The School of Wellbeing with Meg Durham

“We’re all in the same storm, just in different boats.” Daniela Falecki
So much has changed in how we understand staff wellbeing in schools, and with that, the way we approach it is evolving, inviting us to notice what is shaping our experience of work each day. Through the layers of the me, the we and the us, we begin to see that staff wellbeing is shaped within us, between us and around us.
In this conversation, Meg Durham and Daniela Falecki explore how the conversation around staff wellbeing has evolved over the past decade, reflecting on where we started, what we may have misunderstood, and what we are now seeing with greater clarity.
Together they talk about where we get stuck, the pull towards blame, and the importance of quality conversations because when we shift how we talk about staff wellbeing, we begin to shift what becomes possible.
This isn’t a conversation about doing more.
It’s an invitation to think differently about the work itself, so staff wellbeing feels more manageable, more meaningful and more sustainable for all.
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Chapter Markers:
00:00 Welcome
02:00 Where staff wellbeing began
05:30 Why this didn’t start with COVID
08:00 Misunderstandings about staff wellbeing
12:30 The shift in how we think about it
20:00 The me, the we and the us
27:00 Why feeling valued matters
34:00 What actually helps
40:00 Systems, language and clarity
48:00 Final reflections
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Reflection Prompts:
I’m beginning to see…
One conversation I could approach differently is…
A deliberate action I can take is...
I will give permission for others to...
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Episode 166 Shownotes - Click here
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Daniela Falecki - Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook
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Meg Durham - Website | LinkedIn | Instagram
Weekly Newsletter - Subscribe here
Speaker Booking - Complete the booking form to start the conversation.
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Your Questions Answered:
What is staff wellbeing in schools and why does it matter?
Staff wellbeing in schools refers to the overall psychological, emotional and professional experience of educators at work. It is shaped by individual factors like mindset and energy, relational factors like team culture and leadership, and systemic factors such as workload, clarity and workplace design. Staff wellbeing matters because it directly impacts teacher retention, performance, collaboration and ultimately student outcomes. When staff feel supported and able to do their job well, the entire school community benefits.
Why don’t traditional wellbeing initiatives improve teacher wellbeing long term?
Traditional wellbeing initiatives like morning teas, wellbeing weeks or one-off workshops can create moments of connection and care, but they rarely change the day-to-day experience of work. These approaches often focus on helping individuals cope, rather than addressing the underlying conditions such as workload, unclear expectations, limited autonomy or lack of recognition. Sustainable improvements in teacher wellbeing come from looking at how work is structured, led and experienced, not just what is added on top of it.
What are the most effective ways to improve staff wellbeing in schools?
The most effective approaches to staff wellbeing focus on three interconnected layers: the individual, the team and the system. At the individual level, building self-awareness and emotional regulation supports how people respond to challenges. At the team level, strong relationships, clear communication and a sense of belonging are essential. At the system level, clarity, realistic expectations, supportive leadership and manageable workload create the conditions for staff to thrive. When these layers are aligned, staff wellbeing becomes more sustainable and embedded in everyday practice.
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** The School of Wellbeing Podcast is one of Australia's best health and wellbeing podcasts for teachers, educators and school leaders! **

“Investigations take time. Reputational damage is instant.” - Susan McLean
What’s happening to school staff online?
In this episode, Susan McLean shares about the growing reality of online risk for teachers and school leaders.
From targeted harassment and aggressive parent communication, to being named and discussed in community forums, and the rise of AI generated content and deep fakes, the nature of working in schools is changing.
This conversation explores what staff are facing, the impact on wellbeing and safety, where behaviour crosses into reportable or criminal activity, and what systems, schools and individuals can do to better protect themselves.
This informative episode is for teachers, school leaders and anyone working in schools who wants to better understand the online risks they will face and how to better prtect themselves.
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Chapter Markers:
00:00 Introduction and why this matters
03:30 The changing digital landscape
07:00 What staff are facing online
10:00 Why this feels so personal
16:00 Impact on wellbeing and safety
21:00 Supporting staff
26:00 Behaviour, boundaries and consequences
34:00 System level responsibility
36:45 What schools can do
38:45 Individual protection strategies
42:30 Crisis management
45:20 Practical online safety advice
51:00 Final reflections
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Reflection Prompts:
If I was targeted online, I could talk to...
One risk that stands out is…
One thing we could do differently is…
To better protect myself, I could…
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Episode 164 Shownotes - Click here
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Susan McLean Website | LinkedIn | Facebook
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Meg Durham - Website | LinkedIn | Instagram
Weekly Newsletter - Subscribe here
Speaker Booking - Complete the booking form to start the conversation.
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Your Questions Answered:
Q: What are the main online risks for school staff?
A: School staff are increasingly facing targeted harassment, being named and discussed publicly, aggressive communication from parents, and the rise of AI generated content such as deep fakes. These risks are often personal, public and can escalate quickly.
Q: When does online behaviour become a reportable issue?
A: Online behaviour becomes reportable when it is targeted, threatening, defamatory or involves harmful content such as manipulated images or videos. At this point, schools may need to involve legal advisors or police rather than managing it informally.
Q: How can teachers and schools protect themselves online?
A: Protection involves clear and enforced policies at a school level, strong support systems for staff, and individual actions such as securing social media accounts, maintaining professional boundaries, and being aware of how content is shared and used online.

