In this round up episode of Rewriting Wellbeing, we’re looking back at some of our favourite moments from Spring Term 2026....

Our favourite bits and he parts that resonated with many of you working in schools right now!

From stress, burnout and boundaries, to leadership, workload, behaviour, nervous systems, and all the weird and wonderful things that make school life what it is, this episode pulls together some of the standout moments from across the term!

You can expect some useful reminders, a few strong opinions and, of course, some of our classic tangents!

You’ll hear some of our best takeaways from the term, including:

• The ideas that made us think differently about staff wellbeing and why it so often gets misunderstood

• The practical strategies that actually help when school life feels heavy, full on, and slightly ridiculous

• The moments from guests that really stuck with us, and clearly stuck with you too

• The reminders we all need sometimes around self worth, pressure, boundaries and doing this job without losing yourself in it!

Whether you’ve listened to every episode, dipped in and out, or missed a few and want the highlights, this is a lovely place to pause, reflect, and catch the best of Season One so far.

Thank you so much for listening, sharing, rating, messaging, and being part of Rewriting Wellbeing this term. We genuinely love making it, and we’re so glad it seems to be helping!

If there’s a moment you loved from this season, or a topic you’d love us to cover next term, just let us know in the comments.

See you next Sunday for the start of next season 🙂

Teaching is an incredibly hard profession, especially in 2026...

That feeling like you’re never quite doing enough in school...

Being caught between perfectionism and burnout, trying to prove you’re a good teacher every single day...

In this episode of The Rewriting Wellbeing Podcast, talk about what we can do to address all of those thoughts and feelings.

We look back at the teachers who shaped us, the ones we still remember decades later.

We cover the difference between perfectionism and striving for excellence...

Why perfection keeps moving the goalposts...

And why “good enough” has to be something you define for yourself, before the day defines it for you!

We also talk about mistakes...

How to handle them without spiralling...

And why the ability to say “I got that wrong” without shame is one of the healthiest cultures a school can build!

And finally, we go into people pleasing and being a “team player”.

How that phrase can become a guilt trip...

Why boundaries feel uncomfortable...

And how saying no is sometimes the most team minded thing you can do!

If you’ve been stuck in that loop of trying harder, overthinking more, and still feeling like it’s not enough, this episode is for you.

And if this episode helped, give the podcast a rating, share it with a colleague, and tell us which teacher you still remember, and why!

We really hope it helps,

- Charlie & Charlie

Class teacher in a school struggling with wellbeing?

Wellbeing Lead unsure of how to support your colleagues?

Or maybe a Leader worried about your staff and wanting to make a serious change?

This one's for you!

In this episode of The Rewriting Wellbeing Podcast, we take the Education Support Teacher Wellbeing Index and go beyond the data...

Yes, the numbers matter.

But really the most important question is what we do next!

So we break down the 6 Cs that sit behind the Rewriting Wellbeing approach:

Care

Capacity

Clarity

Competency

Connection

And Contribution.

We share practical ways schools, leaders, and staff can start shifting the culture without needing thousands in the budget or whole days dedicated to wellbeing!

We also talk about the new Rewriting Wellbeing diagnostic dashboard, why “wellbeing” is too vague on its own, and how getting clear data can show the real gaps between staff experience and leadership perception.

Plus...

• Why the conversation has to move from problems to practical change
• Why “duty of care” has to show up in real actions, not posters
• Time poverty, tight deadlines, and why everything feels urgent all the time
• What good communication policies really look like day to day
• Training, CPD, and why being equipped is a wellbeing issue, not a nice extra
• Belonging, and why people are leaning on work for community more than ever
• Recognition, strengths, and why feeling valued changes everything

If you’ve been reading the wellbeing headlines and feeling stuck in the “yeah but what now” space, this episode is for you!

And if this episode helped, give the podcast a rating, share it with a colleague, and tell us your staffroom biscuit of choice!

See you in the next episode,

- Charlie & Charlie

If you feel like you crawl your way to half-term, only to crash out...

If the break always disappears in a blur of busyness or days under the blanket...

