NetSupport Radio

Of Primary Importance Podcast by ReallySchool: Ep. 22 - Creating a mentally healthy workplace from the top down to the bottom up.

February 20, 2023 NetSupport Season 1 Episode 22
NetSupport Radio
Of Primary Importance Podcast by ReallySchool: Ep. 22 - Creating a mentally healthy workplace from the top down to the bottom up.
Show Notes

Welcome back to Of Primary Importance!  

In this episode, I am joined by Lynn How to talk about ‘Creating mentally healthy workplaces from the top to the bottom and the bottom to the top.’ 

Lynn has 20 years of primary teaching and SLT experience; she has been an Assistant Head, Lead Mentor for ITT and a SENCO. She loves to write and as well having her own blog, she has written for organisations including Education Support, Nexus and SEN Magazine. She is also the editor of Teacher Toolkit. Lynn has two books being published with Hinton House this year on the topics of SENCO survival and SEMH in EYFS and KS1. 

Here are some of the questions I asked Lynn:  

  • Could you please introduce yourself to our listeners? 
  • Could you tell us more about your Positive Young Minds Facebook group? 
  • From your experience what are some of the main pressure points school staff are experiencing? 
  • Are there any particular groups in education you feel are particularly pressured and groups that are getting less support than others and how do we improve that? 
  • Mental health issues are quite prevalent in education and have been for a long time- is this improving at all? 
  • We’ve discussed some of the challenges for schools in supporting good mental health, what are some more of the key challenges? 
  • How can a school underpin mental health to be within their culture and values? 
  • What are some common misconceptions for improving wellbeing and mental health? 
  • How does the mental happiness of staff impact on pupils? 
  • How does a mentally healthy school impact on retention? 
  • What are some examples of good practice in schools in the UK or internationally that we can look to? 
  • Where can schools go for resources and support with wellbeing and mental health and how can they best get in contact with you? 

You can connect with Lynn on Twitter on LinkedIn at LinkedIn and on Facebook at both coachingforteacherwellbeing   and PositiveYoungMind. You can also check out her website and YouTube Channel  

You can follow me (Kat Cauchi) on Twitter at @ReallyschoolK  

Check out #OPIP and #OfPrimaryImportance for more content and see all our previous episodes here. If you are interested on coming on the show or have a topic suggestion, send me a DM on Twitter or email contact@reallyschool.com !  

Kat Cauchi is NetSupport’s Community Engagement Manager, the Editor of R.I.S.E. Magazine and the Product Manager of ReallySchool. She is also a former Primary School Teacher, Member of the Global Equality Collective, a Technocamps GiST Role Model, an innovate <her>  role model and a Global EdTech Author.