California Department of Health Care Access and Information’s Post

" Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future ." - John F Kennedy The future of the world lies in the hands of our children, and it is our responsibility to ensure their physical and mental well-being. However, it is concerning to see that we tend to overlook the importance of wellness programs designed especially for children. Prioritizing other activities is essential but why are we failing to understand the crucial role that wellness programs play in a child's success? It is time to address this issue confidently and ask the right questions. Why are we not realizing that wellness programs are essential for a child's overall development? Could it be because - ➖We are yet to understand its benefits ➖Believe it to be a waste of time and effort ➖Unaware of the difference between physical education classes and wellness programs We need to work together to find answers to these questions and raise awareness of the significance of wellness programs for children. This is possible only when you approve our assistance. Let us not undermine the importance of our children's health and well-being. Together we can take the necessary steps to ensure their better future. Open to discussion 💬 Dolon Bhattacharya Anjan Goswami #kidswellness #kidhealthandfitness #whatchildrenneed #betterfuture #children #wellnessprograms #wellnessprogramsforchildren #campuswellness

As a parent, the thing I care about MOST in deciding where to send my child to school is: "𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝?" And if I can smell burnout on my tour, I'm going to do my best to find an alternative if I can. Why? Because unhappiness leaks out onto others, and that includes your child. The science shows this, and you probably already know: unhappy people are less empathic, supportive, engaged at work. Just like you wouldn't feed your child food on a dirty plate, you don't want to send your child to a school without the capacity to care for them. Take care of the environment where your child is going to school. This means first and foremost helping to improve the conditions that affect the mental and emotional wellbeing of the people charged with caring for students. When people feel supported and happy, they have the capacity and authentic interest to serve others. THIS is why I founded School Wellbeing Solutions. Mark Daniels says it perfectly: "we're trying to do the work that will benefit children, but recognizing that in order for us to do that well, we need to invest some energy into how we support adults." This is literally the reason we do what we do. It's been an immense joy to get to work with Mark Daniels and his entire leadership team of 40 curriculum supervisors, principals, assistant principals, directors to help create the conditions of wellbeing among their leadership team and their teams of staff more broadly across the district through our School Wellbeing Solutions Resilience Journey. There is a huge need for this type of work and this is evident in the demand we're getting for data-driven, conversational facilitative style professional leadership development rooted in the science and practice of positive psychology. Unhappiness leaks, but happiness trickles down y'all. Happy people change lives. Thank you Mark Daniels for the opportunity to interview you and pick up some gems of wisdom along the way. And huge thanks to Ross Kasun for making this connection possible. Also big ups to Burke Wood for the phenomenal video work.

I recently attended a network wide PD focused on self-care and wellness where we had a guest speaker who used personal stories and inside/relational educator/education jokes to emphasize the importance of educators taking care of their mental/physical/social well being due to the demands of “this work” (ya-di-ya…)… …And I say “ya-di-ya” because what frustrates me about many school districts/networks that “make space” for educator self-care, and bring in these “motivational speakers” to help further drive the importance of “self-care,” is that though they take the time to make this 1/184-ish day event happen, there’s never a conversation of the role they play in interfering in the very thing they seem to “genuinely care” about. I personally believe that most educators, especially those with 2-3+ years in the profession, understand the importance of self-care, and want/have tried/are trying to make this working society buzzword a reality. The issue is that no matter how many times a district/network/administrator preaches or makes 1 day space for the topic of self-care, it is ultimately their fault when educators aren’t able to do so. Educators don’t need PDs and motivational speakers to tell them about self-care. District/Network leaders and administrators need PDs and forms professional therapy to break away from/find realistic balance with the corporate/business and capitalist mindset that gets in the way of them “allowing” educators to get into a yearly rhythm where their expression/practice of self-care can authentically manifest itself. THEY need PDs and forms of professional therapy that tells them/helps them understand that supporting an educator’s self-care means learning to set expectations and goals with the teacher in mind—not just the students (because they typically lead with “we do what’s best for kids..” which is slowly becoming a form of adjacent-gaslighting). - data is always gonna be there to analyze and plan from, but major changes won’t happen within that year in many cases, so what does planning for the long term vs “quick fixes” look like that can reduce the stress on teachers? Success in education is a beautiful jog with a controlled heart rate, not an intense sprint where I have to stop to catch my breath. - are lesson plans important for your context? is there a different way to plan that is much easier and straightforward? Do you have coaches who check and provide feedback regularly to even need plans vs a curriculum map? Is this something that is needed on the plates of your educators? - How are you supporting the time and expectations of teachers simultaneously finishing degrees or getting certifications that will be a benefit for the school and students as a whole? Do they get the same level of care/accommodations that we give to those who have familes/children? Take care of elderly family members? …we are at a place where we need to get out of teachers faces, and get in the faces of those at the top.

