Why Wellbeing Culture Starts with School Leadership

Every head of school we talked to likes to think they’re leading with wellbeing in mind.

And honestly? Most of them mean it. But here’s the thing: good intentions don’t run your school. Your systems do. Your habits do. The everyday “how-we-do-things-around-here” does.

So if you’re curious whether you’re part of the school leaders group that only thinks they’ve got wellbeing figured out, or they actually do… let’s check! 

 

Quick pulse check for wellbeing in your school (just answer in your head):

1. Do staff take their breaks and vacations? And I mean, actually take them, or just talk about how they wish they could?
2. Are sick days normal… or something teachers apologise for in advance?
3. Is “personal time” a myth you secretly don’t believe in anymore?
4. Have you ever said no to something just to protect your team’s energy?
5. When someone seems stressed out in the staff room do you try to help or is that too much to take on, with everything already on your plate? 

 

If you’re nodding (or shaking your head in disapproval)… you’re not alone. Almost every school has traces of wellbeing. But traces don’t make a culture. Or at least, not the kind that’s built around a culture that truly prioritises emotional health, where wellbeing is baked into the way people plan, lead, and actually feel day to day.

Because real school culture is what happens when no one’s watching.

It’s in how safe people feel to ask for help. Whether or not your team feels relaxed on Sunday evening, or tense with Sunday scaries…

And guess what? That culture we’re talking about…it starts with leadership. If you say, “Wellbeing matters here,” but send 11pm emails, stack Friday meetings, and celebrate overworking like it’s noble…Then no. You’re not leading a wellbeing culture.

The good news? You can change things. And when you do? Staff stay. Students thrive. And your school becomes one of the rare ones, where people don’t just survive the week. They actually want to come back on Monday.

That’s what we mean when we say wellbeing culture. People feeling like they matter. Every day. At every level. Starting with you.

 

Embedding Wellbeing into Vision, Mission, and School Culture

Does your Mission Statement reflect a real commitment to wellbeing?

Go ahead, open up your school’s mission or vision statement. We’ll wait. Now read it. Out loud. Slowly. Does it mention grades? Academic excellence? Student achievement? (Probably)

Now… does it mention wellbeing? At all? And if it does, is it a vague nod to “care and community” or a clear statement that says:

“This is something we stand for. This is how we operate.”

Most vision statements are sharp on performance and short on people. But when wellbeing isn’t part of the vision, it’s also at a risk of being optional. So now that we’ve done this exercise. You don’t need to rewrite your whole ethos. Just ask:

• Is wellbeing visible in your core values?
• Would someone reading your school’s mission know you take staff and student mental health seriously?
• Or would they assume it’s all about grades, attendance, and output?

Sometimes the smallest wording shift opens the biggest doors. Think: “We’re committed to academic success and the wellbeing of our students and staff.”  Simple. Clear. Unmissable.

 

Wellbeing as a Strategic Priority for Everyone in the School

A mission statement is a good start. But unless it shows up in how you actually run your school,  it’s just paint on the walls. So, be brutally honest: Is wellbeing part of your school’s ongoing development plan? Is it on the agenda in leadership meetings? Does it have its own set of goals, timelines, budgets, and outcomes?

We’ve seen leadership teams include wellbeing in their strategic planning by:

• Setting specific goals around attendance, staff retention, or student survey results
• Funding time for staff CPD on mental health and student support
• Scheduling protected planning time as a wellbeing initiative, not a luxury
  Assigning accountability: someone who owns wellbeing progress and reports on it, regularly

Embedding wellbeing in your school’s core values means applying the same seriousness to care as you do to results. (And, ironically, one improves the other.) 

Because when leadership skips this step, schools risk falling into a cycle of burnout, disengagement, and constant staff turnover.

 

Leadership Needs to Mirror Wellbeing, Not Just Preach It

Even the clearest vision means nothing if it only lives in one document. Your staff and students should hear wellbeing reflected in the things you say and feel it in the air. 

It needs to feel and be real. And consistent.

Because when the leadership team casually talks about mental health the same way they talk about assessment policies? That’s when the culture start shifting. Reminders can sound like:

• “This is a no-meeting week. For your own sanity”
• “We’re reviewing our workload expectations again this term, not just because of burnout stats, but because it matters to us. We feel the load too”
• “We’re all taking Friday as a reset. Nothing will catch on fire and this team runs better when it has space.”

