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The Teacher Wellbeing Podcast is turning 4! In celebration of this milestone, I’m sharing a replay of S05 E04 from 2019. This is my absolute favourite episode of the last 4 years, and it’s also the episode I’ve had the most feedback from listeners about. This really resonated with you then, and I think it will resonate with you now too.The School Wellbeing Champions meetup is on again, on the 10th and 13th of March 2021. Head to selfcareforteachers.com.au/wellbeingchampion to find out more!Despite the jokes that teaching is 9 - 3 with 12 weeks holiday a year, we know it to be otherwise. We know that the work starts well before 9am, finishes well after 3pm and that large parts of those holidays are usually spent working too. We also know that workload has been increasing over the last 10-20 years. The introduction of new improvement measures such as Professional Standards for Teachers and the national curriculum, as well as the impact of NAPLAN and the My School Website have resulted in more administrative work, much of which arguably has little to do with the actual running of a classroom day to day.There is a vast invisible workload required of teachers today, much of which isn't only invisible to the general public but it's also going unnoticed and unacknowledged by us too. As well as the administrative requirements of the job, the mental load of running a classroom and the emotional labour inherent in the role are increasing too.This episode is about that invisible work, and while there are no quick fixes, I offer some steps to take to help survive and practise self-care in the process.The Teachers Thriving list of Employee Assistance ServicesMental load cartoon by French Cartoonist Emma, in the GuardianMental load ABC article by Leah RuppannahBBC Emotional labour articleToggl AppThe work hours tracking sheet on the Self-Care for Teachers Freebies LibraryBooks mentioned: “The Wife Drought” by Annabelle Crabb and “Your Money or Your Life” by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez

Today I’m excited to bring you my conversation with Steve Francis from HappySchool.com.au and we are of course talking about creating happy schools! Steve tells us about his teaching and leadership background in QLD and Hong Kong, and how his passion for supporting the teachers that he worked with turned into a Masters researching teacher stress, and then eventually that turned into the Happy School business. We talk about the findings from Steve’s research, including the 3 key factors for staff wellbeing in schools and the really important piece of school leaders acknowledging and recognising the good work of their staff.The School Wellbeing Champions meetup is on again, on 10th and 13th March 2021. This is a virtual networking event for teachers and school staff who are the ‘wellbeing person’ at work. Find out more and sign up at www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/wellbeingchampions

What is culture?Two definitions I like are: ‘people like us do things like this’ and ‘ideas, customs, and social behaviours of a particular people or society.’Many teachers tell me they feel at odds with the culture in their workplace. Or worse than at odds, completely undermined by it.Well, if that’s you, I hear you. I know how challenging it can be.I also want you to know that you don’t have to let it be a foregone conclusion. If your school culture is one of Depleted Teachers and you want to be a Resilient Teacher, then you can shift your own personal culture to move towards that instead.Here’s 4 steps to help you:- Decide what culture you want- Identify what thoughts, beliefs and actions enhance and promote, or inhibit and undermine that culture- Surround yourself with people who get it, support you and will hold you accountable- Take action, tweak, follow upRemember, if you’re interested in having proactive wellbeing conversations in your staffroom, follow along with the prompts by @flourishingfebruary!

At the best of times, teaching is exciting, exhausting, scary and rewarding. First year teachers find it is all of this and more!There are so many new things to learn and so, so much work to do.Non-teaching friends and family don’t really understand the demands of the job, you are still feeling like a bit of an imposter (are they really letting me in the classroom by myself?) and the students can and will test you because you’re new.There are so many expectations to meet, a lot of new names to remember and lots and lots and lots of paperwork.It is all too easy as a teacher to always put your needs at the bottom of the list.This is even more of an issue in your first year as you are eager to prove yourself and likely trying really hard to avoid any negative assessments of your abilities.Here’s a few dos and don’ts for self-care in your first year. These are from the following blog posts:https://selfcareforteachers.com.au/first-year-teachers-self-care/https://selfcareforteachers.com.au/collective-wisdom/Sign up for the Resilient Teacher program: https://selfcareforteachers.com.au/resilientteacher

