Starting a wellness programme

Educational organisations sometimes have wellness programmes that appear to be separated from the rest of their business. They may offer the occasional no smoking campaign or training session on reducing stress, but to be successful the wellness programme needs to be integrated into every part of the organisation. It is also important to address the root cause of teacher burnout and stress to alleviate this as much as possible.

This video explains why wellness is so important.

There are Five things which are key for starting a wellness programme within any organisation:

• Ask staff what they want . i.e. You might be offering meditation classes but no one wants it.

• Listen to feedback about what causes the stress - don't just expect staff to attend training on how to reduce their own stress levels, look for ways the leadership and organisation can change things to reduce stress levels.

• Plan regularly activities so that it is not seen as a tick box activity

• Communicate, communicate and communicate more. Get your idea promoted everywhere, email, posters, at team meetings, on social media and on the website. Create a real buzz and excitement about it, get people talking. Consider adopting Wellness Champions to spread the message too.

• Rewards. Money is often tight in education, but there is often a little money for wellness programmes. Could your organisation set up a league with each team taking part? For every activity their team members participate in they earn points. At the end of term or year the winning team is rewarded with team outing/meal/gift. It's worth asking.