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The wellbeing of staff in schools has never been more important. With almost a third of new staff leaving the profession after just five years and 26% of teachers saying they are thinking of leaving in the next 12 months (National Foundation for Educational Research), we are facing a teacher retention crisis. The We Lead Well Podcast has been created in response to this crisis, to encourage and support schools to create places where people love to work. We support leaders to enhance the wellbeing of all staff in schools. Each week, leading educationalists share their experience, views and tips on how other school leaders can promote wellbeing in their organisations for the benefit of all staff.
Episodes
Thursday Feb 09, 2023
Thursday Feb 09, 2023
On this week's episode, I chatted to John Magee AKA The Kindness Coach and Founder of Kindness Matters. John has been teaching kindness and wellbeing to school children and teachers since 2010.
His motivation and passion for education began after the credit crunch of 2008, when he lost my family business, his marriage broke down and he battled bankruptcy and consequently deep depression.
John was given the opportunity by Community Business Partner CIC CEO, Amanda Meachin, and Darwen Community Academy Headteacher, Brendan Loughran, to speak at an event called Inspiring Communities.
Looking back, he never could have imagined the impact this talk would have across the UK in raising awareness around mental health.
The talk gave John the visibility and opportunity to create an AQA accredited PSHE course, to quickly become a best-selling author of Kindness Matters, be recognised as an inspirational speaker and develop online courses that would go on to transform staff and pupils’ wellbeing with kindness at the heart of staff professional development and pupil interventions.
In 2012, John formed Kindness Matters to share that knowledge with others, to lead healthier and happier lives inside and outside of school.
@WeLeadWellPodc1
www.progressivemasculinity.co.uk
Friday Jan 20, 2023
Friday Jan 20, 2023
This week on the show, I chatted to Atyia and Rebecca who were participants on the very first cohort of the Women Lead Well group coaching programme. We talked about some of the challenges facing women in leadership and how the group coaching programme has helped both of them to develop both personally and professionally. If you're wondering whether the group coaching programme is for you, or if you have female school leaders in your school who you think might benefit from being part of the programme, this definitely the episode to listen to. It's also for you if you want to hear about the experiences of other women in school leadership, the challenges they have faced and how they have, through coaching, overcome them.
@WeLeadWellPodc1
www.progressivemasculinity.co.uk
Friday Dec 16, 2022
Friday Dec 16, 2022
Cleo de Jong is a deputy head at a high school in North London and mum of 2. I first heard Cleo on the Diverse Educators podcast talking about her experience of being a senior leader and mum and the challenges she had faced. This resonated with me and made me feel quite angry that things haven't moved forward that much since I was first pregnant 20 years ago. The good news is that Cleo now works in a school with a forward thinking head who has allowed Cleo the flexibility that supports her to be a mum and a deputy head. We talk about the challenges of being a mum and a school leader but also the ways in which it can work to the benefit of everyone involved - including the school.
@WeLeadWellPodc1
www.progressivemasculinity.co.uk
@cleodejong
Sunday Dec 04, 2022
Sunday Dec 04, 2022
The findings from the 2022 Teacher Wellbeing Index were released on Friday and they are shocking! They are evidence that we are heading towards a catastrophe in the education sector. The number of staff in schools suffering from mental health issues is too high. The findings also suggest that there are too many toxic schools in which staff wellbeing and morale are at rock bottom and a staggering number of school staff are seriously considering leaving, with many of them currently actively looking for other roles outside education. So what can we do about it? In this episode, I summarise the key findings in this report and discuss how we can try to turn the tide. We can only do that with a concerted effort from all school leaders to do things differently, to really understand what good wellbeing is and create schools that focus on staff first.
https://www.educationsupport.org.uk/media/zoga2r13/teacher-wellbeing-index-2022.pdf
@WeLeadWellPodc1
www.progressivemasculinity.co.uk
Saturday Nov 26, 2022
Saturday Nov 26, 2022
Kate Smith works with the Heads Up network for headteachers. She is a coach and all round amazing human! She describes herself as an ethical and values-driven coach and leader who believes in the power of humanity; her core values are authenticity, connection and love! In this week's show, Kate and I have a conversation about the challenges of school leadership, intentional wellbeing and how you can overcome your limiting self-beliefs. Kate worked in education for over 15 years and is a former headteacher.
