Create Something to Belong To
CPD: Stop Talking About Wellbeing (by Kat Howard), topic 2.2.1
The Need for Conversations & Cultures of Care
We need to have conversations that leave us satisfied and in a setting where it feels as though people care.
Conversations & caring framework
- ‘Human beings have a pervasive drive to form and maintain at least a minimum quantity of lasting, positive, and significant interpersonal relationships’ (Pillow, Malone, Hale) through interactions with others and in the context of a stable and constant framework where others show genuine and earnest care for us.
Conversation-centred environments
- Create something in your workplace that enables you the opportunity to have these conversations, away from the subject of the day. Some ideas:
- Reading club.
- Helping out with the school allotment.
- Friday cake club.
- Kick-box together every Thursday for 20 minutes
- Breakfast club.
Building a culture of care
- There is great value to disconnecting from teaching with other teachers who understand the pressures of the role.
- This is paramount to building a culture of care: if we want to build relationships with the people we work with, we have to present more and more ways to see each other as human beings rather than as names on the end of emails.
Actionable ideas in your school
- Build systems that prioritise and utilise professional relationships.
- Create systematic ways for people to belong.
Test yourself on Create Something to Belong To
What does Kat think is 'paramount' to creating a culture of care?