Why have a culture of wellbeing?
I am sometimes asked, ‘Why would I want to have a culture of wellbeing in my school?’. My simple answer is ‘Well, why wouldn’t you?’.
Wellbeing is often discussed in relation to school staff, though in reality a culture of wellbeing should embrace the whole school community: staff, parents and children. If a school cannot get wellbeing right for its staff, it is not going to deliver for the rest of the community.
Wellbeing is actually a simple concept, meaning the act of being well. As a school leader, despite the simplicity of its definition, wellbeing isn’t easy to get right, but it is ever so easy to get wrong, especially if the school’s culture doesn’t support it.
We need a wellbeing culture in schools, not only because wellbeing is misunderstood, but because it is often challenged. We need a culture of wellbeing because if it exists, staff, parents and children thrive.
Building or growing a culture of wellbeing?
Are cultures built or grown? For me, school buildings are built, solid and tangible, permanent and largely unchanging. Something that is grown requires different care; it needs to be nurtured, developed, and given the right conditions in which to thrive and survive.
The same too applies to any culture, which can thrive only in fertile environments. Building is also a linear process, while growth is cyclical. We can grow a culture of wellbeing in school, just as we might develop a culture of learning, or nurture a culture of artistic appreciation.
Cultures also need to sit alongside strong, sound relationships. If people feel supported, they can be challenged to improve without feeling threatened.
Given current concerns about staff retention, with the latest Teacher Wellbeing Index reporting that over half the teachers surveyed were considering leaving the profession, positive working relationships and a mutually supportive culture are essential to our profession. Culture and relationships: it's about systems and about people and ensuring the two fit seamlessly together.
Challenging wellbeing ‘myths’
Wellbeing is not a tickbox exercise
The greatest ‘myth’ about wellbeing is that it is somehow a ‘fluffy’ or soft option, that it can be addressed in school with the occasional box of cakes in the staffroom, a mediation session, a wellbeing INSET day or paid ‘golden’ days. These don’t represent a wellbeing culture; they are kind tokens, but still tokens.
Wellbeing is for everyone
Some staff are open about physical or mental health issues, while others are more reserved and private about their struggles. Be sensitive to these differences. All staff have a right to wellness of equal worth.
Self-care cannot be forced
Many schools are extending their provision for staff to include meditation and mindfulness as part of their wellbeing offer. While many people benefit from these self-care approaches, it’s not a solution that suits everyone, and self-care cannot be forced or mandatory.
Wellbeing is for every day, not just for INSETs days
Wellbeing days are increasingly common for INSET, often consisting of team-building activities, time management strategies, wellbeing surveys or even off-site outdoor pursuits. The message of the day might be well-intentioned, but if the strategies discussed are never used and the team building breaks down throughout a challenging teaching year, with its stress points of assessments, data submission and report writing, the impact of the day can be negligible. The lesson here is that wellbeing is for every day, not just for INSET days.
Growing a culture of wellbeing is not easy, and it is certainly not instant, but it is rewarding and valuable in the long term. Ignore the myths, be proactive and strategic, act on the negatives and the challenges and think ahead. Get it right, and those cakes on the staffroom table won't be a token, they will be an honest indication that you are getting it right.
So, why would you want to have a culture of wellbeing in your school? Well, why wouldn’t you?
CPD resources to support wellbeing you might like:
Building your resilience: CPD for teachers
20 ideas to improve teacher wellbeing in schools
10 golden rules of mental health wellbeing
This article was first published as a Teachit talks newsletter in 2022.
