Demands on educators, such as those related to workload, accountability, change, student behaviour, and lack of resources, are widely cited and researched. What is less frequently mentioned and researched, but that has been brought into a sharper focus over recent years, is the emotional toll associated with teaching and school leadership, particularly where supporting children’s and young people’s welfare needs is involved.

School staff are regularly the first professionals that families turn to for support and advice when they experience adversity and trauma. It is also not uncommon for school staff to be working with children and young people who have additional learning and communication needs; social, emotional and mental health needs; and physical disabilities.

Whilst huge satisfaction can be gained from supporting others’ welfare needs, there is recognition that exposure to others’ adversity, vulnerabilities and trauma can adversely affect the educators involved. Mindsetters educational supervision and coaching can help you to build and support your professional resilience.

Research has shown that educators wish to retain and improve their professional resilience, and thus felt opportunities were needed to:

• Offload, and in the process make better sense of their emotions;
• Learn from experiences, positive and negative;
• Gaining a better understanding of what had worked and what might have been done differently, by exploring how they might handle future situations
• Reflect on things that were going well and take time to celebrate their achievements;
• Reflect on their own wellbeing and professional resilience.

There are supervision and coaching benefits for educators who are headteachers, those leading or working on safeguarding, leaders and class teachers, particularly those working with pupils with SEMH needs and educators in specialist provision.