And it also helps to have clear messaging on your school website, in your admissions pack, and in job descriptions. If wellbeing is actually foundational in your school, people should see and feel it before they even walk through the door.

 

A real-world example: Transylvania College

Transylvania College’s mission statement says it out loud: “Academics are not enough. Every child should be emotionally well by their 18th birthday.” Three sentences, no way to interpret it wrong.  And their vision? Just as sharp: “Teach. Connect. Care.”

When a school leader like Ruxandra Mercea (yes, she’s also Spark Generation’s founder, so yes…we’ve walked this road), puts emotional wellbeing on equal footing with academics, it changes the entire way a school functions.  Staff meetings feel different. Student support looks different. Even success sounds different. It’s less about test scores, and more about how safe, seen, and steady young people feel as they grow.

And this kind of vision doesn’t just sound good. It changes things. Or at least, it did in Transylvania College. They’ve seen enrolment grow by 30%, family retention rise by 20%, and teacher turnover drop by 15%. 

But for things to be successful like in this case, the plan has to be backed up by more than values on a page or a nice-sounding mission statement. Because vision can only stretch as far as your policies allow it to.

 

Integrating Wellbeing into Your School Policies and Policy-Making

Start with a wellbeing policy audit

If you’re a school leader, you probably know (even if you don’t like to admit) that most school policies weren’t written with wellbeing in mind. They were written to keep things running. 

But systems that keep the school running shouldn’t be the same ones that run staff into the ground. (save that!!!!)

👉 So you can start here: Download our short Wellbeing Policy Self-Assessment. (you’ll get access to it instantly!)

A quick resource you can use to see how well your school policies support staff and student wellbeing. You’ll get a score and some insight into what’s working… and what’s not. Use it to guide your review of existing policies. Ask:

• Do they support mental health?
• Encourage sustainable workloads?
• Include time and space for connection?

If not? That’s your cue. Rewrite. Realign. Rethink.

Make space for staff to breathe

Policies don’t just guide how schools operate. They also shape how staff and students feel. If leadership wants to keep great teachers, the staff handbook should reflect that. Things like:

• A no-email-after-6pm rule (and stick to it)
• Meeting-free blocks for planning or recovery
• Clear CPD plans that include wellbeing training
• Anonymous concern-reporting systems that actually work

should not be bonuses or rewards for your teachers. They’re the basics for ensuring your staff doesn’t run on empty. And you might want to pay attention to that!

 

Build student support into the structure

Wellbeing isn’t a side project, so it shouldn’t be treated like one in the school policy. Student policies should reflect care just as much as behaviour management does. That can mean:

• Creating a cross-functional wellbeing team (senior leader + counsellor + student reps)
• Updating the curriculum map to include emotional literacy and emotional development 
• Assigning a “Wellbeing Lead” who’s not just symbolic, but has time and power to help

If the policies don’t point students toward help, who will?

Measure what matters

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. So, ask:

• How often are staff and students surveyed about wellbeing? 
• Are usage rates of support services tracked and reviewed?
• Is there a target for staff retention that includes emotional sustainability?

When wellbeing indicators show up in leadership meetings like test scores do, that’s when the real changes start to happen.

That signals to people: this isn’t extra. This is how we do things now.

Next up: how to get your whole team on board and turn wellbeing from an idea into daily behaviour. Not just for students, but for staff too.

 

Infusing Wellbeing into Your Daily School Practices and Culture

Lead by example, even when it’s hard

School leaders don’t just set rules. They set the tone. If your staff never sees you take a break, leave on time, or say no to unrealistic expectations, they won’t feel safe doing it either.

So model what you want to see:

• Prioritise family time, and don’t be afraid to say no out loud
• Be honest when you’re having a rough day
• Greet staff and students like you mean it
• Ask: “How are you, really?” (and make time to listen)

That warmth? That humanity? It travels. Teachers who feel supported are more likely to show that same empathy to students.