This episode is the audio replay from an Instagram Live I did on the 15th January 2021. Come hang out with me on Insta, I'm having fun with Reels and things! https://instagram.com/selfcareforteachers Sign up for the Free webinar: https://selfcareforteachers.com.au/webinar And enrol in the Resilient Teacher Group Coaching Program here https://selfcareforteachers.com.au/resilientteacher

Happy New Year! You did it, you made it through 2020, the weirdest, hardest year yet. Wherever you are in the world, I want to acknowledge the huge challenges and upheaval 2020 brought and give you a big pat on the back. Well done, it is no mean feat.So we find ourselves in 2021 and I wonder if perhaps your social media newsfeed and email inbox is filled with messages about how unworthy you are, how you need to punish yourself for any pleasures or indulgences over Christmas and the holidays, and overhaul you entire life by January 14 to be enough.Well, this isn’t one of those messages. Those messages are utterly wrong and completely crap. You are SO worthy, already and always. You do not have to punish yourself for enjoying yourself, even if perhaps you feel you over did it a bit. And you most certainly do not need to overhaul any part of your life by January 14 to be enough. You are enough. Already. Always.If you’d like some gentle support in being proactive about your health, wellbeing and resilience this year then I invite you to enrol in the Self-Care System Mini-Course and Healthy Habits Planner. We’re having a live 2021 Vision Workshop tomorrow, Tuesday 5th January at 10am QLD time.Enrol here: http://selfcareforteachers.com.au/self-care-systemWhether you’re into resolutions and goal setting like me, or whether you think the New Year is just an arbitrary date, please take some time to encourage and nourish yourself this month.And as always, remember that you are a person first and a teacher second and you are SO worthy of your own care x

In this episode I'm sharing my predictions for the 2021 trends in the teacher health, wellbeing and resilience space in Australia (and beyond). This is also the last episode of Season 7 and for 2020. I will take a little break and see you in 2021!My predictions are:1. Schools are taking on board the wellbeing message and doing SOMETHING but it will continue to be hit and miss.2. Wellbeing Champions continue to grow and be driven by staff instead of leaders. Individuals are making impacts in the schools and communities where they live.3. Education policy and Department expectations will continue to be problematic but also continue to acknowledge the need for teacher wellbeing. At least they're paying lip service now?4. Unions will continue to be necessary but as we saw with Qld this year, people are unhappy with the result. We can acknowledge things would be worse without the unions fighting for us and still be unsatisfied5. Teacher Wellbeing/Wellness businesses are increasing in quantity. It's great that there are more options for teachers, some are more rigorous than others so just make sure you do your homework.6. Positive Psychology/Positive Education will continue to dominate the teacher wellbeing conversation, and complementary approaches are still very small percentage of the landscape but growing I think.7. Student Welfare/Wellbeing will continue to be given more attention at the national level which means it’s up to us to keep reinforcing the message that student wellbeing and teacher wellbeing are intricately linked. Hence the increase in School Wellbeing Champions!8. The overall school staff health and wellbeing movement is well under way. It is mainstream now even if still a long way to go. It will continue to grow and be driven from the bottom up by individuals out of necessity.9. Teachers are taking their own health and wellbeing into their own hands and investing their own money, energy, time, resources. This doesn't replace the need for the school-wide, state-wide and national initiatives, however it is excellent that teachers are no longer waiting for others to do something about it and prioritising themselves.Make sure you’re following me @selfcareforteachers on IG and subscribed to the #teacherwellbeingpodcast in your favourite podcast app because I have some exciting things coming in January.Grab the Self-Care System Mini-Course and Self-Care Planner/Habits Tracker via the link below to help support yourself over the school holidays to have a more wellbeing and less fatigue, more resilience and less burnout in 2021.Enrol here: https://selfcareforteachers.com.au/self-care-systemIt’s not a quick fix, it’s a system that will teach you to make micro-changes each week and each month so you can make a big difference to your life, health and wellbeing over the course of the year (not just on the school holidays.)As always, remember you’re a person first and a teacher second and you are allowed to look after you x

