Be You National Mental Health in Education Survey 2024

Culture, Well-being and Leadership are all connected! Peter Drucker rightfully says “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”

The Be You National Mental Health in Education Survey 2024 reviews the educational wellbeing landscape and the impact of leadership and culture.

Three key takeaways are below:

• Mentally healthy workplaces: Cultivating a mentally healthy workplace starts from the top, with leadership driving the culture. Yet, less than two-thirds (62%) of educators feel their leadership supports staff wellbeing.
• Staff turnover and shortages: Staff shortages exacerbate the pressures on time-poor educators. 93% said it negatively affected educator wellbeing, and 79% believed it negatively impacted the wellbeing of children and young people.
• Lack of time and resources: Only 54% of educators have access to dedicated wellbeing coordinators, and 24% feel they don’t have enough time for professional development

This gap suggests there is an opportunity for leadership to play a more significant role in driving a constructive culture that considers educator wellbeing a shared responsibility. A very astute government school deputy principal captured the importance of culture and wellbeing well:

“The most important thing is getting a culture right. Then you’ve got something to work with. But until you look at your culture and what’s happening in your workplace and understand it, you can’t sort of move forward. You can do appreciative inquiries all day long, but if the culture isn’t right, [staff] won’t be receptive to it. It’s something you have to constantly work at; you can’t take your foot off. …[we should be] moving past the fruit bowls and yoga of practical tools and looking at the bigger eco-system.”

Page 16 of their research snapshot has some excellent advice for school leaders. Know thy culture!

Download the report