Wellbeing coaching for trainee teachers

I have had the privilege of being a wellbeing coach for trainee teachers for the past three years. It gives me such hope that ITT providers are recognising the importance of providing this space for trainees to discuss how they are feeling and consider their wellbeing routines and priorities. It can be tricky for trainees to feel that they can be honest about how things are going for them with school mentors or their teaching hub leads who are ultimately judging their performance in one way or another. Having a neutral and confidential space for trainees to discuss their individual needs can provide a valuable extra level of support which can allow feelings to be validated and a bespoke wellbeing plan can be created.

I have been struck by the vast range of different people who want to train to teach, but also the enormous personal barriers that many are currently facing alongside the relentless demands of the teacher training year. I have worked with people who have previously been teachers in other countries, who have relocated their families to come and live in the UK, to become a teacher here. I have worked with people who have had a number of bereavements in their families. I have worked with menopausal trainees suffering from a wide range of awful physical and mental health symptoms as a result. I have worked with autistic trainees who are returning back to the setting which caused them upset and stress as a child. I have worked with people who have battled mental health conditions for most of their life. I have worked with people with physical disabilities who needed practical support on a day-to-day basis. Despite their differences, they all have a common thread. They all want to make a difference in their work. They all want to support young people to feel excited about learning their subject. 

Often these trainees have not received support previously and are not sure what they can ask for or might feel ashamed that they will be judged for needing reasonable adjustments or different support options. Before starting teacher training, they might have had lives in which they have felt that they have just about managed to keep their heads above the water despite any difficulties or challenges. However, with the workload and vast amount of headspace and emotional impact, there are usually pinch points when they need wellbeing coaching. It generally tends to be at points when assignments are due, or their teaching load increases but it can also be when something specific such as a bereavement or illness occurs. 

There are an increasing number of trainee teachers who are neurodivergent and they need the opportunity to discuss any reasonable adjustments from the very start of their training including during their initial interview. It is important that application forms have time and space to allow trainees to explain any reasonable adjustments that they have had to support their educational journey so far. It could be for example that they have dyslexia and they have been given particular software to use for their essays, and extra time for deadlines if needed. There needs to be a clear explanation about the reasonable adjustments that they can access at their interview and during their training year. This will then hopefully eliminate any shame or embarrassment or misunderstandings around what support they can expect from both their centre-based training days as well as their in school placements.

My advice for ITT providers is that they need to ensure that there are robust and tried-and-tested support policies and practices in place to ensure that trainees have adequate wellbeing support from the beginning of their training to reduce the likelihood of them reaching a crisis or burn out and needing to leave the training. Given the wide-range of adversity that many trainees have going on in their lives, providing safe spaces for them to discuss their needs regularly will be essential in allowing any reasonable adjustments to be put into place for them. We need to give trainees equitable opportunities to shine and be the best teachers they can be and reassure them that they both deserve and should expect this in their future careers.