Who benefits from individual teachers and schools being caught up in and measured by the way things look and appear as opposed to what difference is really being made academically, socially, emotionally?Links mentioned:Instagram @selfcareforteachersResilient Teacher Program Wait ListRethinking Resilience podcast ep Invisible work of teaching podcast ep BOOK: Changing Australian Education: How policy is taking us backwards and what can be done about it by Alan ReidAEU FB page webinars about funding inequality in Australian schoolsFeminist Coach Academy podcast https://feministcoachacademy.com/podcast/Feminist Coach Academy Certification Training https://feministcoachacademycourses.com

Part 2 of my conversation with Stuart Keene, Clinical Exercise Physiologist. If you haven't yet listened to last week, please do so first.Early bird Prices until 11th December:2021 Self-Care System2021 Self-Care Systemhttps://selfcareforteachers.thinkific.com/courses/selfcaresystem2021Fatigue Resilience Masterclass Serieshttps://selfcareforteachers.thinkific.com/courses/fatigueresilienceOther Links Mentioned:Symptom Tracker Sheet in Freebies Library Book a call with Stuart HRV sensor WhoopHRV sensor EliteHRV

I really love this time of year, because it’s the time I start looking at planners and calendars and thinking about all the possibilities of a new year. It’s exciting!That being said, the flip side of excitement is often anxiety. And this can be a really anxiety-filled time of year for many! I share what I've learned from Hagrid about managing this anxiety, and the very powerful language shift to get rid of What Ifs once and for all!PS Remember, there's still time to come to the Wellbeing Champions Meetup on Saturday: http://selfcareforteachers.com.au/wellbeingchampion

Wellbeing Champions Meetups are happening this week for anyone who feels like they are the ‘wellbeing person’ at their school or who cares a lot about staff wellbeing at work (hint: if you’re listening to this podcast, that’s probably you!) You are invited to this virtual networking event to Connect with others like you from around Australia: go to selfcareforteachers.com.au/wellbeingchampion

I’m sharing 3 reasons why your school needs to have a wellbeing champion role that is focused on teacher and staff wellbeing. First, I acknowledge the Gaibul people of the Toowoomba area who are the traditional custodians of the land on which I am recording this today, where I live and work, and where Self-Care for Teachers operates. I acknowledge their elders past present and emerging and that sovereignty was never ceded. So I invite you to take a moment to acknowledge the First Nations people of the land on which you are standing right now too.So right now I acknowledge this idea of having an official Wellbeing Champion position in schools is aspirational. We don’t currently have an official role of Wellbeing Champion or Wellbeing Coordinator or Head of Wellbeing in most schools. Therefore this episode is really more about my vision of what these roles could be in schools, rather than necessarily what we currently have. I’d love for it to be something to spark your imagination and hopefully some conversation in your staffroom.Links mentioned in this episode:Sign up to The Advocate Newsletter http://eepurl.com/dqyp2nBook a Free Discovery Call https://selfcareforteachers.as.me/?appointmentType=5675726The Freebies Library at www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/libraryCultivating Extraordinary Wellbeing Video Training www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/cultivatingWellbeing Champions Meetup www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/wellbeingchampionSchool Staff Wellbeing & Resilience Sessions: taking bookings for 2021 now! Email hello@selfcareforteachers.com.au

