What if we stopped designing school culture around what staff can endure and instead built it around what helps them flourish?

We talk a lot about student wellbeing, and rightly so. But here’s the truth: when the adults in the building are not flourishing, the whole school feels it.

Flourishing is not about perks or bubble-wrapped burnout prevention. It is about creating a school environment where staff feel energised, connected, purposeful, and genuinely valued. It means people can bring their full selves to work without running on empty.

Much of the conversation around wellbeing in education has focused on students. But when we apply the same principles to staff—voice, inclusion, agency, connection—the outcomes ripple across the whole school. Here are six shifts any school can make to embed staff flourishing at the heart of their culture.

1. Nothing About Us Without Us: Listen to Staff Voice

Flourishing begins with agency. People thrive when they feel their voice is heard and acted on.

It is time to move beyond annual surveys or one-off check-ins. Create space for ongoing, honest dialogue. When do staff get to speak openly about how they are really doing? Where does their input shape actual decisions?

When staff voice is woven into leadership, planning, and daily culture, wellbeing shifts from a program to a shared mindset.

2. Engage Families: Not Just for Students’ Sake

Once the voice is honoured internally, it is time to look outward.

Parents and carers notice more than we think. They pick up on tone, energy, and culture. They see fatigue, tension, or joy, even when we do not say a word.

When schools actively care for their staff, families respond with greater trust and empathy. Expectations shift. Boundaries are more respected. The tone of the entire school lifts.

Let families see this. Through newsletters, community events, or social media, make visible what it looks like to value the people who care for their children.

3. Start Early: Do Not Wait for Burnout

A strong school culture does not begin with emergency repairs. It begins the moment a new staff member walks in the door.

Induction should go beyond keys and passwords. New staff need clarity about expectations, support systems, and the rhythms that define your culture. They need to know it is safe to ask questions and okay to ask for help.

For long-standing staff, flourishing means ongoing growth. Prioritise professional learning that builds not just skills, but capacity, confidence, and connection. Flourishing is not a one-time offering. It is a long-term investment.

4. Build a Team, Not Just a Champion

Sustaining wellbeing takes shared leadership. It cannot be one person’s passion project. You do not need another committee. You need a small, trusted group who can influence tone and practice across the school. They should have time, voice, and visible support from leadership.

When leadership for staff wellbeing is distributed and seen as core business, staff know it is not a token gesture. It is part of how the school lives its values.

5. Use What Works: Not Just What Is Trendy

Once the team is in place, the real work begins. Ask what is helping, what is not, and what needs to go. This is not about yoga classes or snack tables. Flourishing grows when we remove the friction—excessive emails, unclear priorities, unnecessary meetings, or outdated procedures.

What is getting in the way of your staff feeling energised? What is no longer serving the culture? Sometimes, the best wellbeing strategy is to stop doing something that drains people.

6. Go Whole-School: Every Role, Every Day

Finally, embed it. Make flourishing part of the everyday.

Wellbeing is not a program. It lives in the tone of staffroom conversations, the way meetings begin, the way mistakes are handled, and how leaders model rest. It includes everyone—teachers, admin, learning support, groundskeepers, and leadership.

If your staff wellbeing strategy is only visible during PD week or driven by one person, it is not yet culture. A flourishing school is one where people feel they can be human, on the hard days as well as the good ones.

Final Thoughts

Staff do not just need protection from burnout. They deserve the conditions to flourish.

At this year’s National Education Summit, let us stretch the conversation. Let us build schools where wellbeing is not a side project. It is the culture. It is how people are nourished rather than drained. It is where trust is shared and visible.

Start simple. Choose one of these six shifts and trial it this term. Notice what changes. Pay attention to what people say, how they show up, and how the place feels.

Because when the adults flourish, schools do not just function. They become places of life, hope, and purpose.