Mental Health Lead Toolkit

Implementing a Whole-School Culture of Wellbeing and Mental Health

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The Mental Health Lead Toolkit is a comprehensive three-term step-by-step programme for implementing a whole-school culture of staff wellbeing and mental health. It is designed to be used by the School Mental Health Lead, or a member of staff in a similar position, to co-ordinate and steer whole-school staff and pupil mental health, to track its progress and to evaluate its success.


The Mental Health Lead Toolkit uses 'Heights' a learning management platform which divides the programme into 'Modules' which are then subdivided into 'Steps'. By following the six modules in sequence, the Wellbeing Lead follows a recognised path of whole-school change and is fully supported in the school's journey. The first two actions in the Mental Health Lead Toolkit are to conduct a survey and to create an action plan.


Fully customisable documentation is included with the Teach Well Toolkit, including emails to staff. The programme can be tailored to the needs of the school: it can be fully delivered or the school can choose to focus on particular modules or steps.


A licence for the Wellbeing Lead to an online progress and evaluation tool, the Wellbeing iAbacus, is provided with Teach Well Toolkit School Membership. Teach Well Toolkit School Membership provides a comprehensive support package to all staff in the school, including self-care wellbeing and mental health online courses; the Mini Medics Mental Health training course for Year 5; the Wellbeing and Mental Health Ambassador training for Years 5-10; discounts off a range of staff courses and qualifications and conferences; and a vault of resources and articles. 


The Wellbeing iAbacus is available to individual Teach Well Toolkit members for 12 months for an additional fee of £48 (as of 29.11.22). All Senior Mental Health Leads who have participated in Teach Well Toolkit training are individual members of the Teach Well Toolkit for 12 months. The Wellbeing iAbacus enables the Wellbeing Lead to track progress during the implementation of the Mental Health Lead Toolkit, identify challenges, and plan how to overcome them. Progress can be monitored by simply moving beads along an assessment line (hence the name iAbacus) and typing notes into iAbacus. It also automatically generates a report which can be shared with staff.


If you are an individual school member and would like to purchase a 12-month licence to the Wellbeing iAbacus, please request an invoice for your school by completing the Google Form at https://forms.gle/Zvc2UvLdgoq9bsS39


Courses in this Program:

Preventing Burnout: Take Action. Take Control.

Stress is the most common reason for prolonged staff absence. Mental-ill health caused by sustained stress can lead to burnout. Take pers...

14 Lessons in this Course

Level 3 Award in Education and Training (Open Awards)

Please note: If you have arrived at this course unexpectedly and haven't registered yet, please do not go any further. Instead, go to: ht...

22 Lessons in this Course

Lessons in Preventing Burnout: Take Action. Take Control.:

  1. 1 Lesson 1: Getting Started

    Objective: Getting Started: How the course works

  2. 2 Lesson 2: What is Burnout?

    Objective: What is Burnout?

  3. 3 Lesson 3: Assessing your level of burnout

    Objective: Assess your level of burnout

  4. 4 Lesson 4: The 6 Maslach Factors Leading to Burnout

    Objective: Learn about the 6 factors that lead to occupational burnout, identified by Christina Maslach

  5. 5 Lesson 5: The One Page Meeting

    Objective: Raising a concern with a line manager or leadership through the One Page Meeting and agenda

  6. 6 Lesson 6: Managing the One Page Meeting

    Objective: How to manage the one page meeting to achieve your goals

  7. 7 Lesson 7: Work Overload

    Objective: Reduce your workload and your relationship with school work

  8. 8 Lesson 8: Lack of Control

    Objective: How to take more control of your life at work

  9. 9 Lesson 9: Lack of Reward

    Objective: Take action to increase your self-satisfaction with school work

  10. 10 Lesson 10: Lack of Community

    Objective: How to address issues related to the workplace as a community

  11. 11 Lesson 11: Lack of Fairness

    Objective: Promoting fairness and equity in the school

  12. 12 Lesson 12: Conflict of Values

    Objective: How to tackle conflict between your values and the values of the organsation

  13. 13 Lesson 13: What Next?

    Objective: You have taken action. Now what?

  14. 14 Appendix: Booklist

    Objective: Wellbeing and Mental Health Booklist.

Lessons in Level 3 Award in Education and Training (Open Awards):

  1. 1 Lesson 1: Introduction to the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (Open Awards)

    Objective: To understand the Level 3 Award in Education and Training and how you will be assessed.

  2. 2 Lesson 2: Preparing to Study the Course

    Objective: How the course is organised. Download reference documents from Padlet which will be useful when studying the three Units.

