staff morale – Happy Schools

Avoiding Year End Burnout

October 23, 2025

The final term of the school year is a crazy, busy time in schools. End of year events, final assessments, reporting and planning for next year, swamp us at a time when we are nearing exhaustion. Many of us are running low on reserves at the end of the year. Events that wouldn’t normally irritate us can become blown out of proportion. It is inevitable that the photocopier will jam when we are rushing to make copies, that difficult parent will arrive when we are feeling frazzled and the boss will want ‘just a minute’ when we are running late. The following five strategies can help at this difficult time of year:-

10 Keys to Happier Living

July 3, 2025

Stevef

Resilience

Working in schools can sometimes feel as though we are running on a never-ending treadmill, constantly in pursuit of the lifestyle we aspire to. At times it can feel like our work is not appreciated. The website ActionForHappiness.org provides the following guidance on 10 keys to happier living.

Implementing The No Complaining Rule – phase 2

June 19, 2025

Stevef

Resilience

For many people complaining has become a habit. The “No Complaining Rule” is not intended to eliminate all complaining, just mindless, chronic complaining. An even greater aim is to turn justified complaints into positive solutions. In last week’s Happy School article, it was suggested to start with a personal “No Complaining Fast”. In phase 2 we look at strategies for changing bad habits.

Self Nourishing Activities

October 6, 2022

Stevef

Resilience

I hope that you have spent a week being on YOUR own side – this can simply be internally in terms of your self-talk and how long you stay with positive emotions and experiences but it might also be an external practice where you physically and spiritually nourish yourself. I’m urging you to try the practice of scheduling in Self-Nourishing Acts throughout your week (or even every day!) that nurture your physical, spiritual and emotional well-being. I first heard of this term many years ago in the book Positive Energy by Judith Orloff MD however, it is only this year that I have written a list of my own Self-Nourishing Acts and begun to schedule these into my week. Self-Nourishing…