THREAD: If I’m honest, I’m living a little #stoptalkingaboutwellbeing right now. The last couple of weeks have been crazy for everyone but it’s even more horrendous for those teachers being asked to go over and above what’s reasonable or achievable.

There’s a competitive edge to school provision for students, and that runs the risk of losing the very rationale behind why work is set in the first place. Structure is KEY, but it needs to be tempered with an awareness that things are not normal- we are not working within our...

Usual parameters, and so we cannot expect the same of students or staff.
It’s not an equal ‘playing field’ for working conditions- some have caring responsibilities, differing workloads as a consequence of shifting priorities, and there is a likelihood that they, or someone..

Or someone close to them will be ill. To shy away from that and not acknowledge it isn’t effective senior leadership.
Staff can only work within the remit that’s available to them, in their conditions, for this moment. That’s entirely fluid.

And if senior leaders are asking for more than is reasonable or achievable, it’s completely acceptable to ask the rationale behind it, or timeframes that are sensible. Questioning a rationale isn’t being difficult- it’s engaging with what seems to be a broken system.

Even better? Set out a blueprint of what works for the moment. There are so many teachers working really, overly hard at the moment for schools, and I truly hope that school leaders in turn are creating a system that’s sustainable for what is the foreseeable.

I spoke about this recently as we were on the cusp of lockdown (further details soon!) but objective rebellion could not be a more fitting tool right now for teachers to ensure they look after themselves, but above all else, schools look after teachers. #StopTalkingAboutWellbeing