Is teacher absence the demise of your school budget?

So, the question is, how do you prioritise staff well-being alongside ensuring a happy and highly skilled teacher for every class in your school?

I mean really make it a priority? (and not just give a day off for a birthday or a token for your staff member to attend their child's assembly)

I fully believe that when an individual (child or adult) is happy…  then they achieve.  Simple!

As a head teacher, I wanted to take care of the people in my team.  Show and prove to them that their health and wellbeing was first and foremost.  I saw the difference it made to Teaching and Learning when a teacher was happy.  The impact of a happy teacher is in turn, thirty happy children, feeling safe, secure and learning well.  When this happens, standards raise and School improvement just happens!

During some of my previous headships, when a member of staff came to me (or I had to speak to them) it was always due to a personal issue which was affecting their work.  I couldn’t ignore what they had shared but equally, I could not (and would not) accept anything less than good for the pupils.  Quite a conundrum wouldn’t you agree? This, amongst a plethora of other school issues, kept me awake many a night!

So how did I handle these situations?

I would give each and every member of staff, my time, full attention and support the personal circumstances which were affecting their wellbeing and health. 

However, supporting in this way, often meant that they would need to take time off from work. For some members of staff, this would mean taking long periods of absence which often involved counselling and further time off work for follow-up counselling sessions, even when they returned to work.  This was fantastic for supporting the member of staff and for living by my own personal values… but simply catastrophic for the school, team, children and parents. Particularly, when, you are the head of a school which faces turbulence, challenging circumstances and in need of serious school improvement!

Quite seriously, the impact of a long-term absence of a teacher can cause damage to the children’s learning during the entirety of the academic year which is, bluntly put... irreparable! The increase in work-load for the affected colleagues can create ill feeling towards the absent member, which alone, can often be enough of a reason to deter the staff member from returning anytime soon!

I needed a solution in which I could support the staff member with true care and compassion but also safeguard high quality teaching and learning for the pupils. Of course, I had the support of HR services which helped me with a process, but I needed an alternative. After all, that member of staff had shared some of their deepest concerns with me. What was I to do in return? Wave the managing staff attendance policy at them in a meeting with HR in return? Not me. I needed an alternative solution. 

Having trained as a coach, I have now become part of the solution I myself was looking for. I now help other head teachers in my position to know and understand that there is another way.  A quick fix.

In just five coaching sessions (1.5 hours max per session) we can eliminate a personal difficulty such as workload, overwhelm, limiting beliefs, anxiety, stress, low-confidence, personal trauma, past pain (whatever the emotional baggage) in an emotion free-way leaving the teacher empowered and refocused.  This could be done over the course of one week and would cost less than if they were to take a week off sick/unfit from work. Or three workshops delivered over the course of an academic year, giving each member of staff practical tools to use upon themselves.  This process starts to change mind-set, giving individuals the opportunity of taking charge of their own emotional state and taking motivated actions towards being the best teacher they can be.  Every Teacher Matters.

My therapy based, breakthrough coaching is life-changing. If you want to find out more about how you can create a win-win solution in your school, do get in touch.

[email protected]

077885 216315