An Interview with Blenheim's Headteacher
- School Wellbeing by Blenheim
- 2 days ago
- 8 min read
What does wellbeing look like in schools today?
Wellbeing today must be a whole-school, whole-community approach. It can’t sit in isolation. For wellbeing to be meaningful and impactful, it must be embedded across the culture, policies, and daily interactions of everyone involved in school life.
For Staff:
Flexible working opportunities where possible (e.g. part-time, phased returns, job shares).
Clear structures and consistent expectations, reducing stress from unpredictability.
Recognition and praise for contributions, both formally and informally.
Support during known pressure points (e.g. longer October break, early summer finish, protected PPD time).
Shared responsibility for wellbeing, with everyone looking out for each other.
Opportunities for development and leadership, fostering trust and motivation.
For Students:
Consistent access to trusted adults and safe spaces within the school.
Curriculum time dedicated to wellbeing, PSHE, emotional regulation, and mental health awareness.
Strong, respectful relationships with staff built on routine, empathy, and fairness.
Access to targeted support, such as counselling or wellbeing mentors, when needed.
Encouragement to take part in activities that promote confidence, connection, and achievement.
Early intervention systems to support attendance, anxiety, or social challenges.
For Parents:
Open and supportive communication between school and home—not just contact when things go wrong.
Involvement in workshops or information sessions to help support their child’s wellbeing at home.
Clear information about who to contact and how concerns are handled.
Shared values and expectations between home and school, creating consistency for the child.
Feeling that the school sees them as partners, not problems, and listens when concerns arise.
For Leadership (SLT & Governors):
Leaders prioritise their own wellbeing through peer support, coaching, and manageable workloads.
A large Leadership Team means responsibilities are fairly distributed.
Modelling of healthy behaviours: taking breaks, being vulnerable, setting realistic expectations.
Creating a culture where staff can speak up without fear, knowing leaders will listen and act with empathy.
Strategic wellbeing planning: embedding wellbeing into improvement plans, CPD, and line management structures.
Governors hold leaders accountable for staff wellbeing metrics (e.g. absence rates, staff feedback, exit interviews).
Financial decisions consider wellbeing as an investment, not just a cost.
Regular review and adaptation of wellbeing strategy, responding to feedback and changing needs.
When wellbeing is embedded at every level from classroom to leadership, and from family to governance it becomes part of the school’s DNA, rather than an initiative. That’s when it makes the biggest difference.
2. Why should wellbeing be prioritised and not just seen as an “add-on”?
Wellbeing is not a peripheral issue, it’s central to the success of a school community. When we treat wellbeing as an “add-on,” we miss the opportunity to address the growing, complex needs of staff, students, and families, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Staff wellbeing is a national concern. A 2023 report by Education Support found that:
78% of UK education staff reported experiencing symptoms of stress,
59% considered leaving the profession due to workload and lack of support,
Mental health issues are now one of the leading causes of teacher absence.
If schools don’t proactively support their staff, they risk not only high turnover and absenteeism, but a decline in teaching quality, stability, and morale.
At the same time, student wellbeing has reached crisis levels. According to NHS Digital (2023), 1 in 5 children aged 8 to 16 had a probable mental health disorder—a significant rise since the pandemic. When students are struggling emotionally, it affects attendance, behaviour, academic progress, and long-term life outcomes.
It’s also vital to bring parents into the picture. Parents need to feel confident, informed, and supported so they can reinforce wellbeing messages at home. When schools engage with parents in meaningful ways, through open communication, guidance, and shared expectations, students benefit from a consistent and emotionally secure environment both in and out of school.
Prioritising wellbeing helps us create the conditions where:
Staff feel valued and supported,
Students are emotionally equipped to learn and grow, and
Parents are active partners in their child’s development.
Ultimately, the goal is not just improved outcomes in school but happier, healthier young people and adults. That begins with embedding wellbeing in every layer of school life not as an initiative, but as a culture.
3. What are some of the common impacts observed in schools when wellbeing is not prioritised?
Neglecting staff wellbeing leads to clear and measurable issues:
Staff absence: According to the DfE School Workforce Census (2023), teachers in England took an average of 8.4 days off due to sickness, with mental health cited as a growing concern. Schools with poor wellbeing cultures often see higher absence rates, affecting continuity and team morale.
Pupil attainment: Research from the Education Support Partnership found that schools with poor staff wellbeing were more likely to experience lower pupil attainment. A study by RAND Europe (2022) also showed a correlation between teacher wellbeing and student GCSE outcomes, suggesting that happier teachers are more effective in the classroom.
Pupil attendance: While harder to directly link, the Children’s Commissioner (2023) reported that pupils are more engaged and attend more regularly in schools with consistent staff presence and strong relationships—both of which suffer when wellbeing is low.
Poor staff wellbeing doesn’t just affect adults, it creates a ripple effect that impacts the entire school community.
4. What are the consequences of good and bad wellbeing on recruitment and retention of teaching staff, including the financial impact?
The impact of wellbeing on recruitment and retention is both cultural and financial:
Recruitment costs: Recruiting a new teacher can cost between £4,000 and £10,000, factoring in advertising, interview days, HR time, and induction (National Foundation for Educational Research, 2022). High turnover leads to repeated spending in these areas.
