Holistic care should include our educators, too

In early childhood education, we talk about the whole child. We consider their physical health, emotions, relationships, culture, learning and sense of belonging. We recognise that families bring their own circumstances, strengths and challenges into our services.

But how often do we look at the educators beside us with that same care?

An educator can arrive at work carrying pain, financial pressure, caring responsibilities, grief or exhaustion. They can love their work and still be struggling.

October is Mental Health Month—a timely opportunity to ask how we support the people who support children and families every day. National Mental Health Commission

What does holistic educator health mean?

Holistic educator health means seeing the person behind the position. For this conversation, it includes:

• Physical wellbeing: comfort, rest, food, hydration, movement and safe working conditions.
• Mental and emotional wellbeing: manageable demands, space to recover and access to support.
• Social and cultural wellbeing: respectful relationships, inclusion and a sense of belonging.
• Professional wellbeing: clear expectations, a voice in decisions and opportunities to learn.
• Life outside work: room for family, caring responsibilities, appointments and recovery.

These areas overlap. An interrupted lunch break might mean an educator goes without food, loses a chance to rest and feels that their needs come last.

We do not need to know every detail of someone’s private life to make their working day more supportive.

Make check-ins useful and safe

A team check-in can open a helpful conversation, provided people can choose how much they share.

Try questions that focus on support:

• What is taking the most energy at work this week?
• What has helped?
• What could we change to make tomorrow more manageable?
• Would you prefer to talk privately?

Offer a genuine option to pass. Avoid public wellbeing scores, asking for diagnoses or expecting someone to explain distress in front of colleagues. A team meeting should not become a counselling session.

If someone raises a concern, listen before offering solutions. Ask, “Would it help if I listened, or would you like us to work out a practical next step?”

Then agree on an action and a time to check back. If an educator says they keep missing breaks, the response might be to review relief arrangements and check whether breaks actually happen.

Explain how information will be handled and the limits of confidentiality. Record agreed workplace actions without turning a check-in into a record of someone’s personal health story.

Look at the working day

Wellbeing activities have a place. Their value depends partly on whether the everyday working conditions support what we say.

WorkSafe Queensland identifies workload, low control, poor support and unclear roles among the factors that can create risks to psychological health. That gives leaders concrete places to look. WorkSafe Queensland

Start with these questions:

Are breaks protected in practice? Plan coverage, check what happens when someone is absent, and make eating, drinking and using the bathroom realistically possible while maintaining safe supervision.

Does the workload fit the available time? Review repeated documentation, competing deadlines and tasks that follow educators home. Ask what can be simplified while preserving necessary records and meaningful assessment.

Is the physical environment comfortable and safe? Look at lifting, awkward postures, adult seating, noise and access to water. Invite educators to identify the parts of the day that leave them sore or depleted.

Do people know what matters most? Clear priorities help when several tasks compete. Explain changes and make it safe to ask, “What should I prioritise today?”

Can educators get help during difficult interactions? Agree on how leaders will support staff through distressing incidents, challenging conversations and unacceptable behaviour. Make the escalation process clear.

A helpful first step is to choose one recurring pressure with the team, change something practical, and review whether it helped.

Offer connection without adding pressure

For Mental Health Month, consider a small, optional wellbeing activity during paid time. Keep it accessible and give people a choice.

Ideas include a brief stretch or fresh-air break with appropriate coverage, a quiet space to pause, an optional appreciation note, or sharing one activity that helps people unwind.

Avoid weight-loss competitions, compulsory step targets, positivity streaks or challenges that require spending money or sharing personal information. An educator managing pain, disability or exhaustion should be able to participate comfortably—or decline.

Connection can also happen through everyday leadership: a thoughtful welcome for a new educator, time to ask a colleague for help, respectful feedback and recognition that names the work someone contributed.

Be You provides resources for a whole learning community approach to mental health and wellbeing, including an educator wellbeing guide that looks beyond individual self-care. Be You: Beyond Self-care

When an educator is facing mental health challenges

An educator may choose to disclose a mental health condition. They may also simply say, “I’m finding things difficult.”

Respond respectfully. Ask what support at work would help, discuss feasible adjustments together, and make professional support options easy to find. Where an employee assistance program exists, explain how to access it and direct staff to its information about confidentiality.

A leader’s role is to listen, support safer work and help someone access appropriate assistance. Diagnosis and treatment belong with qualified health professionals.

Arrange a private follow-up. Support needs can change, and one conversation may not resolve the issue.

This month, take one question to your team:

“What is one thing about our working day that we could change to better support your wellbeing?”

Listen to the answers. Choose an achievable action, name who will take it forward and set a review date.

Holistic care becomes visible in those everyday decisions: whose break is protected, whose concern is heard, whose workload is reviewed and who can ask for help without feeling judged. Our educators deserve that care throughout the year.