You Can’t Pour From An Empty Cup

It has been, as I write this blog, over a year now that we’ve all been stuck up to our mask-covered craniums in a thick and immoveable COVID swamp. Everyone who I know, both in the sense that I might actually see them every now and then and that they might pop up on a screen somewhere at some point, has been hugely impacted in one way or another by this most global of crises. Personally, although I’m currently lucky enough to find myself in a setting where I’ve been able to remain in employment and receive an income, I haven’t stopped working for about a year now and I’m ready for a break.

So, it’s a good job that it’s spring break out here (I work abroad and in a context where it wouldn’t be appropriate to refer to the two weeks we have off as Easter), then. I haven’t had COVID at all during the pandemic (again, I count myself very fortunate in this regard) but both my body and my mind have been up against it almost every single day in terms of making and implementing plans and then changing them for the millionth time because a new governmental directive comes along, ensuring that the whole school community is kept safe, making sure that in-school and online provision is of the highest quality and, in the midst of all the pandemical pandemonium, trying to run an outstanding school. For the first time in over twelve months now, it actually looks like I might be able to put my feet up over the next two weeks (barring some inevitable COVID-induced calls to action, obviously) and do some things that I haven’t been able to do for a while, like finish a book or watch a film without falling asleep loudly after about twenty minutes, for example.

During last year’s spring break, when all of this was all still quite new, I can remember working fairly long hours every day, most of which involved attending online meetings about where the hell this whole thing was going to take the wider organisation I serve. Everyone in every single workplace was panicking about what would come next and how long we all had left in employment, as I recall. This stressful scene continued well into term 3, which took place wholly online, and stretched throughout the entire duration of the summer break, with each day bringing either another meeting, another plan to write or another crisis to contend with. Not that neither I nor any of my leadership colleagues ever complained about this, mind you. It’s in moments like this when you just know that you’ve got to step up and get on with things; sitting around and moaning about having to do some work isn’t going to actually address whatever it is that you’ve got to do. But, despite our willingness to work hard and dig in during times when ordinarily teachers and senior leaders would be sitting on beaches somewhere, I suspect it’s now beginning to take its toll on everyone who hasn’t really stopped thinking or doing for over twelve months.

You can’t pour from an empty cup, so if we’ve all suddenly found that our vessels are vacant then it’s time to use the next two weeks wisely. A lot of people have had a lot to say (or write – hey, here’s my book!) about wellbeing and mental health in schools of late but too many senior leaders continue to miss the point entirely about how to ensure that teachers feel looked after at work, in my opinion. Essentially, if you want to get wellbeing right in a school then it’s so much more about culture than it will ever be about gimmicks. Wellbeing needs to be important all the time, basically, and not just during the final week before a break when someone who’s spent the last few weeks shouting at you puts a load of cakes in the staff room and sends an email to all which states that there are some treats for you to enjoy, thank you for all your hard work x. Teachers aren’t dogs, so don’t try to reward them with biscuits, right? It’s also about simple messages and clear expectations from the top; teachers need to know that their leaders trust them as professionals and that the importance of healthy wellbeing is valued. So, when a much-needed break arrives, for example, quite often the best thing to say to colleagues is simply enjoy your break, try not to do any work, come back feeling refreshed in a couple of weeks.

It’s not difficult to spot the signs of when colleagues’ cups are empty, but it’s even easier to do this if leaders have been there themselves and they know what it feels like. The most effective leaders are almost always the ones who can remember what it felt like to have unreasonable demands placed upon them and are now empathetic enough to understand how important it is to consider the needs of others. If conflict is breaking out where usually compromise could be found, then people are tired and a leader’s sensitive intervention may be required. Leaders need to be able to read the room across the whole school and know when to push and when to pull back a little bit on the pressure. Teaching is always a hard job, but there are certain times in the year when it can get even more challenging – think reporting schedules, parents’ evenings and external events such an open evenings (online or in-school.) Also, if any of the above coincide with periods of prolonged staff absence during which teachers are required to cover for missing colleagues, then days which are already causing many to wobble suddenly become almost impossible for some to bear. Leaders must be able to spot this and they must be willing to amend expectations, if necessary. Constantly cracking the whip might make you feel like a tough taskmaster but it’s unlikely to help your school run effectively.

Sometimes, it’s not the whole-school wellbeing strategies (yoga, anyone?) which make the biggest difference but rather the less obvious personal guidance to individuals. It’s great to have the big school community wellbeing discussion and to think of something which acknowledges its value, but you won’t actually fix the issue by buying a tub of Celebrations and putting a mini chocolate bar into everyone’s pigeon hole. For a teacher, there is often no greater feeling than knowing that a senior leader recognises your contributions to the school and is willing to offer you some tailored advice. If a colleague is coming into school each day looking exhausted because they’re working for long hours outside of the classroom, then talk to them about cut-off points, for example. Every single teacher needs to also spend some time each day not being a teacher and just being themselves instead, but sometimes they also need to hear this from their senior leaders. Teachers are no good to anyone if they’re run into the ground and if they can’t manage their workload expectations then leaders simply must intervene and support them. Everything that needs to be done will be done, somehow, but not if teachers are so exhausted that their cups are completely devoid of any substance at all.

External pressure will always be a thing, so school leaders need to also ensure that they manage how a school runs internally so that teachers can focus upon doing what makes the biggest difference, namely teaching as well as they can. Teachers’ cups are going to run dry much more quickly if they’re also having to deal with challenges outside of the classroom, quite frankly, and for this reason leaders must be willing to protect their colleagues from any issues which may impact upon their ability to do their jobs well. School leadership is a tricky job and a huge part of it is making sure that teachers are able to flourish professionally; if there is a load of stuff happening behind the scenes – and there usually is – then this is where it needs to stay. Keep any drama away from the teachers, basically. They don’t need to know and it’s better if they can just concentrate on doing what they’re paid to do.

School holidays, as oft-derided by non-teachers as they may be, are essential not only to the wellbeing of teachers but also to the success of students. If teachers don’t get a proper break every now and then – with no expectations at placed upon them either by their senior leaders, externally by over-zealous ministers or, crucially, by themselves – then the quality of educational provision in their school is lessened because they lack the energy and wellbeing to deliver outstanding lessons. For as long as I’ve been a teacher, which is quite a long time now, this simple point, namely that teachers need a rest, has been understood by all involved in the profession.

This year, teachers coming back refreshed, recuperated and ready to go again in term 3 after the spring break is more important than ever. All the talk in the UK of teachers working during the summer holidays so that students can catch up completely misunderstands not only just how hard teachers have been working during the pandemic but also just how vital it is to their wellbeing that they are able to rest every now and then. If, like me, this is the first chance you’ve had in about a year to actually not do any work, even if it’s only for a few days, then take it. You can’t pour from an empty cup, so do whatever you need to do to make sure that it’s full again for when it’s time to go back to work.