Living Well UK, the leading mental health charity in the West Midlands, is set to offer teachers, educators, and school staff across Birmingham and Solihull free, active sessions throughout half term. The ‘Half Term Recharge’ sessions will see groups of 10 led by Sarah Cannon – a Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner and Personal Trainer – take part in circuit activities in Brueton Park, followed by a wellness-themed cool-down.
With a recent study conducted by the National Education Union finding that 44% of teachers would be looking to leave the profession by 2027, primarily due to increasing workloads, it’s clear that there isn’t enough support or resources in place to counteract this industry-wide crisis.
To combat this, Living Well UK are offering its ‘Half Term Recharge’ sessions to any teachers, educators and school staff for free: spanning 45 minutes, the sessions will include a variety of exercises and interval training that cater for all fitness levels and capabilities.
What’s more, participants will then take with a meditation-inspired cool-down, followed by wellbeing practitioner led-talk that offers more insight into Living Well’s services and resources designed to provide more long-term mental health and wellbeing support.
Commenting on the importance of offering these free sessions, Sarah Cannon, Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner and Personal Trainer at Living Well UK, said:
“During the pandemic, we saw an increase in the number of people reaching out for support with their mental health; and even post-pandemic, there is still a clear demand for more resources to be available. To combat this, we have been delivering a wide range of free physical and creative activities across the Midlands to provide wellbeing support.
“This half term, we’re really excited to be offering teachers and educators across the city the chance to join us in our free, Half Term Recharge sessions, to inspire them to participate in movement for wellbeing outside of working hours and weekends, outside within nature.
With Living Well UK supporting over 12,000 individuals in Birmingham suffering from mental ill health since 2020 – with dedicated helplines and resources available for front line workers during and following the height of the pandemic – the consortium understands the importance of funding innovative projects like this one, in a bid to help people to access alternative support and discover new hobbies.
“Through our Half Term Recharge sessions, we also hope to raise the awareness of the other ways in which Living Well UK can support teachers and educators living in Birmingham and Solihull to improve their wellbeing with approaches, such as walking therapy and personal training alongside guided cognitive behavioural therapy, to ensure they are happy and healthy both in and out of work.”