Over the summer I've read, taken part in lots of discussions and have for the first time in over 10 years of teaching, have seriously thought about teacher well being for the first time. Teacher well being, whether you're talking about mental or physical, is often seriously overlooked due primarily on the constant focus on student well being. In all seriousness student well being should always be the primary focus of a school as if students feel safe and valued, they will be more likely to reach their potential and make significant progress. Often due to this focus school leaders at times have forgot that staff need the same.
If I can take away one phrase from this summer that I think sums up the importance of staff well being it's probably this.
"Good staff well being means happier staff. Happier staff will teach better lessons Better lessons will mean happier students. Happier students make more progress. Better progress being made by students is good for staff well being."
As a middle leader I've been as guilty as anyone else of not making staff well being a priority, so after some time to sit back and think (possibly by a pool with a pint in hand) here are some of my thoughts on how well being could be improved. I don't claim in any way to be an expert but here are a few of my ideas.
Lesson observations. Most teachers at some point of their career will have felt anxious about lesson observations as often they are viewed as make or break points in a persons year. I think it's important to remind staff that a one off observation is only a small part in looking at a classes progress over time. So, what are we using observations for, a stick or a developmental tool? I hope that by now in most schools it's being used to develop teachers. If this is the case it opens up the door to embrace a coaching model of teacher development. There has been lots of discussion about this however, here are a few of my ideas about how the lesson observation could be developed into a real developmental opportunity. Why don't we speak to teachers about what they will be teaching before we observe them? What I'm going to try and do is have a short discussion about what a teacher is trying to develop in the lesson, then give specific feedback on that aspect and how they can improve it.
SLT telling teacher if they are doing a good job. I personally don't need constant reassurance and praise if I am doing a good job, however every once in a while (especially after exam results) it would be nice. In my opinion the first step in making staff feeling valued is by recognizing their achievements with students. It's a relativity small thing but could make a real difference. With the current drive for accountability where there may be consequences for teachers if their class are not making enough progress, I find it disappointing that when their class makes good progress, it is rarely celebrated on an individual basis.
Letting teachers in departments share good practice. One thing that really helps my feeling of well being is sharing new resources and new ideas. I really have no idea why I've never embraced this in terms of the whole department before. Allow teachers to share good practice and ideas, they will feel a sense of achievement, their practice can be praised and in turn they will feel more valued. Over the next year I'm going to set up a good ideas board for teachers to showcase their ideas and am going to be insistent about time in meetings for good practice to be shared.
Appraisal! At the start of the year after exam analysis, I think staff appraisal and often the way it's viewed can put the first dint in a teacher's well being. The appraisal system in part is based on a classes progress, which it should be. Student progress should be at the forefront of everything we do. The problem occurs when a teacher has excepted a number of students in Year 11, with long standing behavioral problems, which over a period of time has effected their progress then has the progress of this group treated the same as any other. If this has been the case I think it's important for these teachers well being, for this to be recognized during their appraisal rather than it being almost implied that the poor progress in terms of percentage is just down to that teacher.
There is a lot more to maintaining staff well being that I've not mentioned here, however, these are a few important things I think need considering at this time of the year as we all want to have a positive start to the year.
Thanks for reading
Chalky
Chalky
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