role in the educational landscape. It began life in a government green paper in 2017, with a bold declaration of intent: every school and college to have a Designated Mental Health […]

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Lockdown loneliness

Reading Time: 4 minutes A guest post by Rachel Ball.  I’m writing this during a half term break which I have struggled with to be honest. Whilst grateful for the break from remote learning and home-school, it’s been hard to relax. There’s the constant speculation in the press about when and how we will return to school, the challenge […]

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Should Schools be Teaching Mental Wellbeing Strategies?

Reading Time: 3 minutes A guest post from @YourMindFitness ‘27% of suicides in young people are linked with the pressures of academic studies.’ Over the 10 years that I have been teaching, I have observed the increased levels of stress on our young people. I believe that secondary schools need to STOP using Tutor Time for marginal academic gains. […]

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Book Review: Stop Talking About Wellbeing by Kat Howard

Reading Time: 3 minutes Stop Talking about Wellbeing: A Pragmatic Approach to Teacher Workload by Kat Howard. Published by John Catt Educational Ltd English teacher, Assistant Principal and LitDrive founder Kat Howard has entered the field of teacher wellbeing books with this provocatively titled work aimed at teachers at all stages of their careers. Unusually, the book opens with […]

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Governor Wellbeing

Reading Time: 3 minutes A guest post by @JaPenn. The #ukgovchat topic on Sunday was on Governor Wellbeing & since I find myself unusually with some time to ponder then, dear reader, please indulge me. I am currently enjoying a spot of R&R which is doing wonders for my wellbeing. Having just returned to our room after a massage […]

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Book Review: Ten Traits of Resilience by James Hilton

Reading Time: 2 minutes   James Hilton‘s new book takes a look at resilience and how school leaders can build theirs. It is built around James’s own personal experience, not only of a breakdown in his own resilience but also in the many successful years he spent in primary school leadership.  It is peppered with personal anecdotes and vignettes […]