Looking after yourself and each other

The five-minute reflective checklist in Chapter 3 asks about the adult’s own state for a reason.

Supporting others requires enough steadiness to be present. When an adult is overwhelmed, exhausted or unsettled, it can become harder to respond to the young person in front of them with care.

This is not self-care as a luxury. It is part of doing the job safely and well.

Think about what helps you stay steady:

• Sleep and regular food.
• Movement and rest.
• People who support and restore you.
• Boundaries around work.
• A practice that helps you slow down and reset.

Teacher wellbeing is strongly linked to workload, school culture, access to resources and support from leaders. Workload and poor work-life balance are established sources of stress and burnout in education.

Getting through each day can take a level of effort that would exhaust anyone, and many parents and carers have carried that for a long time.

For workers, notice when “I’m fine” comes too quickly. Ask with care. For parents and carers reading this: your wellbeing matters too.

One parent in our research described explaining her own body, hormones and difficult days to her children. It helped them learn to name what they needed.

Being honest about your own feelings is not the same as making a child responsible for them. It can model emotional language, self-awareness and care.

The emotional cost of working in a racist system is real and often unrecognised.

Black educators and workers already manage the usual demands of their role, on top of the extra labour this chapter opened with.

That additional work needs to be visible and paid.

For organisations, that means providing:

• Supervision that understands Black culture and racialised experiences.
• Peer support spaces for Black staff.
• Time, recognition and resources for equality work.
• Clear leadership responsibility for anti-racist practice.

This is not an optional wellbeing offer. It is part of asking Black staff to do their jobs fairly and sustainably.

Specific support for Black staff is essential. At the same time, every staff member working with children and young people needs support.

Many people are carrying several roles, high workloads and emotionally demanding situations. Burnout affects relationships, consistency and the quality of support offered to young people.

Both things can be true:

• Black staff may need specific support because they carry additional racialised pressure.
• All staff need reliable wellbeing support, manageable workloads and a culture where asking for help is safe.

Assigning Black boys with the greatest needs to the only Black male teacher in a school is not cultural matching. It can place the hardest work on one person and present that extra workload as a solution.

Our research found versions of this pattern across boroughs.

For senior leaders: review EHC plans, one-to-one support arrangements and pastoral allocations against assessed need, not assumed cultural fit.

A Black educator’s cultural knowledge can be a valuable asset. Let it support the whole school’s practice rather than become an unrecognised extra responsibility or determine which pupils they are expected to manage.