The Human Connection: Why Strategic Wellbeing Initiatives Matter in Schools

Education is an industry that often demands the impossible. Teachers juggle lesson planning, curriculum implementation, assessment cycles, pastoral care, and professional development, all while managing the unpredictable and ever-evolving needs of the students in their care. It is a profession rooted in purpose but often burdened by the weight of bureaucracy...

I quite often use the metaphor of education being the wave, and us educators the surfers that are either sinking, swimming or surfing, and more often than not it can feel that teachers and school leaders are in the swell sinking and being washed to the shore that is the half term break.

It is this feeling of sinking and swimming that is all too often familiar with us all, why wellbeing of school staff cannot be an afterthought. It must be embedded into the strategic fabric of a school’s culture.

At Avanti Grange, we have embraced this principle through our Wellbeing Wednesday Initiative—a single Wednesday each half term where staff are encouraged to step away from the meeting rooms, the data spreadsheets, and the daily grind of professional practice. Instead, we engage in activities that are purely about team-building, connection, and community.

This isn’t about forced fun or superficial gestures. It is about recognising that the strength of a school does not rest solely on its policies, curriculum, or inspection results, but on the people who show up every day for their students. The more connected and supported they feel, the more resilient they will be when the inevitable challenges of the profession arise.

Wellbeing in Action

Our Wellbeing Wednesdays have seen staff engaging in everything from yoga sessions and forest bathing to art classes, competitive quizzes, and afternoon tea. This week, we had the choice between light exercise (dancing with Sarah West ) and moderate exercise (team games on the MUGA lead by Christopher Wilson).

Though, I must say, moderate was a misnomer—the netball-inspired game quickly became a hybrid of rugby and gladiatorial combat. It was intense, it was chaotic, and it was absolutely brilliant! However, the highlight for me was the staff tug of war. There’s something wonderfully unifying about sheer, unfiltered laughter, the kind that erupts when a team triumphs (or collapses spectacularly). In those moments, we weren’t teachers or administrators—we were just people, connected by shared experience and camaraderie.

The Strategic Value of Wellbeing Initiatives

The significance of these sessions extends beyond the moment. They serve as a reminder that school staff are not just colleagues operating within a machine of processes, deadlines, and policies. We are a community, and the bonds we forge in moments of shared joy and challenge make us stronger in the face of adversity.

Strategically embedding wellbeing initiatives into a school’s directed time is not a distraction from the core mission of education—it is an essential investment in it. A school culture that prioritises human connection creates more resilient, adaptable, and motivated staff.

This is not about enforcing participation. It’s about creating the conditions in which staff feel encouraged and empowered to engage. A thriving school is not just one that delivers strong academic outcomes but one where the people within it feel seen, valued, and supported.

Being Human in a Bureaucratic World

Too often, education becomes rigid, bureaucratic, and transactional. We get caught up in compliance and forget that at its heart, teaching is a profoundly human endeavour. By prioritising staff wellbeing in intentional, strategic, and meaningful ways, we safeguard not only our educators but also the quality of education we provide for our students.

Wellbeing Wednesdays remind us of the simple but powerful truth: we are better together. And when we laugh together, support each other, and build genuine connections, we create schools that are not just institutions, but communities. That is what makes the difference.