WELLBEING Pressures in education: supporting
staff in the new academic year MARK SOLOMONS, creator of Welbee, the online evaluation and staff wellbeing improvement tool, and six times winner in the ERA Awards, shares his advice as the new school year begins.
Leading for wellbeing: steps leaders can take
1. Genuinely prioritise staff wellbeing • Modelling: Leaders should visibly demonstrate healthy work-life boundaries — for example avoiding late-night emails and not expecting immediate responses outside of working hours. Encourage staff to truly disconnect and set a clear policy on working excessive hours and email protocols, which 46% of teachers say their schools lack (NASUWT, 2024).
A
s we start the new academic year, education leaders face a critical task: addressing the mounting pressures on their staff.
The core purpose of education remains constant, but the landscape is continuously shifting, creating greater demands and significant strain. Persistent attendance challenges, a rise in complex behaviour, the increasing demands of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), the new inspection framework for those in public education, vexatious parents and financial constraints are all contributing to a difficult environment.
This combination of factors is taking a heavy toll and it’s crucial we acknowledge its impact and empower local leaders to foster support, ensuring staff feel valued and inspired.
The human toll: understanding staff stress and burnout
The NASUWT Teacher Wellbeing Survey (2024) reported that 84% of teachers experienced more work-related stress in the last 12 months, with 86% stating their job adversely impacted their mental health. The figure for staff stress in Education Support’s Teacher Wellbeing Index was a similarly high 78%.
The overall wellbeing score for teachers recorded on the Warwick-Edinburgh scale was 38.4, significantly below the general population’s typical score of 50-52.
The Teacher Wellbeing Index (2024) also saw 77% of all staff continuing to report physical, psychological, or behavioural symptoms due to their work and 35% experienced a mental health issue in the past academic year.
While greater financial investment is needed in this important area, what can we do locally?
• Provide robust support: Not simply a helpline and counselling but line managers that have been provided with soft skills development to enable them to effectively check in with their team, professional supervision for staff dealing with challenging situations, and mental health first aiders. Providing them is one thing and ensuring they are used is another — so regularly audit and promote these and other resources, to ensure staff are aware of them and feel comfortable using them.
• Prioritise workload reduction: This is consistently the top driver of stress. While much of the low hanging fruit may already have been removed, continue to critically evaluate every task, data collection point, and meeting. Ask: what is the impact of this task on students and staff and remove anything that requires effort greater than the outcome delivered.
2. Empower and trust your teams • Foster autonomy and professional trust: Avoid micromanagement. Trust your experienced professionals to make sound judgements within their roles. Empowering staff with greater control over their roles, practices and decision-making will significantly boost job satisfaction.
• Invest in high-quality, relevant professional development: Offer training that directly addresses current challenges, such as behaviour management strategies, supporting diverse learning needs, and stress management techniques. Providing opportunities for professional growth and leadership can also significantly reduce the desire to leave.
• Cultivate a culture of open dialogue: Create regular, safe channels for feedback – through wellbeing surveys, staff forums, or informal conversations. Act on this transparently, demonstrating that concerns are heard, valued and acted upon. This builds psychological safety, where staff feel able to raise issues without fear of reprisal.
3. Champion recognition and community • Celebrate successes explicitly: Move beyond generic praise. Acknowledge specific efforts
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and achievements, both large and small, publicly and privately. While a note of appreciation or a mention in a staff briefing is more the norm, delivering praise timely and in the moment is far more powerful — this directly impacts morale and a sense of value.
• Foster a positive narrative: Actively counter negativity by consistently highlighting the positive impact staff are having on students’ lives and the school community. Share success stories and acknowledge the dedication behind them.
• Build social connections: Create opportunities for staff to connect and de-stress inside and outside work – doing things they enjoy together or simply providing an opportunity to talk
4. Ensure clear communication and manage expectations • Be transparent about challenges and strategy: Communicate openly about the pressures the institution faces, show your own vulnerability and concerns, and provide a clear narrative around action and how staff contributions are vital. This helps foster a sense of shared purpose.
• Clarify roles and responsibilities: Ensure everyone understands how their contribution helps deliver the organisation’s vision and outcomes, while avoiding unnecessary duplication of effort.
• Set realistic expectations: Acknowledge that the role of staff members is demanding and avoid setting unrealistic targets or adding to existing pressures, without removing other tasks.
5. Reconnect to the core purpose • Centre pupils in all discussions: Re-focus conversations on the positive impact staff are having on student outcomes and wellbeing. Share pupil achievements and progress, connecting them directly to the dedication of staff.
• Protect quality teaching and learning time: Shield staff from excessive administrative burdens that detract from their core role of educating children. When staff feel they can genuinely focus on their passion for teaching, their intrinsic motivation is reignited.
Much of this is not easy; we wouldn’t be seeing the staff statistics I shared earlier if it were! The key step is to take specific and deliberate action every day and to make sure these become part of your culture and are modelled from the top.
For further information and practical advice, visit:
https://welbee.co.uk
September 2025
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