I have been in awe of the responsiveness of school leaders and teachers in the rapidly changing environment brought about by COVID. Now, more than ever, it is vital that the well-being of staff is prioritised and practical steps are taken to improve the well-being of teachers and school leaders.

Staff well-being is on the agenda in many schools. Often a leader or teacher is allocated the role of improving staff well-being. Whilst they are well intentioned and eager to make a difference, the task is challenging and it can be difficult to have sustained impact on the culture within a school.

A number of systems have also developed a Staff Well-being Framework. However, having a Framework does not necessarily translate into changing the behaviours that are necessary to improve teacher well-being.

Having good intentions, simply isn’t enough. It is behaviour that counts!

The following are my beliefs about staff well-being.

• Staff well-being is important, it impacts on student well-being and success
• Sustained success comes through improving YOUR school culture
• Staff ALSO have a responsibility to manage their OWN well-being
• ‘Bolt on’ programs don’t work in the long term
• There are no ‘magic wands’ or quick fixes
• The #1 factor in staff morale is leadership
• Leaders can’t please all of the staff, all of the time
• The fastest way to boost staff morale is to find out what annoys staff, fix what you can and acknowledge the rest
• The priorities are different in every school – the solution therefore can NOT be one size fits all
• It is NOT ‘rocket science’ but it does require a consistent, systematic approach that leads to changes in the school’s culture

We have developed a program for school leaders and staff well-being teams aimed at implementing practical strategies to improve staff well-being over a 12 month period.

We call it Project: Staff Well-Being and launched it last week. The response has been massive! The first and only step-by-step program that shows you exactly how to improve YOUR staff well-being and build a POSITIVE School Culture, without wasting time.

The program consists of four modules, designed to be undertaken over a 12 month period, one module per term.

We recommend the staff well-being team meet for 45 minutes, twice per term to watch the short video, discuss the content in that module and respond to the key questions to develop an action plan for their school. The module for each term also includes a video designed to be used for a staff professional development activity of up to 60 minutes. This is designed to be facilitated by the staff well-being team using the resources provided.

Through this process, they identify the changes or refinements that need to happen in their school to build a positive, supportive school culture that supports staff well-being and empowers staff to better manage their own well-being.

Click here to find out more