If you somehow end up feeling just as tired by the time you get back to school...

This one’s for you!

In today's episode (2 days later than planned!), we talk about the pressure teachers put on themselves to have the perfect break

Why comparison steals the joy of your half-terms

And how to create a half term that actually brings you peace, even if you do a little bit of work, or none at all!

Plus, we cover...

• The half term pressure trap,

• Comparison, social media, and why other people’s half term rules are a load of old tosh

• Why blanket wellbeing rules in schools often miss the mark

• Emails, boundaries and removing the pressure to reply

• The RENUE framework, a simple reset for teachers

• Rest, what it really means

• Why novelty helps your brain recharge

• Why getting outside helps your stress system, mood, sleep, and energy

• Screens, scrolling, dopamine, and how to actually switch off without feeling twitchy

• Emotional recovery, the part nobody plans for - but everyone needs

• Simple ways to emotionally offload

• Biscuit Time returns...

  Plus the great pancake topping debate!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow the podcast so you do not miss the next one...

And share it with a teacher who needs permission to actually rest!

Thanks for listening,

- Charlie & Charlie

In this week's episode, I chat with Dave Keeling about all things laughter, building connection and helping people think differently when things around us feel relentless!

We dig into the power of creating space, the value of better questions, and the small daily choices that protect your wellbeing.

Dave is a speaker and performer who blends psychology, communication, and humour through his work with Laughology.

He works across education and organisations, helping people laugh, reflect, and reset so they can show up with more clarity, energy, and impact.

In this episode, we cover...

• Why humour helps people feel safe enough to engage, especially when they’re tired, stressed, or sceptical
• The “pause” as a simple tool for breaking spirals, handling feedback, and choosing your next best move
• Why sense checking yourself early beats waiting for the big crash and reset
• How culture is shaped by actions, not just values painted on the wall
• Why warm connections and better questions reduce the pressure to do everything alone
• A very real life interruption, a shopping delivery mid podcast, and why it oddly proves the point

We hope you love this episode! We'd love to know what you've taken away!

- Charlie & Charlie

Did you know the average adult spends almost 2 months a year on their phone?

That works out to be 10 years of your life!!

In the very first episode recorded in the brand new Rewriting Wellbeing Studio, the two Charlies talk about all things slashing your screentime!

What’s actually happening when we scroll, why it’s so hard to stop, and how it can mess with your mood, your sleep, your focus, and your sense of self...

Especially in a job where you already feel stretched!

Expect the usual honest chat, a few teacher tangents, a Lord of the Rings moment, and a surprisingly strong biscuit review...

Plus:

• A stat that might shock you, 3 hours 20 minutes a day on smartphones, adding up to 53 days a year
• Why comparison hits so hard online, and why it’s rarely neutral
• The attention economy, infinite scroll, and why you can’t ever “finish” social media
• The link between scrolling, sleep, snackiness, and feeling more reactive
• Practical ways to take back control, including the three Rs, remove, reduce, reinforce
• A simple approach to curating your feed so it feels more like yours again

If you’ve ever got to the end of the weekend and thought, “Where’s my time gone?”, this one’s for you!

Message us with topics you want covered next, and if you know a podcast technician, we’ll pay in gratitude and biscuits!!

- Charlie & Charlie

How do we make wellbeing work for everyone when we're all so different?

How do we raise standards without burning our staff, or ourselves, out?

How do we support our staff when the pressure keeps piling on?

In this episode, I sit down with Alan Rogers, headteacher, Director of Education at Manor MAT, author of Kilter Leadership, and host of the Creating Leadership Futures podcast.

Together, we dig into the link between wellbeing and performance, why the best schools don’t treat them like separate conversations, and what leadership can look like when it’s human first, without going soft, fluffy, or unrealistic.

As well as...

