There is an exciting collaboration with Cranmer Primary School following conversations with the Headteacher (herself a Reiki Master Practitioner) about well-being of staff and staff retention. Currently six teaching professionals have been trained to Reiki level 1, with a further eight being taught in June 2018. The aims of this project are for teachers to use Reiki to prepare themselves for teaching and to enhance serenity and well-being within the classroom.
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Currently, almost a third of teachers are leaving the profession within five years of qualifying. Well-being of educators is something that we should all be concerned about. Teaching professionals are increasingly involved in the social and emotional well-being of young people. Mental health issues of young people are becoming more of a concern in the primary sector.
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It is anticipated that a further professionals will be trained to Reiki 1 level in the next academic year.
Wendy Hick, Headteacher, writes the following:
Reiki in schools to enhance teacher and staff well-being
“Cranmer Primary School is a large three form entry primary school located in the London Borough of Merton. The organisation has approximately 100 staff members and 710 pupils. I have been the Headteacher of this large primary school since September 2015. The aim of this short extract is to encapsulate the approach that I am taking to enhance staff well-being.
Cranmer’s vision: Creating a community of collaborative, caring, creative and critical thinkers.
Our aim is to equip our children, whatever their background, to be able to think for themselves, ask questions, reason, debate and argue logically, developing self-confidence and resilience, strengthening their mental and emotional wellbeing.
As a leader I believe that staff-wellbeing is fundamental for the development of a successful school. A caring, nurtured and positive staff group has a direct impact on the well-being of pupils.
Teacher well-being is fundamental to the success of schools. Many studies highlight the impact that teacher workload has upon stress levels.
At Cranmer staff well-being is considered paramount. Staff well-being days are held bi-annually, and all new staff have a well-being session as part of our induction programme. Reiki and mindfulness are amongst some of the therapies offered to staff on our well-being days and also these are offered to staff on an on-going basis.
As a Reiki practitioner myself (trained by Anne-Marie Carratu) I was keen to undertake an initiative to introduce Reiki into schools. After many discussions with Anne- Marie we embarked upon an exciting and innovative project in which six members of staff were trained by Anne-Marie Carratu to Reiki Level 1; with eight more teachers being trained in June 2018.
The impact of the project to date is that the staff who completed the Level 1 training report that they are better able to manage their energy levels and that self-healing has better equipped them for the many demands that are placed upon the teaching profession. The group have created their own regular Cranmer Reiki shares. These occur on a monthly basis. They also offer Reiki to staff.
Visitors to the school often comment upon the calm and harmonious atmosphere in the school. Pupils and staff present as happy, caring and relaxed. Energetically the vibration of the school has been raised.
This approach has had a key impact on the retention of staff, in a climate where teacher recruitment is a National issue. I believe that there is a huge arena for Reiki to become an intrinsic part of teacher welfare and I hope that the Cranmer project is just the beginning of this journey.”
