Health and wellbeing resources for headteachers and school staff, including those working from home
Welcome to Devon County Council's special health and wellbeing e-bulletin for school employees, designed to shine a light on the resources and options available to you while working through the pandemic. We encourage you to take some time out to think about and manage your own health and wellbeing.
There are some specific resources for headteachers and school staff that we would like to draw your attention to. In addition, if headteachers would like to access any specific further support please contact HR One on 01395 385555 or alternatively you can email: hrdirect-mailbox@devon.gov.uk
Support highlighted in this newsletter is modelled on the 5 ways to wellbeing; these are things that you can do in your everyday life to help YOU feel good, and can be remembered by CLANG – Connect, (keep) Learning, (be) Active, (take) Notice, Give.
Take Notice (mindfulness)
Paying more attention to the present moment can improve your mental wellbeing. This includes your thoughts and feelings, your body and the world around you.
All it takes is 10 mindful minutes | Andy Puddicombe
When is the last time you did absolutely nothing for 10 whole minutes?
Not texting, talking or even thinking? Mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe describes the transformative power of doing just that: Refreshing your mind for 10 minutes a day, simply by being mindful and experiencing the present moment.
If you can, take your daily exercise out in the fresh air, and when you are working please do take regular, short breaks. Or workout at home through websites like Les Mills on demand.
|
Every Mind Matters
The NHS Every Mind Matters website has lots of advice to help you take care of your mental health and wellbeing, including tips to help if you're worried about coronavirus (COVID-19); if you’re looking after children and young people and if you're working from home, as well as general ways to help cope during the lockdown.
Give to others
Do something nice for a friend, or a stranger. Thank someone. Smile. Look out, as well as in. Seeing yourself, and your happiness, linked to the wider community can be incredibly rewarding and creates connections with the people around you.
Do you want to do something to show you care? There are lots of opportunities for you to make a difference to people’s lives.
Three Good Things is an exercise that has been associated with increased levels of happiness and wellbeing.
Here's how you do it...
Each night before you go to sleep:
- think of three good things that happened today - perhaps something that has made you proud, happy, grateful
- write them down
- reflect on your role in why they happened.
|
TED Talk: The Magic of Kindness
Orly Wahba promotes kindness in every form with this inspirational and moving 10-minute talk.
She is a gifted magician in the field of kindness and as a school teacher who wanted to make a real difference in her students’ lives she started a wave of pay-it-forward kindness.
Gratitude - short clip from Brené Brown
Click to watch 'Gratitude' - a short clip from Brené Brown
Dr Brené Brown is a research professor who has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. In this short video, she talks about the relationship between joy and gratitude and offers a few tips on how to cultivate more joy in your own life.
|