Teachers and school leaders face a high level of stress, exhaustion, and burnout. This is not in debate. While these emotions and responses are normal, they can become a problem if they become chronic, when they might pose serious challenges for individuals and the whole workforce. 

Every day, every term, every year, teachers, and school leaders walk a fine line between ‘being ok’ and ‘being close to burnout’. Burnout is a difficult issue at the best of times, and it isn’t going away. 

Wouldn’t it be great if a simple recipe or set of steps could fix burnout? Sadly, it’s not that simple. But there are things we can do that make a difference, and ways to implement personalised action plans that be effective for each of us. 

Put on your own oxygen mask first and then attend to others. This rule is useful when it comes to preventing burnout. It can help us understand the work involved in first taking care of ourselves and then using this to role-model effective strategies and behaviours, and to support others to do the same.