@WeLeadWellPodc1
www.progressivemasculinity.co.uk
https://www.livelovelearnlead.co.uk/
@MrsKatieSmith
Friday Nov 11, 2022
Friday Nov 11, 2022
Helen was the deputy head at a school in Essex and was one of the first participants on the Women Lead Well group coaching programme. In this episode, Helen and I talk about leading as a woman, and as a human being. We also talk about how coaching, both one to one and group, have helped Helen's growth and development as a leader and led her to the point at which she has been able to leave her role and start her own business.
@WeLeadWellPodc1
Monday Oct 24, 2022
Monday Oct 24, 2022
Ben Solly is the Principal at Uppingham Community College in Rutland. He joined us on the podcast for the second time and we talked about how he role models wellbeing as a leader and how he has created a culture of trust in his school. It has been an absolute pleasure to have Ben join us on the show. He's a shining example of what a headteacher can be.
@WeLeadWellPodc1
www.progressivemasculinity.co.uk
Thursday Sep 29, 2022
Thursday Sep 29, 2022
Paula has 30 years experience of teaching and leadership in schools across London and the south of England. Formally, Paula was a Deputy head in two challenging schools giving her an insight to the demanding but rewarding role of leadership in school. Paula’s experience supports her belief that young people from all backgrounds and of all abilities deserve excellent teaching which comes from well led schools. Becoming involved in the City of London has opened her eyes to the great work that businesses and Livery companies undertake in support of education. This led to the idea of using these links or partnerships to support leaders in schools deliver great outcomes for students.
Paula leads on relationships with schools, supporting the school leaders, and on developing and implementing the programme. Contact Paula at paula@inspirationforall.org.uk
@WeLeadWellPodc1
www.headteacherchat.com
Thursday Sep 15, 2022
Thursday Sep 15, 2022
Julia is a lifelong learner and leader of learning. She is the Director of Boundless Learning Ltd, specialising in bespoke consultancy support for leadership, learning and wellbeing, organisational development, staff development, coaching and supervision. Julia is also a committed and passionate School Governor.
Her extensive experience of research and development in education across a broad range of expertise is rooted in enabling emotional and cognitive development, oracy and communication, metacognition and the impact of a growth mindset on motivation and promoting self esteem so that everyone is a leader of their own learning.
Julia's research journey and learning have always been rooted in the promotion of EQ, developing motivation, oracy and language and the promotion of positively managing emotions and wellbeing across communities. She now works extensively in this area leading individual, organisational and group wellbeing provision across whole
communities with Boundless Wellbeing.
https://boundlesslearning.org.uk/
@boundlesslimited
@WeLeadWellPodc1
www.teachwellalliance.com
Saturday Jul 30, 2022
Saturday Jul 30, 2022
@WeLeadWellpodc1
In this episode of the podcast, I chatted to Megan Corcoran all the way from Australia! Megan is passionate about supporting schools and organisations to become wellbeing communities. She believes that all members of a workplace can contribute to the wellbeing of the organisation and Megan can guide teams through practices and processes to have the skills to do so. Megan’s practice is trauma-informed and grounded in Wellbeing Science. She is an experienced workshop facilitator, coach and consultant, and is open to consulting and collaborating with schools, organisations and Not For Profits. Megan is also Co-Founder and Lead Facilitator at Teachers' Well
Megan spent over eleven years teaching and leading in alternative schools for young people who have experienced trauma and/or significant disadvantage. During that time, Megan worked as a school leader in Australia’s largest alternative school, with an enrolment of 340 young people. As a leader, Megan prioritised staff wellbeing and professional practice, ensuring those choosing to do this work are well supported while developing and refining skills.
Megan spent time volunteering as an English teacher in the West Bank, Palestine. She studied a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology, investigating how belonging can provide healing and improve outcomes after experiences of childhood trauma. In 2020, she completed the Teach to Lead fellowship alongside twenty other Victorian school leaders.