No Classroom is an Island

Heading down for our visit to The Duston School, to be shown around by the affable Mr Sam Strickland, we were buzzing with questions. Our agenda was pretty clearly defined in our minds. We’re interested in how schools can support wellbeing and the mental health of staff and students, not as a tokenistic one-off or tick box gesture, but by weaving it through the fabric of the school culture and the stitching of the curriculum.  

We wanted to know how this head could bring about such a massive change while simultaneously looking after staff wellbeing (in a school that just prior to his tenure had been moved from Outstanding to Requiring Improvement because of variation in teaching quality, outcomes, and the behaviour and welfare of students). Most of all, we wondered how you could balance wellbeing and rigour. Ultimately, education is about providing opportunity and equality and these things happen at the point of that balance. So how is it done at Duston? 

Sam...

 The Dragonfly Diaries

The sun was shining, our kids were playing, everything was fine… but we were dreamless. And it was affecting our mental health.

After teaching together for over twelve years, we were chomping at the bit to do something we were immensely passionate about: to support young people with their well-being in a meaningful and genuine way, without being measured by data trends or value-added outcomes. Our journey started that day - ‘shall we do it?’ became ‘how shall we do it?’. ‘Dragonfly’ was born.

Our own mental health wasn’t out of the woods though! We approach business like we approach life – with an over-zealous and tenacious drive that has the potential to burn us out and bankrupt us to boot. Luck (not judgement) stepped in at that point and our support network became our safety net. By drawing on the amazing skills, talents and resources of our nearest and dearest and realising you can mix business...