It’s no secret that teachers are facing an increase in stress levels, leading to overwhelm and burnout. One of the biggest contributing factors to this issue in the industry is the ability to manage the workload.
While workload management can strengthen with time and experience in the classroom, Beyond the Classroom Australia’s Ms Peta Jeppesen asks the question – why struggle as an Early Career Teacher?
“When entering the profession there is so much to learn and adapt to in the school environment. Workload management can be taught and optimised based on personal work preferences. Early Career Teachers shouldn’t have to struggle to figure it out,” Ms Jeppesen says.
Last year Beyond the Classroom Australia supported more than 50 Early Career Teachers in the School Coaching Program in the Toowoomba Diocese in Queensland. The program focuses on 1:1 coaching support for each teacher, ensuring they are integrating into the profession well.
In addition to individual coaching sessions for teachers, the school staff receives feedback notes and follow up communication. At the end of the program, Ms Jeppesen leaves the school with empowered Early Career Teachers who are autonomous, confident, and prepared to thrive in education. The bonus? The school culture has shown positive improvements benefiting all the staff members.
One thing Ms Jeppesen noticed when running the program was that teachers entering the profession were experiencing immediate overwhelm when faced with the workload. They weren’t prepared with the skills to manage their growing task list and leave time for personal wellbeing.
Through her time with the teachers, she equipped them with tools such as time blocking, making priority lists, and learning how to feel accomplished within the weight of the to-do list. The most important thing she instilled in the teachers was the importance of prioritising time to focus on wellbeing too.
Ms Jeppesen believes that wellbeing care is productive. Teachers that schedule in an extra 10-15 minutes per day to relax or go for a walk are far more productive. When working with teachers on time blocking, she ensured that they scheduled in 1-2 breaks per day where they solely focused on decompressing. Setting boundaries around working on evenings and weekends was also instilled.
Although she provided Early Career Teachers with tactile skills, she also worked to make sure each teacher found what worked for their personality type. What may feel organised for a Type A will never work for a Type B. Reminding teachers to make small adjustments over time to find what best works for them proved to create the most sustainable long-lasting impact.
Beyond the Classroom Australia continues to work alongside Early Career Teachers through various programs to support teacher retention and well-being in the industry.
“All teachers deserve to feel aligned with their passion for education, with proper support and encouragement to thrive. This is my mission with Beyond the Classroom Australia,” Ms Jeppesen said.
Discover more information on Beyond the Classroom Australia and Peta Jeppesen here.