The following tips are ideas of ways to show

kindness to others and to yourself.

Acts of Kindness to Others:

Smile when you walk past someone. Staff Wellbeing
Say hello to staff you see when you arrive at school.
Ask other people how their day is going. Be Kind to Each Other,
Offer to help a colleague who is setting up a lesson with lots of equipment.
Remember key events in the lives of other staff (writing these in a diary
Be Kind to Yourself
as a reminder might help and avoid increasing your cognitive load).
Make someone a drink and leave it ready for them on their desk. You are great!
Recognise when someone else has done something that you
think is good and make a point of telling them. You are great!

Remember that behind every behaviour is a feeling. Try and look for
the feeling rather than focusing on the behaviour being displayed.

Acts of Kindness to Yourself:

Leave work early one day a week.
Do something you enjoy, purely for you.
Take your breaks and chat to your colleagues.
Ask for more time if expectations of you feel unrealistic.
Voice your opinions and thoughts – they matter and people want to hear them.
Remember that you are human and will not be perfect.
Accept any compliment by saying thank you and believe the compliment.
Recognise that you are not there for others to be hurtful towards. If a situation
is leading you to feel hurt or upset, realise that you have a right to be happy
and protected and share your concern with a senior member of staff.
Be Kind to Each Other
Being kind to others leads to
strengthened relationships, improved
self-esteem, compassion and overall wellbeing.
This is both for the people we are being kind
to and for ourselves. Through being kind to others,
you can focus on a person’s needs outside of yourself
which can be beneficial for your own wellbeing.
Being kind to others can lead to reduced stress, reduced
anxiety and greater happiness in yourself. It can bring about
positive feelings as a result of helping and supporting others.
Being kind to others can lead to the development of new
friendships or the enhancement of current friendships. Kindness
within school is especially important as, often, it can feel as if
there is not enough time for others or their needs. Having a
kind approach helps you to remember the priorities in life
and the value of others.
Be Kind to Yourself
As a teacher, you can spend a lot of time
and energy being kind and supportive to
other staff and the children. Yet, the way you
think, speak or behave towards yourself might
not be quite so kind, supportive or compassionate.
There can be a tendency to disregard compliments and
to speak negatively about yourself.
Negative self-talk and behaviour can lead to a self-fulfilling
prophecy, where you can find yourself believing the words you
say and failing to recognise your strengths and skills. This can
result in low self-esteem, low morale and poor wellbeing.
Through consciously being kind to yourself and deciding to
talk and think about yourself as you would your best friend,
you can begin to build your self-esteem, recognise your
self-worth and improve your own wellbeing at work.

Life in school can feel extremely busy and stressful

but, by taking the time to speak and behave in a
kind way towards others, you will be part of
creating a positive change in the culture
within school.

Be the change
you wish to
see at work!

1 Staff Wellbeing Be Kind to Each Other, Be Kind to Yourself © 2019 twinkl.com 2