According to the National Education Union, 13% of teachers leave the profession within a year of qualifying. This statistic changes to 1 in every 5 teachers within 2 years of qualifying.
So what is going on? Teaching is a rewarding and invigorating profession. Why is there such a high turnover rate?
The problem that comes up more than anything else is teacher burnout.
Burnout is defined as being ‘a form of exhaustion caused by constantly feeling swamped’.
Sound familiar? If you went into any school in the UK, I am sure it wouldn’t take long to find a member of staff experiencing this.
This article is not a cure to teacher burnout. However, it does contain some tips and tricks that I use to stay on top of my mental health and fight off teacher burnout. I hope it helps you do the same!
1. Live marking
Alright, let's talk about live marking and how it can actually make our lives a tad easier as teachers while also benefitting our students.
So, picture this: instead of being bogged down in a stack of papers to mark after class, you're right there in the moment, giving feedback as students crack on with their work.
That's live marking in action. By catching mistakes or confusion as it happens, we save ourselves a ton of time later on. Plus, we can nip those misunderstandings in the bud.
But it's not just about saving our sanity. Live marking also gets students more involved. Think about it – when we're there, giving feedback as they go, students can ask questions, get clarification, and really grasp what they're doing. It's like having a mini one-on-one session with each student, right in the middle of class.
And the best bit? It means less marking to do at home. Instead of spending hours poring over exercise books, we can focus on limiting our workload elsewhere. So, not only does live marking make teaching more effective, but it also frees up more of our time.
There are lots of ways to incorporate live marking into your daily routine. I teach secondary, so I teach about 16 different classes each week. That means 16 sets of books to keep on top of.
I like to break it up across the term, and focus on one or two tables of students per lesson. This can easily be done during a silent ‘starter’ task, so you are not missing out on learning time. Once I’ve completed a table, I tick them off my register so I know who I need to cover next week.
This has made marking so much more manageable, and has genuinely saved me hours outside of lessons. Give it a try and let me know how you get on!
2. Don’t reinvent the wheel!
Teachers sometimes feel as though they have to create lessons and resources from scratch. But, there's no need to reinvent the wheel, right?
There's a treasure trove of lessons, materials, and resources out there just waiting to be discovered. By tapping into these pre-existing goodies, we can save ourselves a heap of time and effort.
One handy trick is to scour the internet for lesson plans, worksheets, and activities that cover the topics you're studying.
Websites like Teach Starter, Twinkl, and TES are chock-full of ready-made resources created by teachers from all over. Many of these are also free – try filtering the results to see what you don’t have to pay for!
Another goldmine is Facebook groups for the topic or year group you are teaching. Lots of teachers are more than willing to share their resources for free on these groups, or at the very least give you some inspiration!
Whether it's a PowerPoint presentation on the Tudors or a worksheet on fractions, there's bound to be something out there to suit your needs.
Another tip is to team up with other teachers in your department. Share planning is an incredibly effective way to save time and effort for everyone on your team.
In my team, our head of department gives us each a year group to plan for every week. We then share these resources with each other and edit them to fit our class needs. So much time saved!
And let's not forget about textbooks and study guides. These bad boys are packed with useful info and exercises to help you wrap your head around tricky concepts. So why not make use of them?
Using what is available does not make you a bad teacher. It makes you a smart one who is not constantly burnt out. So just do it!
3. Exercise (sorry!)
This is one that I would have rolled my eyes at a few months ago. However, the dark winter months got me resenting how much my life centred around work.
I realised that outside of work, I rarely did anything for myself during the week. I would come home, eat, and watch TV for a couple of hours before heading to bed and doing it all again.
I am not an athletic person, but my best friend recently got into running and is now training for a half marathon. She inspired me to lace up my shoes and have a go at the Couch to 5k programme.
Now, no matter the weather, I head out three times a week to do a run. And wow what a massive change to work stress this has made.
Exercise is not only beneficial for physical health but also plays a crucial role in supporting mental and emotional well-being.
Engaging in physical activity releases endorphins, neurotransmitters that act as natural mood lifters, reducing stress and anxiety levels. By incorporating exercise into our daily routine, we can effectively manage stress, boost our mood, and improve our overall mental resilience.
I guess the PE teachers are right after all!
Furthermore, exercise provides an opportunity for us teachers to disconnect from work-related stressors and focus on ourselves.
Whether it's going for a run, hitting the gym, or practicing yoga, engaging in physical activity allows teachers to recharge both mentally and emotionally, improving our ability to cope with the demands of the job.
If you’re struggling with motivation, why not rope in a teacher friend to do it with you? They could probably use it to, and you can help to motivate each other.
4. Keep your weekends sacred
Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is essential for preventing teacher burnout, and setting boundaries around not working on weekends can be crucial in achieving this balance.
Now, before you laugh and say ‘that’s not possible’, I promise you, it is. I have been teaching for three years now, and for the first year or so I would have laughed as well.
I used to spend hours every Sunday preparing for the upcoming week. It got to the point where when Monday rolled around, I did not feel refreshed and ready to go because I hadn’t really have a break.
Teaching is a profession that often demands long hours, extensive planning, and constant availability, which can easily lead to exhaustion and burnout if left unchecked.
It was not until I learnt to prioritise and manage my time better that I felt I could set this boundary (see tips 1 and 2 for how I did this).
It also helped to realise that anything I didn’t manage to do in the week would still be there on Monday!
Carving out dedicated time for rest, relaxation, and personal activities can help teachers recharge and replenish our energy reserves.
By committing to not working on weekends, you can create a clear boundary between your work and personal time.
Weekends should provide an opportunity for you to do things you enjoy, spend quality time with loved ones, pursue hobbies, and simply unwind without the pressure of work looming over you.
So don’t feel guilty for taking weekends off. That is what they are there for and you will be a better teacher for it!
5. Talk to your colleagues
For a career that it is entirely based around people, teaching can be incredibly isolating.
It is very easy to go an entire day without having an adult conversation. It is even easier to go months, even years, without realising that there are people ready and willing to help shoulder the load.
Now I am under no illusion that there are plenty of teachers who are working in unsupportive schools that don’t provide them with the help that they need.
If that is you, please, please consider looking at other schools. It should not be like that and there are job roles waiting for you that have the support system you need.
I was incredibly lucky with my school – I have the most wonderful, supportive department who I feel happy to talk to about workload. My team help me to manage it when it becomes too much, and I try to do the same for them.
However, it is also important that there are people you can talk to about things other than work.
One of my top tips for avoiding teacher burnout is to plan a lunch date with one of your friends at least once a week. Choose a classroom to sit in, close the door, forget about work, and just have a bit of a natter.
It may seem simple, but my goodness is it effective for managing stress and just generally making work a place you are happy to be.
There you have it. Five tips for avoiding teacher burnout. I hope these can help you to manage your work-life balance and the pressures of teaching.
On a more serious note, if you are at the point where teaching is too much and you can no longer manage it, please speak to someone.
Sometimes the best possible thing is for your doctor to sign you off for a couple of weeks so you can get yourself back into the right headspace. There is absolutely no shame in this, and it will help you in the long run.
If you have any more tips for managing workload, please comment below to help the community :)
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