The Network Story

Story of the Mindful Mentoring Network

Mindful Mentoring was born out of my career-long experience as a teacher and Headteacher working in an educational system that does not care enough for practitioners, especially those of us supporting young people with adverse childhood experiences, working in high-pressure organisations and serving communities in challenging circumstances. And positively, beyond the emotional toll of human service, it is inspired by the recognition that teaching is the most mindful profession of all, or should be.

In particular, there has been no systematic support or professional supervision to help us process a multitude of difficult emotions and occupational hazards related to:

  • cumulative stress
  • vicarious trauma
  • critical incidents
  • personal difficulties
  • workplace bullying
  • destructive Ofsted inspections
  • compassion-fatigue
  • aggressive pupil and parent behaviour
  • mobbing
  • public shaming
  • toxic leadership
  • excessive workload
  • government initiative-overload.

Over the course of 14 years of headship, first burn-out and then one traumatic incident too many, resulted in me being out of work for 3 years with PTSD. It could have been worse and I grieve for the tragic loss of colleagues such as Ruth Perry and other fellow Heads who have taken their own lives, knowing that could easily have been me. My own slow recovery led me to discover more mindful and compassionate forms of peer support and self-care that I now seek to share, especially with hard-pressed younger teachers in danger of leaving the profession too soon as well as Heads who might be reaching breaking point in silence.

My experience of the shadow-side of education has not caused me to lose sight of our life-affirming calling as educators and I currently teach Masters level courses in mindful educational leadership, integrative leadership development and positive approaches to change such as appreciative inquiry. My hope is for Mindful Mentoring to become a grassroots self-help / mutual aid initiative that supports practitioner wellbeing and mental health as we build a more Listening Society through mindful teaching and leadership.

You will have your own story that led you here, so please consider joining us and connecting with kindred spirits in the profession whose wellbeing and mental health should matter as much as children’s. In time the intention is to make the network a charity to reach even more colleagues who would benefit from our holistic approach to mindful mentoring. We emerged in the Manchester-Mersey bioregion in the North West of England along the river Mersey basin but want to reach out to all teachers in other educational ecologies across the globe. 

Tim Saunders

September 2023

Manchester-Mersey Bioregion

© 2025 Mindful Mentoring Network

 Supporting Teacher Wellbeing and Mental Health : Sustaining Mindful Teaching and Leadership : Skillsharing for Peer Supervision and Self-care

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