Me and my journey:

I have been a Mathematics Teacher for over 25 years, worked in schools of all types around the world and most recently as a Head of Sixth Form. It was during these years as a Head of Sixth Form that I became aware that the students in my care were struggling to cope with life’s challenges, this was having an effect on their studies, their happiness and their lives in general. My aim as Head Of Sixth was to send students out into the world able to cope with life’s challenges, function as citizens, able to give to society, yet all I was able to do was attempt to keep them afloat through their Sixth Form journey using a variety of ‘sticky plasters’. It was distressing to see so much pain in others. I wanted to help them all. I felt overwhelmed. The type and quantity of challenges my students faced was well beyond the limits of my skills  I had acquired as a teacher. We know mental services are stretched to the limits, both in and out of schools, we know waiting lists for this help are at an all time high and we know teachers on the front line, seeing students struggle and often feeling powerless to help when they themselves are struggling to cope with the pressures of a full and hugely demanding job.  I wanted to know what we as teachers could do to help put a stop to the poor mental health epidemic that is rolling through our youth. I searched for answers, I didn’t want any more plasters to stick on wounds, I wanted to know why this was happening and what we as teachers could do to help prevent students from struggling with their emotional health. I found answers in Human Givens College training, the more I learnt the more I wanted to learn and 4 years down the line with a Diploma in Psychotherapy almost accidentally achieved I want to pass on what I’ve learnt, educate school communities and try to curb this wave of poor mental health.  I certainly don’t have all the answers but if we work together, use a common language, a simple framework we can build support around, ensuring all our human needs are met in balance we might just start to see this poor mental health epidemic ease. 

My aims:

I hope to strip away the fear, enormity and mystery surrounding the decline in mental health in young people. Giving all members of a school community a robust, simple framework to use that is rooted in evidence based, solution focused, psychological science. Simplifying any interventions and well meaning support down to only those that are most effective.  To improve the well-being of entire educational establishments.

How I can do this:

Through education, learning and building up a community that is fully versed in what constitutes good well-being- what it looks like and how we would recognise it. Creating a shared vision with values that the community celebrates. We are all unique, as is every educational establishment so talks, meetings, goals and training will be tailored to fulfil the needs of each individual school or individual. My input is likely to include ; psycho education, psychological safety, understanding needs, the importance of getting the basics right and will aim to provide a common language that can easily be extended. Whilst the training aims to empower staff, it is not an attempt to turn staff into therapists. Training makes it very clear where school staff roles start and end.

More change?

Change can be frightening if we don’t feel in control of it so whatever work we do together it will be lead by your needs, goals and visions. By simplifying what you do already, bringing ideas together, creating a cohesive, consistent, simple approach across a community allows everyone to feel in control and thus less fearful of any change. By giving a clearer understanding of why and what goes wrong in our heads together we can empower staff to execute their role with confidence and help every member understand their boundaries both personally and professionally. We can easily extend ideas to put new and existing interventions in place and build a systematic approach to support across the whole school. 

Why should we be trying to improve our communities mental health?

The link between academic progress and wellbeing (and vice versa)alone should be cause enough to take students wellbeing seriously. By building a culture of wellbeing there is no doubt that academic standards will be improved. The same applies to the school community as a whole. With good well-being comes increased productivity, less sick days, a happier work force/community and much more. 

I believe that being a teacher is rarely simply about delivering subject content and nor should it be, we are role models and as educators we have to show/teach all the skills our students need to cope with whatever challenges life throws at us. Good pastoral care develops these skills and ensures students have the tools to thrive in today’s world.