 

Build wellbeing into your routines

You don’t need a separate programme to practice wellbeing. Most of it can happen in the small, daily routines. Try:

• Starting staff meetings with a check-in or a gratitude moment
• Encouraging teachers to use mindfulness breaks or classroom circles
• Making “Wellbeing Wednesday” a no-meeting, light-homework day

Don’t just allow these ideas, encourage them and make them easy to implement. Offer tools, give training, share examples. 

 

Support your staff like it’s policy, not pity

Your teachers aren’t robots. They get tired. They hit limits. Don’t we all? Pretending otherwise doesn’t help with retention. What helps?

• A staff room that’s actually inviting (with snacks, tea, quiet space provided)
• A wellbeing space or person to help them take a breath when it’s all too much
• An open-door policy that’s not just for show 

And here’s an idea more schools should steal: a tap-in/tap-out system. If a teacher feels overwhelmed, they can discreetly ask for coverage and take 10 minutes to reset. Leadership can endorse this. Leadership should endorse this.

Well built support-systems for teachers can and do reduce daily pressure in ways that truly change how staff experience the school day.

 

Let your students shape the culture, too

We’ve said this before, and we’ll say it again. Wellbeing isn’t something you do to students, it’s something you build with them. Start by:

• Creating a student wellbeing council or peer mentor network
• Holding regular check-ins or forums to hear what students need
• Giving students a say in school initiatives that affect their day-to-day lives

The more students feel seen and heard, the more they show up. 

 

Celebrate what you want to see more of

Wellbeing doesn’t always have to be a big, dramatic gesture. Sometimes, it’s the everyday recognition that kindness matters. Inclusion matters. Rest matters. You could:

• Offer free drinks for your staff once every couple of months (with no specific reason) on a Friday 
• Share a small story about a student or teacher showing care
• Create a kindness wall, or a quiet ritual to mark moments of growth

These steps might seem minor and meaningless to you at first. But over time, they make people feel like they are appreciated not just for their roles, but also as human beings.

 

Conclusion: Making Wellbeing Part of Your School’s DNA

Embedding wellbeing isn’t another thing to tick off the list. It’s the list itself.

It’s not a project you launch and finish. It’s a way of thinking, leading, and relating to your staff, your students, and your wider school community. And yes, it starts with leadership.

When wellbeing is woven into the way your school is led (into your mission, your policies, your daily practices), it stops feeling like an extra task. It becomes the default. A natural way of doing things.  And that’s when the ripple effects show up:

• Staff who feel safe staying in the profession
• Students who are more present and engaged
• A community that supports each other through the hard parts, not just the celebrations

You don’t need to burn everything down and start over. You just need the right lens and tools that work with what your school is already doing.

Luckily, we’ve got some experience with that. Spark was designed to support, not add to your school’s ecosystem. A way to support your staff and students without piling on more work.

If you want your school to be a place where both staff and students thrive, and you’re looking for something that works with what you already have, let’s chat.

We’ll show you how we help school leaders like you bring wellbeing into daily practice without overloading your team or rewriting your whole system. 

Because yes, it is possible! 

 

FAQs A School Leader’s Guide to Creating a Wellbeing Culture

1. What does a “wellbeing culture” in a school look like?

A wellbeing culture means that the school genuinely prioritises the mental and emotional health of students and staff every day. In practice, you would notice things like open and respectful communication, support systems for those who are struggling, and proactive initiatives (such as mindfulness sessions for students or staff wellness days). Teachers and students feel safe, valued, and heard. For example, teachers have manageable workloads and feel comfortable taking care of their personal needs, and students see that it’s okay to ask for help. 

2. How can school leaders improve wellbeing among staff and students?

School leaders can improve wellbeing by taking actions on multiple levels. First, they should lead by example: showing empathy, balancing work and personal life, and being approachable. They can implement supportive policies like limiting late-night emails or providing flexible scheduling where possible, so teachers don’t burn out. It’s also important to create structures for student support, like counselling services or programs that teach social-emotional skills. 

3. Why should wellbeing be part of a school’s vision and strategy?

Strategically, when wellbeing is a goal, resources (time, budget, training) get allocated to it, meaning programs that support students’ and teachers’ mental health are more likely to flourish. A vision that embraces wellbeing sets expectations for everyone in the community to care for one another. It can improve outcomes too: research and experience show that when students feel safe and supported, they engage better and achieve more academically, and when teachers feel valued, they perform better and stay longer in the profession.