Building a Thriving Community from Day One

At PESA, our learning focus for Term 1 is simple yet impactful: putting people at the centre of everything we do. Reconnecting staff, students, and families is the foundation of a vibrant, inclusive community, and it begins with the understanding that staff wellbeing is the bedrock of a healthy learning environment.

 We were recently joined by Justin Robinson, Director and Co-Founder of The Wellbeing Distillery, for an online masterclass on ‘Building a Shared Responsibility for Teacher Wellbeing’, where he shared the Wellbeing Quadrant, a practical framework designed to promote wellbeing and proactively prevent ill-being. Below, we have synthesised the key takeaways and curated resources to support your school’s action planning for staff wellbeing. 

Why Teacher Wellbeing Matters 

Teacher wellbeing is often treated as a peripheral issue, a matter of policy or staff retention. Yet, research increasingly positions it as a foundational pillar of school effectiveness. To understand why, we must look past the obvious pressures of burnout and high turnover to see the systemic link between how teachers feel and how students learn.

• Student Impact: When teachers are stressed or burnt out, students experience increased stress levels Oberle & Schonert-Reichl, 2016), reduced motivation (Shen et al., 2015), and lower academic and behavioural outcomes (McCallum, 2021; McCallum & Price, 2010; Wentzel, 2010). Furthermore, teachers with strong workplace wellbeing are more committed to promoting learner autonomy and adopting student-cantered practices (Üstündağ-Algın, et al., 1005).
• Workforce Sustainability: Poor wellbeing is a primary driver of the current teacher shortage. As noted by Lemon and Turner (2024), teachers now lodge more mental health claims than any other profession, including healthcare workers.
• Financial & Cultural Costs: High attrition leads to massive costs in recruitment and training, while simultaneously disrupting the "ripple effect" of school culture on families and the broader community.

 Ultimately, these points underscore a simple truth: teachers matter. Fostering wellbeing is not a luxury, it is essential to creating workplaces worth showing up to, places where educators feel valued and empowered to do the meaningful, life-changing work that defines the profession of teaching. 

Recording now available: Building a Shared Responsibility for Teacher Wellbeing

The full recording is now available for members. If you are short on time, use these timestamps to jump to the most relevant sections:

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Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew. Then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. It's ironic. He could save others from death, but not himself.