3 Lessons I've Learned From 10 Years Running TW Workshops in Schools

I’ve been working in teacher wellbeing for over a decade — long before it became the “buzzword” it is today. Back then, it wasn’t even a thing schools talked about. Now (thankfully!) wellbeing is on everyone’s agenda. 

That means I’ve had the privilege of seeing a lot: the trends that come and go, the policies that promise big change but don’t always land, and the quiet shifts in culture that actually transform how staff feel at work. 

After running workshops in hundreds of schools across Australia, here are three lessons I keep coming back to: 

1️⃣ Schools that prioritise staff learning do better than those that rely on policy and process alone. Growth doesn’t come from documents — it comes from investing in people. 

2️⃣ Schools that explain the WHY do better than those that focus only on the WHAT. When people understand the purpose, they lean in. When they don’t, they switch off. 

3️⃣ Schools that use coaching frameworks for performance conversations do better than those that rely on “feedback” from classroom observations. Staff who are coached feel valued and supported. Staff who are only “observed” often feel judged. 

Here’s the thing: 
👉 Staff wellbeing is NOT about adding more stuff to the to-do list. 
👉 It’s about tweaking what we already do, using what we know from the science of Organisational Psychology (workplace wellbeing). 

And I can tell you from 10+ years in this space: when schools make these small but powerful shifts, staff feel good, function well, and the ripple effect flows straight into classrooms. 

So here’s my reflection for you: 
💡 How does your school build the capacity of its people to feel good and function well at work? 

Because when staff thrive, schools thrive. And after more than a decade in this space, that’s the lesson I’ll never stop sharing.