Did you ever think that working in a school was easy? The Teacher Wellbeing Index 2022 survey has shared the following which is frightening, and then parents have an expectation that their children are educated to a high standard. Put into the mix the pressure that Ofsted place on the education system too. 75% of all staff are stressed (84% of senior leaders, 72% of school teachers) 47% of all staff always go into work when unwell (61% of senior leaders, 45% of school teachers) 78% of all staff experienced mental health symptoms due to their work (87% senior leaders, 76% school teachers) The sector has been further hit by the cost-of-living crisis with school leaders warning of “catastrophic” measures they will be forced to take this winter – including restricting heating in classrooms and cutting staff. What we can't afford is to see professionals from this sector leaving, we need them for the sake of our children's education - they are after all the future - our future employees. ------------------------------------ If you or your school staff need support Helen is a Wellbeing & Resilience Life Coach, trainer and speaker, who helps you to increase mental wealth and resilience plus reduce sickness absence through 1-2-1 support or workshops. Connect or get in touch to learn more. -------------------------------------- #mentalhealthatwork #resilience Lee David DAVID Ruth Andrew Mike Garrett John Liz Richard George Stu Christopher Sue Michael Steve TJ Mark Andy Fitzgibbon

Self-care from the inside out is when we take a look around our minds, hearts, and bodies to uncover what we might do to maintain and enhance our overall health and wellness. However, we can’t “self-care” our way out of toxic work environments. If the work itself is the reason why self-care is so important, then the workplace needs to take an “outside-in” approach to self-care, and the eight dimensions of wellness are a great place to start: Physical: -Provide access to gym memberships or onsite fitness classes. -Organize health fairs for basic health screenings and provide access to vaccinations on-site. Emotional: -Employee assistance programs to provide free counseling. -Health insurance benefits with decent mental health coverage. Spiritual: -Quiet spaces for meditation and mindfulness. -Flexibility for religious observances and for time to connect to purpose for those whose connection to spiritual wellness isn’t part of a faith tradition. Financial: -Money. Give everyone who works in a school more money. -Financial Planning Services, and not from the same people selling the 403(b) products. Intellectual: -Provide opportunities for teachers to attend professional learning of their own choosing, not directed by their school or district. Social: -Create space for teachers across grade levels, content areas, and teams to interact. Don’t take it for granted that this will happen organically. -Place a high value on teacher voice and choice when assigning teams. Vocational: -Be ruthlessly and relentlessly honest about what paperwork we need teachers to complete for PLCs, IEPs, and 504s. It’s probably much less than we’re currently doing. Environmental: -Come to view the work environment for adults as an essential part of the learning environment for children and youth. The aesthetics matter! Of course, these are all just ideas. How schools and districts go about their “outside-in” wellness requires tremendous dialogue with the entire school/district team. What matters most, though, is being intentional and purposeful in creating workspaces that are catalysts for wellness, rather than the reason we need so many self-care workshops. #selfcare #insideout

Gumption Education: Quality of Life Scale "A quality of life scale is a tool used to measure and evaluate the well-being and satisfaction of individuals, particularly those in long-term care. It assesses various aspects such as physical health, emotional well-being, social connections, independence, and environment to provide a comprehensive understanding of a person's overall quality of life. Click on the link below to learn more." https://lnkd.in/grEnVGWt

Nido survey reveals wellbeing insights: https://lnkd.in/erGE9SyD cc Suraiya Comunello, Darren Gardner and Dr Tara Quinn-Cirillo CPsychol AFBPsS HCPC Reg #pbsanews #pbsa #wellbeing #insights #research #healthandwellbeing #wellbeing #residential #studentaccommodation #builtenvironment

This is a challenging space for systems and school leaders to play in. While some of the actions might be well intended, they could actually make teacher wellbeing worse. Just because you wear the 'Principal' badge doesn't suddenly mean you are an expert in teams, culture and HR. It is crucial that we build in time to learn and build our collective capabilities—time to hear and learn from each other (other leaders and our staff). To not do this would be a mistake.

Interesting read

Challenges and problems faced by overworked teachers are being intensified by expectations placed on them to manage their own wellbeing, new research from Curtin University shows. https://hubs.la/Q02mkh9f0 #TeacherWellbeing #EducationStress #TeachingChallenges #EducationResearch