“School Staff are incredible” writes our Director and Founder, Andy Freeman.
In this article he shares about our School Staff Wellbeing Box and why we’re committed to providing meaningful and helpful support for the wellbeing of School Staff across the UK.
These past months School Staff across the country have dealt with change after change, mounting workloads and reimagining lessons into meaningful online experiences for pupils. On top of this many schools have had both remote and present learners and many young people have needed all sorts of additional support. There is also the wonderful ways School Staff have created resources to help Parents with Home Schooling. All this in pandemic.
Alexander the Great once said “I am indebted to my father & mother for living, but to my teacher for living well.”
When I think back on my school life I remember Mr Digby and Mr Norris.
Mr Digby taught me Maths during the toughest time of my life. He was always practical, always kept me on track in the subject but most of all believed in me as a person - it was like rocket-fuel in my veins. I think he was one of the first people to teach me the value of speaking positively about someone else.
Mr Norris taught me PE. We had these climbing bars in our School Hall. I was scared to go too far up and he could have shouted at me and told me off. Instead week by week he got me going higher and higher. Eventually one day I managed it over the top and down the other side. He stopped the whole class, got them all to watch me and applaud. I’ll never forget that. Nowadays people often remark on my ploddability, that I can keep going and in my head I trace it back to that moment.
School Staff can change the lives of young people in their care. That’s why we’re committed at Space to Breathe to supporting their wellbeing as they support the children and young people in our city, our region and our country. In 2019 the Teacher Wellbeing Index found that 34% of teachers had experienced a Mental Health Challenge that year and 76% of School Staff felt extreme stress. Many teachers pre-COVID were considering whether they can carry on in their jobs because of workplace stress.
As lockdown ends we’re looking forward to getting back to running School Staff Wellbeing Days, holding Wellbeing Staff Meetings and using tools like the Wellbeing Audit to support schools and school staff as they do their amazing job. You can find details of all the work we do in our Schools Section of the website.
This term though, we’ve worked to say thank you and provide something meaningful to help School Staff in the incredible jobs they’re doing.
In February we gave out Wellbeing Boxes to every HeadTeacher in Sheffield.
In February we gave out Wellbeing Boxes to every Head Teacher in Sheffield. This felt like the right step to take in a term where everything had changed. Our Education Lead Ben and a teach of volunteers we round Sheffield delivering boxes to every School Head.
We were then asked to create a Box that could be gifted to any School Staff Member and that would be available across the country.
The School Staff Wellbeing Box is the result. You can see some photos and details below and also find a link.
This is more than a thank you gift, it’s designed to make a meaningful difference to someone’s wellbeing in a stressful job at a stressful time. The four reflection cards give short experiences designed to help a person flourish and things that can repeated time and again. The contents add to that sense of calm and provide an oasis or a space to think. There’s also a QR code linking to more resources to support an individual online.
As we come into the last few weeks of the Spring term, how about sharing one of these boxes with a School Staff member you really want give a big ‘thank you .’ Each box is priced at £15 plus P&P and we can post direct to the staff member concerned. You can even let us know a message to go inside.
If you’re a community organisation, faith group or charity that wants to buy a few for a staff team or schools in your community we can do that too, and bigger orders can trigger a discount too.
This box..
was delivered to a Schools Organisation in Reading as part of gifts they were sharing with local schools
If all this sounds like something you’d like to explore more, you can find our page for the School Staff Wellbeing Box at the bottom of this article. There is also a selection of photos so you can see what’s going on.
Teachers have the ability to change people’s lives and their impact ripples on way beyond the time we spend at school. I know that from Mr. Digby and Mr. Norris. Who would you like to thank and support today?
