I don’t want to start by alarming everyone and having you believe I think that you all are unwell 🙂
I thought I would share some resources to consider as we move forward. Today the reviewers spoke about collaborative teams and the need for planning and overviews etc. In my session I received a bigger picture of things to work on and one of them was to be mindful of staff wellbeing. It is meant to be a four year plan not something we can develop overnight. I don’t want to burn out anyone I am conscious of the impact that it can have on me personally if I attempt to push too fast and too much. So some resources:
- http://www.nationalwellness.org/?page=Six_Dimensions
- http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.nationalwellness.org/resource/resmgr/docs/sixdimensionsfactsheet.pdf
- https://team.oneportal.deta.qld.gov.au/sites/prdss/differentiate/staffwellbeing/default.aspx
- http://wellbeingaustralia.com.au/wba/category/swan/teacher-wellbeing/
Balance is the keyword – finding the balance between the dimensions to maintain well-being in each one because they impact on each other.
It may sound a little strange but we almost have to plan for the balance…I have been speaking to the Wellbeing Team in the department to find out a little bit about a Wellbeing Framework for staff (mentioned in the Review)…Brenda Lack pointed me in the direction of this resource from the Healthier, Happier Workplaces website which they are trialling as a model. http://workplaces.healthier.qld.gov.au/getting-started/step-one-management-commitment/
Year 6 got to view workplace wellbeing in action at the NOVA excursion last week. Although not constrained by the “duty of care” factor that hamstrings us working with children, we can certainly learn from NOVA’s approach. eg. compulsory time away from the building everyday to refresh and create daily and big ideas, physical outlets (ping pong tables), very large team office spaces, multiple people working in cubicle office setups, staff bean bags (and did I mention that for fun, they are allowed to peg ping pong balls at their boss?)