Many schools are investing more time and money in staff wellbeing. Yet despite new staff rooms, social events, and other wellbeing initiatives, the same problems persist - people feel overwhelmed, burnout levels remain high, and retention rates continue to fall.
School leaders are frustrated that their investment in staff wellbeing is failing to deliver sustained improvement. The truth is that time and money are being wasted because leaders are falling into one or more of three main pitfalls that can easily be avoided.
The Three Pitfalls of School Wellbeing Initiatives
1. One-Size-Fits-All Approach
Too often, leaders adopt wellbeing initiatives without thinking about what will work best in their context. These initiatives may look good in theory or may have worked in another school but they fail to address the unique issues in their school.
A rural state primary school with small staff numbers faces different challenges than a large urban international school. Teaching assistants, admin teams, and site staff will all experience workplace stress very differently from teachers.
Without tailoring, initiatives risk becoming irrelevant, staff quickly disengage and efforts are wasted.
Example: A school principal organised several after-work social events to boost staff morale and build community. This worked well in her previous school where most staff were young, without children and lived near the school. Attendance at the events was poor, with only a small group of staff showing up. Instead of building community, the initiative left organisers disheartened and reinforced cliques. Staff said things like, “I don’t have the energy for that after a 10-hour day” or “It’s too far to travel back once I’ve been home to feed the kids.” “It just made me feel left out when others were talking about it the next day.
Solution:Integrate community-building into the school day: Shared breakfasts, lunches and team building in CPD days is a good starting point. Make sure every CPD day has some kind of community building event.
2. Wellbeing as a “Quick Fix”
Many schools still treat staff wellbeing as something separate from core priorities. Updating the staff room, or a wellbeing week might lift spirits temporarily, but they don’t tackle the root causes of stress.
Wellbeing goals need to become part of the school improvement plan and linked to key priorities, if they are to have a sustainable impact.
Example: A school spends money on a new staffroom but hardly anyone goes there. Staff say things like, “It’s too far to walk, by the time I get there it’s time to go back.” or “I haven’t taken a lunch break in five years.” “It’s a joke really, spending all that money on something we can’t use.”
Solution: Make staff room improvements part of a wider priority to improve staff recovery and community building. Ensure everyone gets to take a proper lunch break at least 3 days a week. This involves timetabling of non-contact periods, recruiting additional lunchtime staff and a review of general workload.
3. Top-Down Decision Making
Another common mistake is for senior leaders to design wellbeing initiatives without genuine staff involvement. Even with good intentions, this can feel imposed rather than supportive.
If staff don’t feel consulted, they may see initiatives as tokenistic, or worse, as leadership “ticking a box.”
Example: A new headteacher introduced a “no marking” policy because he learned about it on a course he attended. Staff weren’t asked, parents weren’t prepared, and within weeks teachers were stressed about backlash and confused expectations. Staff say “it’s been lovely to have no marking but I am really stressed about having no evidence to inform reports.” “I keep getting emails from parents asking why their child’s work hasn’t been marked.”
Solution: Real wellbeing strategies must be co-created with staff voice at the centre. Consult with staff first, hear their suggestions of how this policy can be made to work and their concerns. Trial this approach for a few weeks and review with staff how it is going before deciding on permanent implementation. Inform parents properly of what is happening and why. Educate parents about the value of staff wellbeing to their child.
Final Thoughts: From Wasted Initiatives to Meaningful Change
Staff wellbeing initiatives in schools often fail because they are generic, superficial, or imposed from the top. But by making them contextualised, strategic, and collaborative, schools can create an environment that
- Reduces teacher burnout
- Improves staff retention
- Maximises student outcomes
- Builds long-term organisational health