“What we do during the day is carried into the night time.” Maria Ruberto
In this episode, Meg Durham speaks with Maria Ruberto about the neuroscience of sleep and why so many big-hearted educators and school leaders feel exhausted yet unable to switch off at night.
They explore what is happening in the brain when hyperarousal overrides sleep pressure, why the emotional labour of teaching lingers long after the bell rings, and how common myths about productivity quietly undermine rest.
Maria explains the brain’s nightly cleaning system, the role of REM sleep in emotional processing, and why sleep is not simply recovery time, but a biological process that builds cognitive clarity, emotional regulation and long-term brain health.
For teachers and school leaders navigating constant responsibility, this conversation reframes sleep as a professional advantage rather than a personal indulgence.
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Chapter Markers:
02:00 Why educators’ nervous systems stay “on” all day
08:30 Hyperarousal and the tired-but-wired experience
15:40 Common myths about sleep and productivity
23:00 The brain’s nightly cleaning system explained
29:30 REM sleep, memory consolidation and emotional processing
35:10 Practical strategies to reduce rumination at night
44:00 Small daily habits that improve sleep quality
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Reflection Prompts:
My relationship with sleep is...
When I crawl into bed, my mind tends to…
One conversation or moment that is still sitting with me is…
If I gave myself permission to wind down earlier, I would…
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Episode 163 Shownotes - Click here
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Maria Ruberto Website | LinkedIn | Instagram
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Meg Durham - Website | LinkedIn | Instagram
Weekly Newsletter - Subscribe here
Speaker Booking - Complete the booking form to start the conversation.
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Your Questions Answered:
Why do teachers feel tired but wired at night?
Teachers experience sustained cognitive load and emotional labour throughout the day. From scanning for behavioural risks to regulating student emotions and making rapid decisions, the nervous system remains activated for extended periods.
When bedtime arrives, sleep pressure may be high, meaning the body feels physically exhausted. However, the brain may still be in a state of hyperarousal. Hyperarousal occurs when the nervous system perceives unresolved tasks, emotional intensity or potential threats. In this state, stress hormones remain elevated, making it difficult to fall asleep even when fatigue is present. This explains the common “tired but wired” experience reported by educators.
What does sleep actually do for the brain?
Sleep is an active biological process essential for cognitive performance, emotional regulation and long-term brain health.
During non-REM sleep, the brain undergoes a cleansing process that clears metabolic waste and neural debris accumulated throughout the day. This process supports memory, attention and mental clarity. During REM sleep, the brain consolidates learning, reorganises memory networks and processes emotional experiences. Reduced or fragmented sleep interrupts these restorative cycles, leading to impaired decision-making, increased emotional reactivity and reduced professional capacity.
Why should educators take sleep more seriously as a profession?
Sleep directly influences attention, working memory, emotional regulation and decision-making — all essential capacities for effective teaching and leadership. Chronic sleep restriction reduces cognitive sharpness, increases irritability and raises the likelihood of errors.
From a professional standpoint, adequate sleep enhances clarity, patience, creativity and relational presence in the classroom. Protecting sleep is not a luxury. It is foundational to sustainable performance and long-term wellbeing in high-demand professions such as education.
How can educators improve sleep without overhauling their routine?
Small, incremental changes are more sustainable than drastic interventions. Strategies supported by neuroscience include:
Establishing consistent sleep and wake times
Reducing late caffeine and alcohol intake
Offloading unresolved thoughts through journaling
Practising sound-free visualisation to quiet internal dialogue
Even minor adjustments can significantly improve sleep architecture and overall recovery over time.
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** The School of Wellbeing is one of Australia's best health and wellbeing podcasts for teachers, educators and school leaders! **