Retention issues: Around 1 in 5 teachers leave the profession within the first 2 years, rising to nearly 1 in 3 within 5 years (DfE, 2023). Poor wellbeing is a key driver, with workload and lack of support cited as top reasons.
Word of mouth and reputation: Schools that prioritise wellbeing become known as supportive places to work. Staff are more likely to stay and to recommend the school to others. Conversely, a toxic culture can lead to reputational damage, making future recruitment even harder.
Student impact: Frequent staff changes disrupt teaching quality and pupil outcomes. The Education Policy Institute (2021) reported that pupils in schools with high teacher turnover made less academic progress, particularly in disadvantaged areas.
Investing in wellbeing isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s a smart long-term strategy for stability and success.
5. What do we do well to improve recruitment and retention (R&R)?
We’ve worked hard to create a school culture where staff feel valued, supported, and part of a team and that’s reflected in both our recruitment and retention.
Firstly, we prioritise the fundamentals of wellbeing: flexible working options, clear communication, consistent leadership expectations, and regular recognition. These aren’t add-ons but are embedded into how we operate.
But we also go further to create a positive and rewarding daily experience for staff. Initiatives such as:
Friday treats and informal celebrations to mark the end of the week,
A welcoming, well-equipped new staffroom that provides a space to relax,
Thank-you cards and personal recognition for going the extra mile,
Staff social events and wellbeing activities through groups like MVBC (our morale-boosting committee),
Thoughtful onboarding for new staff so they feel supported from day one.
Blenheim teaching staff benefit from a fortnight’s extra holiday compared to most secondary schools with no obligation to work.
On the last day of term there is a staff breakfast and school closes at 1:00pm and on the first day of half term staff have a briefing at 8:30am and students arrive than usual at 9:30am to allow staff time to settle back in.
Meals on event days such as Parents’ Evenings and Open Events when staff are asked to work outside of their normal hours.
These may seem small, but they create an atmosphere where people want to stay and want others to join. Our current staff regularly recommend the school to friends and former colleagues, which helps us recruit talent without relying solely on costly adverts.
Ultimately, we focus on building relationships, not just managing performance. That human approach is what helps people feel connected to our school community, and it’s central to why they choose to stay.
6. What is the role of leadership in staff wellbeing?
Leadership plays a critical role in shaping the culture of a school. Staff wellbeing must be at the heart of that culture. This starts with senior leaders modelling the values of openness, trust, and care. An effective SLT is one that:
Operates an open-door policy, encouraging honest communication and ensuring staff feel heard.
Holds regular line management meetings that are supportive, not purely performance focused.
Adopts a nurturing and flexible approach, rather than defaulting to blame or rigid expectations, especially during challenging periods.
Crucially, recruiting the right people into leadership positions is key. We look for leaders who are emotionally intelligent, resilient, and values-driven because the tone they set filters through every layer of the school. When staff trust their leaders, they’re more engaged, more open to feedback, and more likely to stay.
But leadership doesn’t end with the SLT. Governors also play a vital strategic role. They must hold school leaders to account on staff wellbeing in the same way they do for pupil outcomes or safeguarding. This includes:
Monitoring key indicators such as staff absence, turnover, and exit interview feedback.
Ensuring wellbeing is a standing item on agendas, not just discussed reactively.
Supporting the development and resourcing of a wellbeing strategy aligned with the school’s overall vision.
In addition, financial leadership is a key component. While wellbeing initiatives can have associated costs, good financial planning ensures they are prioritised sensibly. Leaders must strike a balance between direct spending (e.g. staffroom improvements, training, wellbeing events) and low-cost, high-impact strategies (e.g. praise, workload reviews, flexible working options).
Ultimately, the most effective school leaders, both operational and strategic, understand that investing in staff wellbeing is not a luxury but a necessity. It protects the school’s most valuable resource: its people.
7. Wellbeing can cost money. How do we balance this with budget constraints and find non-financial ways to support staff?
It’s true that wellbeing can require financial investment but it’s about spending wisely, not excessively. In fact, investing in staff wellbeing can save money in the long term by reducing costly staff turnover, sickness absence, and recruitment.
For example:
Reducing staff attrition means fewer recruitment cycles which can cost schools thousands of pounds per teacher in advertising, admin, cover, and induction.
Lower sickness absence means less reliance on expensive supply staff and better consistency for pupils.
Creating a reputation as a school that values its people makes recruitment faster and cheaper, as more applicants come through word of mouth.
So, while wellbeing initiatives like improved staff facilities, counselling services, or CPD on workload management might carry upfront costs, these should be viewed as strategic investments not optional extras.
That said, some of the most powerful actions cost nothing at all. Things like:
A culture of recognition and gratitude,
Regular check-ins from leaders,
Flexibility and trust in managing workload,
Opportunities for peer support and collaboration.
The key is finding a balanced approach. A supportive culture, led by empathetic leadership, must come first but well-targeted financial investment can significantly enhance and sustain that culture over time.
Ultimately, when staff feel cared for, they’re more committed, more effective, and more likely to stay. That’s not just good for morale, it’s good for budgets, for students, and for the long-term success of the school.
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