The Pobble blog

What does your school do to boost staff morale and ensure teacher wellbeing?

As educators, it’s easy to overlook our own welfare when we’re primarily concerned with that of the children. However, it’s essential that we take time to safeguard our health and happiness; it’s all too easy to get run down with the stress of teacher life. Here are 7 small, but effective, practices and ideas that can easily be put in place to give your team a boost and make them feel valued!

Happy teachers = happy schools!

1) Secret buddies — Start the year off by secretly pairing up members of your team. Have everyone write down important information (name, special dates, favourite snacks, how they take their tea etc.) then hand these out randomly so everyone on the teaching team has their own secret buddy. Then throughout the year, each teacher is responsible for treating that person, whether it’s their favourite snack left in their pigeon hole, a card on their birthday or other little surprises to put a smile on their face.

2) A happy teacher station in the staff room — This could be a box, shelf, trolley or cupboard. Fill it with chocolates, snacks, books, CDs, motivation quotes and anything else you can think of to give the staff a boost. Ensure it’s topped up with fresh supplies regularly.

3) Treat days — At the beginning of term ask each teacher to choose a date for their day to host. Staffroom treat days can have a set theme (think tea party or disco day) and the organising teacher provides snacks, music and maybe even games. Encourage people that usually don’t make it to the staff room to come and join in where possible.

4) Host a weekly raffle — All staff are automatically entered into the raffle at the beginning of the week and prizes can be anything from playground duty covered, extra PPA time or box of chocolates or wine. Consider asking local retailers if they will donate products or services. You’ll be surprised at how quickly they’ll jump at the chance to promote their brands.

5) A staff shoutout board — This might be the perfect way to give the team a lift. The idea is simple, but the impact can be a powerful way to boost staff morale. Find some inspiration on TryThisTeaching.

6) Staff perks — Staff perks can be hugely beneficial to staff morale. Sites such as Perkz and Perkbox offer a range of incentives to boost motivation.

7) A staff social board — Start a staff social board in the staffroom and use it to pin ideas on for team nights out, local events, and discount vouchers. This will motivate the team to get organised and socialise and is great for team building.