• Why burnout isn’t always about hours worked, it’s often about hours spent working against your strengths
• The colours model, and how understanding your natural style can change how you lead, communicate, and manage your energy
• The “vocation trap”, and how purpose can quietly turn into sacrifice, guilt, and suffering
• Why a school running well is one of the biggest drivers of staff wellbeing
• How leaders can remove high workload, low impact tasks, and why that matters more than token gestures
• The “us and them” divide between staff and leadership, and how responsibility, trust, and communication either widen it or heal it
• Autonomy in schools and trusts, what earned autonomy can look like, and how to avoid learned helplessness
• Combined accountability, setting standards with staff not to staff
• The SODA loop, Situation, Options, Decision, Action, and how it helps you stay steady when things get heated
• Why you don’t need a perfect decision, you need a decision you can learn from, then loop again

And so much more!

It's an episode jam packed with useful, practical and realistic advice,

If you’re a teacher, middle leader, or senior leader who’s trying to lead well without burning out, this one is for you!

Find more from Alan here:

• kilterleadership.com
• Instagram, @kilterlead

Ever wondered if teaching is really this hard, or if it's just you?

In this episode, we dive into the Education Support Teacher Wellbeing Index 2025!

Not just the headlines.

Not just the statistics you've seen on social media...

We dig into the actual story the data is trying to tell!

We talk about the gap between education staff wellbeing and the general UK population, what it might be revealing, and why the timing of the survey matters.

We also pull out the glimmers, because there are some, and we all deserve to notice them!

You will hear about stress levels, culture in schools, and the extra roles staff are filling every week - from extra emotional support, to buying supplies to feeding pupils!

We also touch on something that is very close to our hearts: the way exhaustion has become so normal that we might not even clock what is happening underneath it.

This is part one of two!

Today is about digesting the numbers and noticing what stands out...

Part two is where we get practical, what can schools do, what can leaders do, what can you do, even when budgets are tight and the system is heavy.

Also, yes, we start with a biscuit review - listen to find out what it is, and where it comes on the leaderboard!

If you work in a school where wellbeing is genuinely supported, we'd love you to tell us what is working, we want real examples from real staff!!

And if there is a topic you want us to cover next, send it in too!

We hope you love this episode, and it genuinely helps you feel a little less alone.

- Charlie & Charlie

The weird wash-machine sensation in your stomach, the heavy feeling hanging over in your head...

We all get it differently, but we each know the Back-To-School-Scaries.

In Episode 2 of Rewriting Wellbeing, we chat all things going back to school, why it can feel like your freedom is being snatched away, and why your brain hates not knowing what is coming next!

We talk about the Sunday scaries, the fear of the unknown, the pressure to be on all the time, and how easy it is to lose your whole weekend to thoughts of a new term.

And then we get practical, because “have a bath and manifest it” might not be the best advice...

You will hear about:

• Why teaching can feel like you are constantly waiting for a surprise
• The difference between comforting compassion and constructive compassion
• Self first, not selfish, and why that line matters in real life
• New experiences, even tiny ones, and why your brain loves them
• The 3Cs framework for back to school anxiety, Calm, Clarity, Certainty
• Simple certainty builders, lunch sorted, clothes ready, charger packed, alarms set
• The circle of control, and how it helps when your head is full of tabs
• A very serious biscuit review, including an elite chocolate malted milk moment

If you are listening today on a walk, on the drive in, or sat on the sofa doing the full teacher taco, we hope this helps you feel a little steadier.

And if you have a topic you want us to cover next, send it in, we genuinely want to make episodes around what you are dealing with in real life.

If this episode helped, give the podcast a rating, leave us a comment, and tell us what your go to staffroom biscuit is.

See you in Episode 3! 🙂

The boys are back in town.

Backstreet's back.

I want you back... for good?

If you've been following me on social media over the last few weeks, you'll know that I' ve been working on something very exciting...

Alongside my good friend, and now co-host, Charlie Thomas of Let Us Talk Wellbeing, I've been building something new!

We’re back with not only a new series, but a whole new podcast...

We’ve got a new setup, new guests and some new features - listen out for those! 🍪

We might not have the fanciest of setups or be able to afford professional podcast studios…

But we had such a good laugh - hopefully this is a sign that it’s going to be a good listen too!

We’re so excited to share this with you over the next few months!

P.s, we promise to be serious…

Sometimes.

- Charlie & Charlie