Cultures of Staff Wellbeing and Mental Health in Schools: Reflecting on Positive Case Studies

Staff in schools have never been under so much pressure with high stakes accountability leading many teachers to rethink their profession. A third of Early Career Teachers are leaving within 5 years of training while Headteachers are less sure than ever that they will be able to continue to lead their schools. We have a staff wellbeing and mental health crisis in education.

The schools in Cultures of Staff Wellbeing and Mental Health have addressed this crisis by implementing a whole-school culture of staff wellbeing and mental health. It has taken courage, determination and authenticity to prioritise relationships over results, not only between the children and their teachers, but also between the staff themselves. 

 This book will support your school with: 
•32 individual chapter case-study accounts by headteachers and mental wellbeing leads of how they are implementing staff and pupil wellbeing in their schools. A rich resource of strategies and ideas to adapt to your own context.
•How to recognise and tackle staff burnout in your school, identifying the Maslach factors that cause it. 
•Why teachers putting ‘a brave face on it’ is ineffective: Jonathan Glazzard presents his ground- breaking research identifying a connection between teacher wellbeing, pupil emotional response and attainment.
•What ‘buffer’ leadership is and why recognising it is crucial to the headteacher’s mental health.

This book belongs to the staff of the case-study schools that recount, in their own words, how focusing on wellbeing and mental health has transformed their schools.

"This book exemplifies good practice and will hopefully inspire others to follow its case study leads."
David Gumbrell, Founder of The Resilience Project

"This book is an outstanding reference guide for all school leaders who wish to implement a culture of wellbeing based on evidence and success. A must read!"
Suneta Bagri (FCCT), Former Head teacher, Founder of The Every Teacher Matters Project & Cultivate Coaching & Consultancy

"The editor not only encourages the reader to engage & empower all staff to see and own their own wellbeing, but also for leaders to model self-care & the promotion of sustainable wellbeing behaviour."   
Patrick Ottley-O’Connor, Executive Headteacher

"A must read for any school wanting to strengthen the wellbeing of their school community."
Daniela Falecki, Founder and Director Teacher Wellbeing Pty Ltd, Sydney Australia

Steve Waters is the founder and director of the Teach Well Alliance. He has thirty years'' experience as a secondary school English teacher. During this time he fulfilled many roles including middle leader and Assistant Headteacher. His previous books include Doing Your Research Project which is in its seventh edition.