Simon Bolger Profile picture
Jun 14, 2019 16 tweets 3 min read Read on X
Today, I am able to publicly share some personal news. I am standing down from my role as a headteacher. #headteacher #ukedchat #SLTchat
It is not a decision I take lightly at all – and it is one I made together with my family. I know lots of other heads who talk about ‘getting out’ or finding something else to do – but they just don’t know what.
I was appointed as a head at 31, and I’m 34 now. For what I lack in life experience I make up for in understanding that life is too short not to dare to make an impact.
It can be an overwhelming job at times and I can see how it can sometimes have a damaging impact on colleagues. But I am NOT standing down because I’m stressed, or because the job is too hard, or because I can’t cope.
In fact, at this moment in time I have never have so much energy, passion and enthusiasm for what I do. And it is for this reason I am standing down. Becoming a head meant that I was able to directly impact on the lives of hundreds of children and families....
– and it has been my privilege to do so.
But, unbelievably, I honestly feel like I have so much more energy to give, so many big messages to share, and so much more of a potential impact within me.
Yes, I have impacted on hundreds of children over the last few years – but now I want to take that number well into the thousands – and beyond.
I have seen how mental health and stress can affect teachers and children alike. The real truth is: the world is hurtling by faster than ever before – and it is only going to get faster and more difficult to cope with.
That is why I am starting That Wellbeing Guy. facebook.com/thatwellbeingg…
Through staff meetings, INSET Days, masterclasses and workshops I am absolutely determined to start a wellbeing revolution in our school communities.
I am also going to work directly with primary aged children and teach them lifelong skills and strategies to help them take personal responsibility for their own wellbeing and ensure they are well placed for future challenges.
Some people have said I am ‘brave’ and others have said I am ‘bonkers’. Maybe I’m both. But sometimes I think the world could do with a little more brave and bonkers.
Today I ask you to join me. To like and follow That Wellbeing Guy. To be at the start of something which I believe can shake and change education in this country to its core.
Thank you – and hopefully I’ll see you on the other side. 🚀

Simon
You can like and follow That Wellbeing Guy on Facebook at facebook.com/thatwellbeingg… Image

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More from @simonbolger

Sep 25, 2020
Our words shape the worlds of our children.

👉🏻Instead of using the word “work” - we could talk about “learning”.

Work is something you do for someone else. Work is from the adult world. Not from a child’s world.

Thread 🧵👇🏻
Remember, we work because we have to, and we learn because we want to.

👉🏻Instead of saying “clever” - we could talk about effort, perseverance and the process of learning.
The definition of clever is: “quick to understand, learn, and devise or apply ideas”.
Read 5 tweets
Sep 25, 2020
Just a few thoughts:

Wellbeing isn’t tokenistic gestures or acts of ‘being nice’ to people. All those acts *contribute* to wellbeing, and can help people feel valued and appreciated. I’m NOT saying don’t do them. But they are not wellbeing.
Wellbeing is a state of comfort, health and happiness.

We need to address how staff can reach a state of ease, rather than dis-ease, by addressing workload, use of time, expectation of communication and feedback streams.
We need to step back and look at all the things we do and ask:
Why do we do this?
Who is it for?
When I’ve done it, who looks at it after?
What do they do with it?
Is it essential or optional?
Read 5 tweets
Jul 17, 2020
With schools trying to develop a ‘recovery’ curriculum, there are a few people outside of education who I would be keen to work with to develop wellbeing in schools.

I don’t run a podcast yet - but if it meant I could speak with these few - I’d make it happen.

Thread...
1/
@matthewsyed

Using concepts from Rebel Ideas tells us there are people outside of education who can contribute to the problem space.

I’d love to be able to find out Matthew’s take on how schools and education could use Rebel Ideas to bounce back and recover.
2/
@RossEdgley

When it comes to developing resilience and strengthening the body and mind to be well placed for future challenges - Ross would be my go to person.

I would love to hear how he’d apply his knowledge and experience to developing resilience in education.
Read 9 tweets
Jul 1, 2020
I've seen a lot of media reporting and talk on #edutwitter about a 'catch up curriculum'.

My question is catch up with what?

The age-related expectation of a pre-Covid world?

Thread...
For more than the next ten years, we will have children in the education system who have not attended school during this time.

Is this not enough to suggest the age-related expectation of the pre-Covid world no longer applies in today's world?
Everything we now expect of our children, regardless of their age, will change.
Read 4 tweets
Jun 28, 2020
4 things about failure...

1/

Failure doesn’t mean it is the end. Failure means it is the start of a new journey.
2/

When we fail or get something wrong and tell ourselves we are not good enough, smart enough or strong enough, we chip away at our level of self-esteem and self-worth through negative self-talk.
3/

We should not fear failure or seek to avoid it.
Read 4 tweets
Jun 24, 2020
👉🏻26 things about education...

1. Schools are like factories.

2. Children are the products.

3. They are created in batches and time stamped.

4. They’re all measured and assessed by how well they perform in a test.
5. An expected behaviour for good learning is good sitting and listening. Usually at a table.

6. Those who do well on a test are labelled as clever and those who do not are labelled as not clever.
7. Society has come to generally believe clever and not clever is the same as academic and non-academic.

8. A lot of brilliant people fail to reach their potential of fulfil their brilliance because they’ve been labelled not clever or not academic.
Read 13 tweets

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