Golden Week - One Degree Academy

During Golden week, there are no meetings, either before or after school; staff are encouraged to leave school early. Each member of staff is assigned a wellbeing partner. Partners are responsible for ‘checking in’ with and supporting each other during the week (and beyond). Partners can frequently be found making well-timed cups of tea for each other, exchanging small gifts, writing notes of thanks or praise, covering duties, and generally engaging in random acts of kindness. The knock-on effect of this is striking. During Golden Week, other activities are put on for staff as a mark of thanks and a recognition of the stressful nature of the work we do. For example, we book a masseuse who provides massages for teachers throughout the day while SLT members are covering their classes. We also have a staff social or sporting event one evening during the week. Staff psychotherapeutic supervision is offered to all staff on a bi-weekly basis but this also coincides with Golden Week. Feedback is gathered through the termly staff survey which is used to assess staff wellbeing and morale and make necessary improvements.