Click through the below for some tips on how to keep yourself well, if you think you might need further support please email wellbeing@jorichardson.org.uk.
Alternatively, you can go to Every Mind Matters to answer some quick questions about your wellbeing to get tailored advice for you.
As teachers we are regularly asked to step up and do more to support our young people and, at JRCS, this is exactly what we do. To allow us to keep doing that though we need to ensure that we take good care of ourselves, after all, you must put on your oxygen mask first in an emergency before you help others.
At JRCS we are signed up to the Employee Assistance Programme where you can get professional support for your wellbeing and for a range of other things. To get in touch with them please follow the numbers on the signage or speak to any member of the wellbeing team, your line manager or our senior leadership team.
Connect
It is really easy to feel isolated when teaching, moving from classroom to duty and back again. However, it is important to remember you’re surrounded by others feeling the exact same way. Why not email a colleague you enjoy chatting to and see if you can find a time to have a cup of tea together during your break or go to the staff room to eat your lunch instead of in your office/classroom?
Be Active
When we feel that our wellbeing is not at its best, we tend to hide, opting for going straight home to sticking to a workout schedule. This is not always a good choice, forcing yourself to be active releases the endorphins required to make yourself feel happier. We are in the fortunate position that we have a gym in school, why not find a gym buddy and set up some scheduled times to go together or, if you prefer, go it alone. So, grab your trainers and hit the gym, or even better join the staff football team or dance group! Alternatively, you could start the ‘Couch to 5k’.
Take Notice
In teaching we can get easily bogged down by the routine of planning, teaching, reviewing and marking. This means that we focus on the negatives that take away from this process, like the low-level disruption or unanswered questions. But, we could try something else. Why not pop into someone else’s classroom with your same group and observe. However, you’re not watching the teacher, but the students. Look for the good, who is working hard, who is focussed, who is engaged? Finding out these things can revolutionise how you view your own classroom and make you feel all warm and fuzzy!
Keep Learning
We love to learn, which is why we started teaching in the first place! Yet, once we are teaching, we can lose sight of that passion for knowledge, so why not reignite it? We are signed up to The Key here at JRCS and this is regularly updated research from the profession we work in. Why not take some time each week to read something new. This might just change your practice and then lead to a wider change through our Teaching and Learning group. To sign up, simply chat with your line manager about how (they have an app which really makes things easy!).
Give
Teaching is all about giving. Giving our knowledge, our time, resources and skills. But how often are we stopping and giving to our fellow teachers? Here there are a few things you can do:
- Nominate someone as the Unsung Hero
- Drop them a complimentary email
- Write them a complimentary note in the staff wellbeing box
- Sign up to the Secret Teacher scheme
All of these are great ways to not only improve the wellbeing of others, but of ourselves, giving makes us feel good. So, let’s do more of it.