Frame 1099

    Healthy Schools Start with Healthy Staff

    The paper emphasises that staff wellbeing is central to student wellbeing and learning. Drawing on recent research, it highlights that interventions are most effective when they combine individual supports (e.g., mindfulness, gratitude, physical activity) with community and system-level strategies such as supportive leadership, positive school climate, and being mindful of psychological safety in the workplace.

    Author/ source: Matthew White, ACU

    Last updated: 01/08/2025

    Read summary
    Healthy Schools Start with Healthy Staff

    When we talk about school wellbeing, our focus often lands squarely on students. That’s important, but there’s growing evidence that student wellbeing and learning thrive when staff wellbeing is also a priority. If teachers are exhausted, stressed, or experiencing bullying, the positive climate schools work so hard to create can quickly unravel.

    Related Resources

    Explore more resources >
    Curiosity Check and the Ask Approach
    Website Display
    Curiosity Check and the Ask Approach
    The Ask Approach is a framework from author Jeff Wetzler built on a simple premise: the insights we need most often already exist in the people around us, we just need to ask well. The five-step approach (curiosity, safety, quality questions, listening, reflection) offers practical tools for surfacing honest feedback and building trust, skills directly transferable to relational practice, staff culture, and leadership in schools and in the classroom. Author/ source: Ask Approach by Jeff Weltzer
    Access Resource
    Creating a Wellbeing Environment: Positive Leadership Practices
    Article Key Concept
    Creating a Wellbeing Environment: Positive Leadership Practices
    “Authentic leaders are genuine in their intentions and understand the purpose of their leadership is to serve their community not their self-interest.” - Daniel Goleman Author: PESA with contributions from Kerrin Smith.
    Access Resource
    The Perimenopausal Brain at Work
    Webinar/Video 2026 Online PD
    The Perimenopausal Brain at Work
    Presented by Berni Cooper and Nicole Border of Fluxx. Understanding cognitive, emotional and relational shifts during the perimenopausal phase of life, and why they matter in schools.
    Access Resource
    2026 PD Wrap Up: The Perimenopausal Brain at Work
    Article Research Summary PD Wrap Up
    2026 PD Wrap Up: The Perimenopausal Brain at Work
    Perimenopause is quietly shaping the lives of many women working in education right now, yet the conversation around it remains largely focused on the physical. The psychological dimension: the cognitive shifts, the identity questions, the relational changes, has largely gone unaddressed. The 2026 term 2 professional learning webinar, "The Perimenopausal Brain at Work" set out to change that. Grounded in neuroscience, positive psychology, and the practical realities of working in schools, the session explored three interconnected areas: what is actually happening in the perimenopausal brain, the relational and 'noisy' changes that flow from it, and what the research tells us about navigating this transition well. Read on for a summary of the key takeaways, opportunities to reflect on your own experiences and practical resources. Author/Source: PESA and Nicole Border and Berni Cooper of Fluxx.
    Access Resource
    Harnessing Collective Action to Sustain Wellbeing Initiatives in Learning Communities
    Webinar/Video 2026 Online PD
    Harnessing Collective Action to Sustain Wellbeing Initiatives in Learning Communities
    Presented by Dr Tan-Chyuan Chin, PhD: Senior Lecturer in Wellbeing Science, The University of Melbourne. Optimising collaborative community practices in an interconnected learning system.
    Access Resource
    Curiosity Check and the Ask Approach
    Curiosity Check and the Ask Approach
    The Ask Approach is a framework from author Jeff Wetzler built on a simple premise: the insights we need most often already exist in the people around us, we just need to ask well. The five-step approach (curiosity, safety, quality questions, listening, reflection) offers practical tools for surfacing honest feedback and building trust, skills directly transferable to relational practice, staff culture, and leadership in schools and in the classroom. Author/ source: Ask Approach by Jeff Weltzer
    Website Display
    Creating a Wellbeing Environment: Positive Leadership Practices
    Creating a Wellbeing Environment: Positive Leadership Practices
    “Authentic leaders are genuine in their intentions and understand the purpose of their leadership is to serve their community not their self-interest.” - Daniel Goleman Author: PESA with contributions from Kerrin Smith.
    Article Key Concept
    The Perimenopausal Brain at Work
    The Perimenopausal Brain at Work
    Presented by Berni Cooper and Nicole Border of Fluxx. Understanding cognitive, emotional and relational shifts during the perimenopausal phase of life, and why they matter in schools.
    Webinar/Video 2026 Online PD
    2026 PD Wrap Up: The Perimenopausal Brain at Work
    2026 PD Wrap Up: The Perimenopausal Brain at Work
    Perimenopause is quietly shaping the lives of many women working in education right now, yet the conversation around it remains largely focused on the physical. The psychological dimension: the cognitive shifts, the identity questions, the relational changes, has largely gone unaddressed. The 2026 term 2 professional learning webinar, "The Perimenopausal Brain at Work" set out to change that. Grounded in neuroscience, positive psychology, and the practical realities of working in schools, the session explored three interconnected areas: what is actually happening in the perimenopausal brain, the relational and 'noisy' changes that flow from it, and what the research tells us about navigating this transition well. Read on for a summary of the key takeaways, opportunities to reflect on your own experiences and practical resources. Author/Source: PESA and Nicole Border and Berni Cooper of Fluxx.
    Article Research Summary PD Wrap Up
    Harnessing Collective Action to Sustain Wellbeing Initiatives in Learning Communities
    Harnessing Collective Action to Sustain Wellbeing Initiatives in Learning Communities
    Presented by Dr Tan-Chyuan Chin, PhD: Senior Lecturer in Wellbeing Science, The University of Melbourne. Optimising collaborative community practices in an interconnected learning system.
    Webinar/Video 2026 Online PD
    Explore more resources >