The Chronicles of Wellbeing: The Prologue...

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The school staffroom culture is a very different one. Half the time I believe only those that work in education really truly understand the goings on between the walls of a school and how staff function daily. It’s not the 9 ‘til 3 job, with weeks’ worth of holidays that most outside the teaching world see.

Being an Early Years specialist for a great deal of my career, the doddle of “playing” with glitter and glue, dressing up and reading a few stories whilst getting paid for it isn’t exactly how I would describe my work. Just like many others, I spent ‘holidays’ catching up on paperwork, or sparkling up my classroom. In fact, I couldn’t pay my parents rent in my NQT year because I spent all my salary on my classroom! For the first 6 years of my career I never once went on the family summer holiday because I had to ‘prepare’ for the next year. We are one of the hardest working professions, with the least respect and gratitude for the work we do, our work-life balance and wellbeing.

Over the next couple of weeks, through SchoolWell, I want to explore some of the reasons why teachers are beginning to take a stand for their wellbeing, more ever so than before. I will explain how I have come to set up an advisory network that supports the wellbeing of those in the Education sector. And I will personally share how I have had to tackle a host of various ordeals from an NQT to Head of Department in my 8 years, ranging from low staff morale, OFSTED inspections from Outstanding to Special Measures, to the antics of the staffroom and the pain of bullying that unfortunately doesn’t just take place on the playground.

With these guest blog posts, you shall see how my perception of a leader has changed dramatically from my experiences, shaping my values and visions of staff wellbeing and the school environment itself. How I value and want to promote the fundamental importance of a positive sense of wellness and mental wealth, and that we need to teach our children the skills to cope with anything that life may throw at them – and believe me, there are a few nasty stones in the air.

I hope you continue to join me, creator of Sunshine and Showers Education Wellbeing Advisory, as I share my thoughts. I hope that you become engaged in some way with what I write, whether it resonates with you personally, you know a colleague experiencing something similar, or you completely disagree. It is important to remember, more so when on this continual rollercoaster that is happening to our Education system, that we are human, role modelling to smaller humans. We need to bring humanity back into the classroom.