I have a beautiful conversation with Beth Cregan from Write Away With Me. Beth is a teacher and a writer and runs professional development on writing and creativity for teachers as well as teaching writing to students. We talk about how teachers can use writing to support their wellbeing, both individually but also collectively in staff groups, as well as how writing can be a powerful self-care practice. We also discuss how self-care practices really come to the forefront when we’re already depleted but that we need to be extra gentle in starting up new practices in challenging times, plus the power of poetry and journalling.Beth also shares some great tips, one of which is called ‘The Book of Wonderings’, which is really all about how impactful it can be to ask ourselves and ponder on questions. So if you haven’t yet listened to last week’s episode about Self-coaching Questions for Teachers, I recommend that as a follow up. Also remember you can get the accompanying workbook in the freebies library at selfcareforteachers.com.au/library I recommend doing that soon too because when you sign up for the Freebies Library you also get to then receive ‘The Advocate’ which is the Self-Care for Teachers newsletter. I have some exciting things coming up in the next few months and early 2021 and I’ll be announcing them first to readers of The Advocate, and they’ll also get some special early bird options too!Now this episode was recorded late 2019, so when Beth says ‘last week she went to rural Victoria’, it wasn’t actually last week at the time of releasing this in November 2020! And as with Bek’s episode a couple of weeks back, there will be no mention of the pandemic in this episode because when we recorded this it hadn’t happened yet. Beth tells me that since the pandemic some of the writing programs have moved online. I believe the writing program for students in already online and others are coming soon. The best place to connect with Beth these days is on Instagram @write.away.with.me and there’s a Facebook page to follow also.Quick reminder about the Wellbeing Champions Meetups happening in a few weeks time, on the 18th and 21st November. These are for anyone who feels like they are the ‘wellbeing person’ at their school or who cares a lot about staff wellbeing at work, and so if you’re listening to this podcast, that’s probably you! So you are invited to this virtual networking event to Connect with others like you from around Australia, go to selfcareforteachers.com.au/wellbeingchampion for more info. If you’re listening to this after November 2020 go to that link anyway because there will be more of these events and details will be there.Resources mentioned in this episode:Teaching with Fire: Poetry that Sustains the Courage to Teach, edited by Sam Intrator and Megan ScribnerPoems by Mary Oliver, including Wild GeesePoems by David WhiteThe Artist’s Way by Julia CameronEat Pray Love and Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

Today I'm sharing with you 29 questions you can ask as part of a process of self-coaching. Coaching is just a conversation where one person takes on the role of asking questions that help the person being coached to uncover the answers for themselves and sometimes to break out of the thinking patterns and habits and mindsets that they might not have even realised was holding them back or getting in the way of getting what they want. Coaching takes many forms but essentially it’s just asking better questions, and you can do this for yourself. It’s obviously helpful to have an external person go through this process with you but it is a skill you can practice and improve on, and self-coaching can be a great tool in your wellbeing toolkit that can help you when you feel stuck, when you feel like something has to change, or when you come against a challenge and need to make some decisions.So today I’m going to take you through 29 Questions that you can ask yourself as part of a self-coaching process, or you can also use these with a buddy and coach each other. These are questions that I commonly ask my clients. This is not an exhaustive list of questions you can ask as part of coaching or self-coaching, and of course you don’t need to ask all of these either—this is NOT an all or nothing activity. You might even just pick one or two of these questions that really feel like the best fit in the situation and just try them on for size. Some of the questions are in a set that help you look at a situation or topic from multiple angles and the questions go together in a series.There are no right or wrong answers here. This is an exercise is imagination and creativity, in self-discovery, self-awareness and . There’s no perfection needed in the way you answer these questions. The way you answer them today might be different to how you answer them tomorrow and that’s fine. These questions are about helping you get out of the regular habits of thinking that we often fall into, the stories that we tell ourselves, and the narratives that we’re deciding and believing are true. However, these stories or narratives or beliefs are not necessarily reality or how other people involved perceive the situation. So by challenging our habits of thinking we’re actually able to see more possibilities than we already can and perhaps to make better or different choices.Links mentioned in this episode:The book ‘The Dance of Anger’ by Harriet LernerThe Freebies Library at www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/libraryCultivating Extraordinary Wellbeing Video Training www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/cultivatingWellbeing Champions Meetup www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/wellbeingchampionSchool Staff Wellbeing & Resilience Sessions: taking bookings for 2021 now! Email hello@selfcareforteachers.com.au