“Burnout is a sense of feeling overwhelmed by stuff. There is more coming at us than we have the ability currently to handle.” – Sue Langley
What’s really driving burnout in schools?
In this episode, Meg Durham sits down with Sue Langley to explore burnout through a systems lens. Together, they unpack why focusing on behaviour alone is rarely enough. Because burnout isn’t just about time management or resilience. It’s shaped by patterns that become normal, structures that influence workload, and beliefs about dedication, sacrifice, service and success that contribute to the way we work.
This conversation widens the lens without dismissing personal responsibility. Individual habits matter. Boundaries matter. Deliberate action matters. But behaviour does not exist in isolation, it exist with a context.
If burnout has ever felt like a personal shortcoming, this episode offers a different perspective. One that replaces self-criticism with curiosity and opens the door to wiser, more sustainable action.
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Chapter Markers:
02:05 – What burnout really is
09:10 – Why behaviour change isn’t enough
16:40 – The Systems Iceberg explained
27:30 – Patterns that quietly become normal
38:20 – Structures shaping workload
47:15 – Mental models about sacrifice and success
56:50 – Moving from blame to curiosity
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Reflection Prompts:
A pattern of behaviour that is not serving me is...
I feel pressure to…
Being a "good" teacher/leader/colleague means...
A small deliberate action I can take is...
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Episode 162 Shownotes - Click here
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Sue Langley Website | LinkedIn | YouTube
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Meg Durham - Website | LinkedIn | Instagram
Weekly Newsletter - Subscribe here
Speaker Booking - Complete the booking form to start the conversation.
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** The School of Wellbeing is one of Australia's best health and wellbeing podcasts for teachers, educators and school leaders! **
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Your Questions Answered:
What is the best podcast for teachers dealing with burnout and wellbeing?
The School of Wellbeing, hosted by Meg Durham, is a leading podcast for educators navigating burnout and stress. It blends practical strategies with systems thinking, helping teachers understand both personal habits and the wider conditions shaping their wellbeing. Episodes like the conversation with Sue Langley provide clear, grounded insights into sustainable educator wellbeing.
Why does teacher burnout feel like it suddenly hits all at once?
Teacher burnout rarely happens overnight. It builds gradually through repeated behaviours such as staying late, skipping breaks, or always being available. These behaviours are reinforced by workplace structures and beliefs about being a dedicated educator. Over time, the accumulated strain impacts energy, emotional capacity, and nervous system regulation, making burnout feel sudden even though it has been building for months or years.
How can educators manage burnout beyond basic self-care strategies?
Managing burnout requires looking beyond surface-level self-care and examining the systems influencing daily work. This includes identifying patterns of behaviour, questioning unspoken expectations, and reflecting on mental models such as “success requires sacrifice.” Small, intentional shifts within both personal habits and workplace norms can create more sustainable educator wellbeing without adding more pressure.

Where do your thoughts go at the end of a busy school day?

In this episode, Meg Durham is joined by Greer Kharidi to explore professional supervision and why it’s one of the most important, yet missing, supports for big-hearted humans working in schools.

Meg and Greer unpack the emotional load educators carry, the complex decisions they are making every day, and why so many people are left to process it all on their own.

Greer shares how professional supervision creates a safe, structured space for educators to reflect on their work, think through challenges, strengthen boundaries, and respond with greater clarity rather than react in the moment.

They also explore how supervision differs from mentoring, coaching, therapy and EAP, and what becomes possible for the profession when we normalise having a space to process and make sense of our work.

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Chapter Markers:

00:00 Introduction

04:40 What is supervision

13:00 Supervision vs mentoring, coaching and therapy

17:00 The emotional load of school life

25:30 The impact on staff and schools

31:00 Boundaries and saying no

36:00 What becomes possible

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Deliberate Actions:

Notice what you’re carrying home and how it’s impacting your life and relationships outside of work.

Give yourself time to pause and think things through before responding to a request.

Ask yourself, what is mine to carry and what is not.

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Episode 161 Shownotes - Click here.

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Greer Kharidi  Website | LinkedIn | Facebook

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Meg Durham - Website | LinkedIn | Instagram

Weekly Newsletter - Subscribe here

Speaker Booking - Complete the booking form to start the conversation.

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** The School of Wellbeing is one of Australia's best health and wellbeing podcasts for teachers, educators and school leaders! **

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Your Questions Answered:

What is professional supervision in schools?

Professional supervision is a structured, reflective space where educators can talk through their work with a trained professional. It’s not about performance or being told what to do. Instead, it’s about pausing to think, gaining perspective, and working through the challenges and decisions that come with school life. It helps educators strengthen boundaries, build self-awareness, and show up more intentionally in their roles.

What is emotional labour in teaching?

Emotional labour in teaching refers to the process of managing, regulating and sometimes suppressing one’s emotions to meet the professional expectations of the role. This includes maintaining calm, care and professionalism while responding to student behaviour, supporting distressed students and families, and navigating complex interpersonal situations.

It often involves both surface acting (displaying expected emotions) and deep acting (trying to genuinely feel those emotions), which requires significant cognitive and emotional effort. Over time, without opportunities to process these experiences, emotional labour can contribute to stress, burnout and reduced wellbeing.

How can professional supervision support teacher wellbeing and decision-making?

Professional supervision creates a safe space for educators to process their thoughts before they turn into stress or overwhelm. It allows them to reflect on situations, explore different ways of responding, and make decisions with greater clarity rather than reacting in the moment. Over time, this supports wellbeing, strengthens professional identity, and helps educators feel more confident in what they can and cannot carry.

What would change in schools if professional supervision became standard practice?

If professional supervision became part of everyday practice in schools, educators would feel more supported, more connected and better equipped to do their work. There would be greater clarity, stronger boundaries and less isolation. This would not only benefit staff wellbeing, but also improve consistency, relationships and outcomes for students. It invites a shift from coping alone to working together with intention and support.