  3. 3 Module 1 Unit A Lesson 3: Understanding Roles, Responsibilities and Relationships in Education and Training (3 Credits)

    Objective: This unit looks at the role of a teacher and your legal and moral responsibilities in relation to your learners

  4. 4 Module 1 Unit A Lesson 4: Teaching Roles, Responsibilities, Relationships (and Boundaries) in Education

    Objective: Explore Roles, Responsibilities, Relationships and Boundaries in more depth

  5. 5 Module 1 Unit A Lesson 5: Boundaries between Teacher and Learner

    Objective: Explore the boundaries between teacher and learner

  6. 6 Module 1 Unit A Lesson 6: Legislation, Regulatory Requirements and Codes of Practice

    Objective: Explore the legal and advisory obligations of a teacher

  7. 7 Module 1 Unit A Lesson 7: Promoting Equality and Valuing Diversity

    Objective: How to promote equality and diversity in your teaching.

  8. 8 Module 1 Unit A Lesson 8: Promoting Appropriate Behaviour and Respect

    Objective: Consider how you promote appropriate behaviour and respect between yourself and your learners and between learners.

  9. 9 Module 1 Unit A Lesson 9: Learner Needs and Points of Referral

    Objective: Understand how to determine learners' needs and refer them for further help and support if necessary.

  10. 10 Module 1 Unit A Lesson 10: Writing your Assessment Assignment

    Objective: Write your assignment and submit a draft for feedback in your private Padlet. Then complete the assignment and submit it for assessment.

  11. 11 Module 2 Unit B Lesson 11: Understanding and Using Inclusive Teaching and Learning Approaches in Education and Training (6 Credits)

    Objective: Understand what inclusive education means in relation to your role as a teacher.

  12. 12 Module 2 Unit B Lesson 12: Induction, Icebreakers and Ground Rules.

    Objective: Meeting your learners, getting started and setting the rules for the course.

  13. 13 Module 2 Unit B Lesson 13: Teaching, Learning and Assessment Approaches

    Objective: How to select appropriate teaching and learning approaches, combined with relevant and robust assessment.

  14. 14 Module 2 Unit B Lesson 14: Creating a teaching session plan

    Objective: How to plan a teaching session.

  15. 15 Module 2 Unit B Lesson 15: Providing Opportunities for English, Maths, ICT, Wider Skills and British Values

    Objective: Developing English, maths skills and wider skills and considering British values.

  16. 16 Module 2 Unit B Lesson 16: Assessment Assignment

  17. 17 Module 3 Unit C Understanding Assessment in Education and Training (3 Credits): Lesson 17 The Different Types of Assessment

    Objective: Understanding what the different types of assessment are used for.

  18. 18 Module 3 Unit C Lesson 18: Assessment Methods

  19. 19 Module 3 Unit C Lesson 19: Making Assessment Decisions and Providing Feedback

    Objective: How to arrive at an assessment judgement and give appropriate feedback to the learner.

  20. 20 Module 3 Unit C Lesson 20: Involving Learners and Others in the Assessment Process

    Objective: How to include learners and involve other people in assessments.

  21. 21 Module 3 Unit C Lesson 21: Record Keeping

    Objective: Learn how to keep records of learners and their assessments.

  22. 22 Module 4 Microteaching Lesson 23 (Linked to Module 2 Unit B)

    Objective: Understand what the microteaching assessment entails and prepare yourself for it.

About Steve TEST

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Steve Waters and Suneta Bagri are co-founders of Teach Well Toolkit School Membership. The Teach Well Toolkit Programme supports schools to implement a culture of staff wellbeing and mental health, reducing staff illness, improving retention and promoting recruitment. We are committed to prioritising the wellbeing of staff. If we look after the mental health of our staff, they will be able to teach well and to care for the mental health of our children.

Steve Waters has 40 years' experience in education, including 30 years as a secondary English teacher, Head of Department and Assistant Principal and 6 years as a school improvement consultant with a local authority. Steve holds the NPQH and is an online and project assessor for the NPQML and NPQSL qualifications. He is a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and an elected council member. He is also a qualified Counsellor, a wellbeing coach and a Mental Health First Aid Instructor (Ofqual regulated). Steve's book 'Cultures of Staff Wellbeing and Mental Health in Schools' was published in June 2021 and contains 32 case-study chapters written by headteachers or wellbeing leads, describing how their school developed a staff culture of wellbeing and mental health (mybook.to/cultureswellbeingsch) Steve has four grown-up children and lives in Manchester.

Suneta Bagri has 25 years' experience in primary schools, including as headteacher of a range of schools which she led out of challenging circumstances. Suneta is a Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching, a Wellbeing and Mental Health Coach and a Bereavement Counsellor. She provides headteacher coaching through the teachers' charity Education Support and has recently undertaken Supervision training with the charity. Suneta runs the Every Teacher Matters network which is provided as part of Teach Well Toolkit School Membership. This includes 6 online meetings during the year where wellbeing experts are invited to share strategies to improve self-care. She is also a wellbeing governor at a school within a Multi-Academy Trust. Suneta has three children at secondary school and lives in Coventry.
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