A follow up chat with Bek, who is a teacher you may remember from Episode Three of the very first season of the podcast. Way back in the beginning of 2017, I spoke to Bek about her journey of finding more personal wellbeing as a teacher and treating herself like a person first and a teacher second. And at the end of 2019, we caught up with a bit of an update.Bek shares her story of how her journey progressed and how her wellbeing and health habits had to shift and tweak after she became a mum and also got a promotion at work. And she is now a mum to two little boys. So at the time we recorded this, she was just about to go off on her second lot of maternity leave. And at the time this episode is released she has just finished that second lot of maternity leave.Exciting things:Cultivating Extraordinary Wellbeing Video Training www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/cultivatingWellbeing Champions Meetup www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/wellbeingchampionSchool Staff Wellbeing & Resilience Sessions: taking bookings for 2021 now! Email hello@selfcareforteachers.com.au

It's good to be back behind the mic and I'm excited to talk to you today about 11 mistakes I see teachers and schools making when it comes to their health, wellbeing and resilience. These are things I see quite commonly in my clients and I've also made a lot of them myself, so I absolutely get it and I'm sharing these with the greatest empathy and compassion. If you recognise yourself in these, know that I'm right there with you and we're human so learning and growing and messing up is part of the deal.Exciting things:Cultivating Extraordinary Wellbeing Video Training www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/cultivatingWellbeing Champions Meetup www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/wellbeingchampionSchool Staff Wellbeing & Resilience Sessions: taking bookings for 2021 now! Email hello@selfcareforteachers.com.auEpisodes mentioned:S04 E11 Three thinking TrapsS01 E18 Self-Care and DifferentiationS05 E07 The Other Side of the Wellbeing EquationBooks mentioned:7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven CoveyThe Gifts of Imperfection by Brene BrownThe Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner

In the first teacher story recorded since coronavirus, Wendy shares her story of health challenges and new wellbeing resolutions, and how that was all impacted by the disruptions to work and life that Covid-19 brought. Remember there's also a couple of days left to join is round of the Resilient Teacher program: www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/resilientteacher

This is the audio from Lesson 2 of the free workshop series about Teacher Wellbeing and Resilience. Click here to watch a replay of it this week for free, on Facebook! Or find it in the Freebies Library at www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/libraryEnrolment for the next round of the Resilient Teacher Coaching Program is now open, and early bird pricing is available until Sunday 5th July, so join now!

Back in January I ran a free workshop series about Teacher Wellbeing and Resilience, with the subtitle “what ever teacher needs to know before the 2020 school year begins.” Looking back on it now, I can’t believe how prescient that actually was. So I'm running a replay of it this week for free, on Facebook! Enrolment for the next round of the Resilient Teacher Coaching Program is now open, and early bird pricing is available until Sunday 5th July, so join now!

You are almost at the end of the weirdest, most challenging term ever. Just in case you haven’t paused to acknowledge yourself, take a moment to do so now.This last term has been the biggest disruption to Australia’s education system in history. Twice. Across Australia, teachers have never worked harder or had to be more flexible, adaptable and cooperative in the face of some huge challenges and rapidly changing circumstances.Yet, here we are. Just a week or two left until holidays (depending where you are in Aus) and you did it. You have been an integral part of getting this nation through the health, social and economic crises that we are still in the midst of.Join me for this free live workshop series, screening on Facebook. If you can't make it when I go live, then you can watch the replay in the Facebook event.Take The Australian Teacher Health and Wellbeing Survey: www.selfcareforteachers.com.au/surveySign up for the free Teacher Resilience and Wellbeing Workshop Series here: https://www.facebook.com/events/713958529378484/The next round of the Resilient Teacher coaching program begins in July so you can get on the waiting list at selfcareforteachers.com.au/resilientteacherSet aside some time in your calendar next week to invest in yourself and your wellbeing going forwards. Whether you join me for the free workshop series or not, please take some time this week to acknowledge all that you have accomplished this term.If you want to, raise it as a topic of shared reflection and celebration in the staff room or with your teacher buddies. Take a moment this week to be grateful to each other and to yourself for making it through this incredible term.This is one for the history books, and you have been a part of it.As always, remember you’re a person first and a teacher second and you are SO worthy of your own care x.