Headteacher wellbeing - guidance and support for school leaders

Headteacher wellbeing - information, support and guidance for school leaders

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Wellness in schools starts from the top. When headteacher wellbeing isn’t as high as it should be, it’s also hard - if not impossible - to achieve high levels of staff and student wellbeing.

This guide breaks down everything you need to know about headteacher wellbeing, from the factors that influence it to how it can be improved. When it’s a priority, everyone benefits, from students to the leadership team.

Are headteachers responsible for wellbeing in a school?

In any organisation, wellbeing starts at the top. In the case of schools, this means it starts with the school leader - the headteacher.

Headteachers are not solely responsible for the wellbeing of a school. However, they do play a key role in identifying potential issues that affect a school’s wellbeing. They also contribute to creating an environment that prioritises wellbeing for everyone in the school community.

Factors that affect headteacher wellbeing

A variety of issues can create stress and likely impact a headteacher’s wellbeing. The following are some of the most noteworthy ones:

  • Accountability and school inspections
  • Staff challenges (communication, effective relationships between teachers and students, retention, etc.)
  • Parent pressures (complaints about curriculum, student treatment, student progress, etc.)

Budget pressures also create additional stress and can influence headteacher wellbeing.

Headteachers are responsible for creating and sticking to the school’s budget, which can be difficult - especially when staff members are all vying for the headteacher to make specific investments.

Every year, the UK invests billions of pounds in its schools. However, many school budgets are still strained.

As a result, headteachers have to make tough decisions when deciding where they want to invest their money, especially when it comes to improving school wellness. This is why accessible, cost-effective online school wellness monitoring platforms like Satchel Pulse Wellbeing Tracker are so helpful.

Who is responsible for a headteacher's wellbeing?

Headteachers are the head of the school, but that doesn’t mean they are the only ones responsible for their own wellbeing.

Those who sit above them, such as the board of governors, can also make decisions that impact headteacher wellbeing positively or negatively.

For example, they may improve headteacher wellbeing by allocating more funds to programs that improve school wellness. They could also offer training to give headteachers the tools they need to look after their own wellbeing.

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Ways for headteachers to look after their own wellbeing

Changes made by higher-ups can make a big difference when it comes to improving headteacher wellbeing. However, headteachers must also take some responsibility.

Here are some steps that headteachers can take to look after their own wellbeing:

1. Establish boundaries

It’s easy for headteachers to take their work home with them and spend more time than is healthy worrying about school, staff, and student wellbeing. Establishing clear boundaries between their personal and professional lives is key to ending the struggle of a healthy work-life balance.

Setting boundaries helps headteachers avoid burnout and allows them to return to work feeling refreshed and ready to attend to staff and pupil needs.

2. Connect with others

Headteachers should also make time to connect with other senior leaders and education professionals who understand their struggles within the education system and the stresses that come with the job and can interfere with their wellbeing.

Quality social connections can reduce the physical and mental effects of feeling stressed and improve wellbeing across the board.

3. Invest in coaching and continuing education

When they prioritise their professional development by working with coaches and attending classes, headteachers gain access to a variety of new tools and techniques.

This helps them learn about different ways to address any concerns and improve their wellbeing. They can also share this information with teachers and other staff members to encourage wellbeing throughout the entire school.

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How can schools promote wellbeing?

Headteachers need to look after their wellbeing, but they also need to take steps to promote wellbeing throughout their schools and support their staff and pupils.

Supporting staff wellbeing in school

When they prioritise and protect their own wellbeing, it’s easier for headteachers to take care of their staff and focus on their wellbeing. Here are some specific steps they may want to take:

  • Providing access to mindfulness and relaxation tools
  • Offering services like workshops to teach strategies for improving wellbeing and normalising discussions about wellbeing
  • Conducting regular appraisals to gain an understanding of staff needs and struggles
  • Encouraging staff members to support one another and communicate about their challenges
  • Implementing team development opportunities to create a greater sense of belonging

Regular recognition can also play a key role in improving staff wellness. Headteachers should make a habit of praising staff members and thanking them for their hard work.

Supporting children's health and wellbeing in school

Headteachers should also collaborate with staff to support children’s wellbeing and set their pupils up for success. The following are some examples of how they can do this:

  • Provide access to mindfulness and relaxation tools
  • Support healthy eating by offering more nutritionally balanced meals and educating students on their benefits
  • Provide access to safe drinking water
  • Encourage regular physical activity
  • Provide opportunities for students and their parents to provide feedback to headteachers and staff about the school and about their wellbeing

Headteachers and staff should also incorporate praise and recognition into their pupil management approach. Pupils of all ages need and deserve praise. It should be freely given to encourage more positive behaviour in the future.

Take a "whole-school approach”

Taking a “whole-school approach” will help headteachers and staff create a supportive environment for themselves and their students.

A whole-school approach involves everyone at a school - headteachers, teachers and other staff members, parents, caregivers, and community members - working together to give students the help and guidance they need and deserve.

Employ a school wellbeing officer

Headteachers may also want to consider employing a school wellbeing officer. This person is responsible for coordinating and delivering advice and support to students who are experiencing difficulties - including mental health difficulties.

School wellbeing officers care for students’ emotional and psychological wellbeing. Through supervision, they strive to help them successfully engage with their academic commitments, as well as the demands of student life, to develop their resilience and self-management skills.

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How can headteachers monitor the wellbeing of staff and students?

One of the most effective ways for headteachers to monitor staff and pupil wellbeing is with a tool like Satchel Pulse’s Wellbeing Tracker.

The Wellbeing Tracker sends automated, expert-created surveys to staff members, students, and parents. Results are then collated to help school leaders track wellbeing over time, as well as identify trends and take action to improve their school communities.

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