Teacher wellbeing: how can schools become more human-centric?
Despite schools being full to the brim of human beings, the sector is guilty of not always treating its occupants in the most compassionate and humane manner.
Data-driven, results-based, progression-centred: the education sector has lost its heart.
It is clear that the adults in the education sector are committed and dedicated to the young people in their care.
More and more is being demanded of teachers that goes beyond the realm of the traditional teacher, whether that is social worker, counsellor or feeder.
Schools are dedicated to the care of their students.
But are schools dedicated to the care of their staff?
This is sometimes harder to see.
Teachers come under great scrutiny. Teachers experience regular upheaval as new initiatives come in as SLT try to keep up with the demands of the DfE. As teacher numbers deplete, those left behind are expected to complete the same workload with fewer hands on deck.
The result?
Teachers run ragged, their mental and physical wellbeing out the window. Teachers who are considering leaving the profession for one where they may be better treated.
If teachers are to thrive in education, schools need to become more human-centric in their approach to the employees.
What is it to be a human-centric workplace?
To be a human-centric workplace, schools need to revolve around the needs of their employees, the people that make up their vitals. Without teachers, there is no education. Consequently, teachers need to be put at the centre of schools because when they thrive, the students automatically benefit and thrive too.
According to David Kelly, whose firm IDEO, popularised human-centred design, there are three elements to human-centred design:
- Empathy: there is a genuine care for the people who will be working in your education setting. There will be a need to listen to their thoughts, concerns and needs.
- Creativity: creativity will be needed to create solutions for the new challenges that inevitably emerge when you have listened to the needs of your employees.
- Business needs: in the case of schools, this is about ensuring that staff are empowered to thrive in order to deliver their best work. When teachers thrive, their students thrive and attainment will increase.
Here are three steps schools can take to create a more human-centric workplace for their staff:
1) Flexible working
With the pandemic giving rise to greater flexibility of working habits, there is now a greater demand for flexible working to help people fit their work and life demands in.
According to the Office for National Statistics, almost a quarter of workers are now hybrid working.
If teaching is to remain attractive to employers and be more human-centric, offering flexible working is a vital aspect.
Flexible working can come in many guises from part-time working, compressed hours or job shares. Some schools also empower teachers to take their non-contact time outside of school, giving more options to teachers who may have other commitments outside of school.
If you’d like to find out more about flexible working for schools, find your Flexible Working Ambassador School here.
Ultimately, flexible working demonstrates that you trust your staff to do their job well with little micromanagement.
2. Trust your teachers
Teachers face great scrutiny in their work. Many days feel like high stakes as they experience lesson observations, fake Ofsted inspections and regular drop ins, book scrutinies and learning walks.
In some schools, this creates a tense environment. Teachers feel like they are being pressured to see if they trip up and make errors. This pressure increases further as they fear their capability will be questioned.
Leading by fear will never give you your employees’ best.
On the other hand, some schools focus on teacher improvement, celebrating teacher achievements and emphasising that these are learning opportunities. Although this may cause some anxiety for teachers, the overall focus is on the teachers being able to grow and become even better at their job.
Yet, even this can be taken a step further.
Teachers can be part of the conversation to improve systems within schools. Senior leaders, although highly experienced, can lose touch with the day-to-day running of classrooms themselves. By listening to classroom teachers, taking their suggestions on board and developing processes that empower teachers rather than give them additional paperwork and pressures, schools can create a cohesive and supportive network where everyone feels heard.
3. Discourage presenteeism
Presenteeism is when teachers come into work despite feeling unwell. According to Education Support, 46% of teachers always go into work when unwell.
There are a combination of reasons for why this may occur. These will include shame, feeling that it is best for the children if teachers come in and guilt about causing additional work for colleagues.
Setting cover is another deterrent for teachers taking time off, particularly if they already feel ill. Sometimes, it feels easier to just come into work.
Yet, this is having a negative impact on all involved.
Children do not benefit because their teacher is not fit enough to teach at their best. Learning will be negatively impacted. Behaviour may be worse as the teacher may not have the usual resilience to keep positive behaviour in place.
Colleagues are also negatively impacted. Colleagues coming to work when they are ill promotes the spread of colds and viruses. Colleagues may also see that others come in when they are unwell and therefore, feel pressured to do the same if they are also ill.
Ultimately, individual teachers also do not benefit as they have not given themselves time to rest and recuperate, lengthening their period of ill health.
Being ill is a central part of being human: it happens to us all.
Schools must get creative and find methods of deterring presenteeism. This may be through role modelling taking time off when feeling unwell or reformulating how cover is set to reduce the effort and impact on colleagues.
Despite education being a human-filled sector, more can be done to support the humans within the sector.
Schools cannot run without teachers. Therefore, it is imperative that teacher-wellbeing is put in the centre of all schools. Ultimately, everyone will benefit.
Gemma Drinkall is an Educational Wellbeing Coach, helping middle leaders in education to create clear boundaries so that they can love teaching, and their lives, again.
Want to get in touch? Book a free, no obligation virtual coffee chat here: calendly.com/headsphere/bookacallwithgemma
