Teacher Wellbeing – Breathe Education

World Mental Health Week: It’s Okay to Talk

World Mental Health Week is an important opportunity to pause, check in with ourselves and those around us, and remember that mental health is just as important as physical health.

Life can sometimes feel overwhelming. Stress, anxiety, loneliness, grief and other challenges can affect anyone, at any stage of life. Talking about how we feel can be difficult, but opening up to someone we trust can be the first step towards feeling better.

This week is also about breaking the stigma around mental health. We should never feel ashamed to ask for help or admit that we’re struggling. Whether it’s talking to a friend, family member, colleague, GP or mental health professional, reaching out is a sign of strength, not weakness.

Let’s use World Mental Health Week as a reminder to be kind to ourselves and to each other. Sometimes, a simple “How are you really doing?” can make a bigger difference than we realise.

Look after your mind, check in with others, and remember: you don’t have to face things alone.

Check out: www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/campaigns/world-mental-health-day

Teacher wellbeing is an important aspect of a whole school approach to mental wellbeing and resilience. High teacher well being, along with good quality student-teacher relationships leads to increased wellbeing and high levels of school connectedness in children and young people. There are various resources linking into whole school approaches to mental health, wellbeing and resilience being the most effective strategy for engaging students and ensuring that children and young people are well supported.

We’ve pulled together information on some of the key areas around teacher wellbeing looking at some background and recommendations around school environment and wellbeing, spotting signs of stress and understanding and managing stress.

Birmingham Education Partnership (BEP) have collated a variety of resources to increase wellbeing across the whole school. Young Minds have also put together information on how to create a resilient community using a whole school approach to wellbeing.

Our resources section provides links to a number of tips and tricks for managing stress, avoiding burnout and how to talk to each other about mental health and wellbeing.