--- title: 10 Ways Teachers Can Bring a Wellbeing Focus Back to School description: This article is intended to help educators bring a positive mindset to school with them on the first day back at school, and set a good example for their students. It contains ideas for activities, mindful practices and non-competitive game ideas that will help both teachers and students build their social and physical awareness, as well as create opportunities to discuss values that will be important to uphold and consider alongside academic achievement. image: https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/hubfs/iStock-539271099-1.jpg --- [![](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/-_LSGO%20LOGO%20MASTER_NO%20KIDS_HORIZONTAL_FC.png?width=1015&height=237&name=-_LSGO%20LOGO%20MASTER_NO%20KIDS_HORIZONTAL_FC.png)](https://www.lifeskillsgroup.com.au/) ##### Share with your network - ** - ** - ** - ** - [** ](mailto:?subject=10+Ways+Teachers+Can+Bring+a+Wellbeing+Focus+Back+to+School&body=Thought%20you'd%20find%20this%20interesting:%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lifeskillsgo.com%2Fblog%2Fteachers-wellbeing-focus-first-day-back-at-school) Get notified of new resources via email ## 10 Ways Teachers Can Bring a Wellbeing Focus Back to School By **Life Skills Group ** Published ** 26 January 2021 14.04 PM** [Educator](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/educator) [Classroom Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/classroom-wellbeing) [Social Emotional Learning](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/social-emotional-learning) [Whole-School Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/whole-school-wellbeing) [Best Practices](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/best-practices) ## **** ##### Share with your network - ** - ** - ** - ** - [** ](mailto:?subject=10+Ways+Teachers+Can+Bring+a+Wellbeing+Focus+Back+to+School&body=Thought%20you'd%20find%20this%20interesting:%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lifeskillsgo.com%2Fblog%2Fteachers-wellbeing-focus-first-day-back-at-school) [X](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/teachers-wellbeing-focus-first-day-back-at-school#) × Transitioning back to school can be a challenging time for both teachers and students, especially given the social and emotional impact of COVID-19 on our lives over the past year. To ease your students back to school, we have compiled a list of 10 ways you can focus on wellbeing in those first few days back at school - for both yourselves and your students, to promote a positive mindset and create happy, healthy attitudes towards the year of learning ahead. ### **1. Remember that your wellbeing is as important as your students’** Nurturing your own wellbeing optimises your ability to teach and support your students, and sets an example for them. Students can sense and be affected by a teacher's emotions, so maintaining a positive attitude will positively impact the students. We encourage teachers to participate in wellbeing activities (like those in our [Back to School Wellbeing Activity Guide](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/back-to-school-activity-guide-teachers)) with their students to model mindfulness and nurture positive relationships with their peers. ### **2. Empathise** Take a moment to think about all the various feelings and emotions students might have about coming back to school. Are they excited or anxious about starting school? Identifying concerns will make it easier to find strategies to address these concerns. Ask students questions like ‘What are you excited about?’ and ‘Did you miss school during the holidays? What did you miss?’ You can also encourage students to draw if they cannot express their feelings in words.  ### **3. Check in** Ask your students to check in on their emotions. We suggest conducting a ‘weather report’. Students should close their eyes, meditate and contemplate about their current state for a minute. Then, students can verbalise how they are feeling through a weather report metaphor e.g. ‘I am feeling stormy today’.  Check out our [Back to School Wellbeing Guide](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/back-to-school-activity-guide-teachers) for more information on the ‘weather report’ (and how the "Weather Report" feature works in our blended learning platform [Life Skills GO](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/go)). ### **4. Be present ** Conduct mindfulness activities with your students to focus attention to the present moment. One mindfulness exercise involves closing your eyes and focusing your attention on your breath. This is a useful strategy to divert attention when having negative thoughts. Teachers should practice mindfulness activities with their students to model how to do these activities and encourage them to use these activities whenever they are feeling stressed or anxious. Check out our Mindfulness Gratitude activity [here](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/back-to-school-activity-guide-teachers). ### **5. Build a positive relationship with your students** Create a positive and safe environment for your students. Let your students know that they can reach out to you whenever they need. Regularly checking in with your students can make them more comfortable with sharing their emotions with you. Normalise feelings of worry, anger or sadness. Spend time listening and show interest in their concerns.   ### **6. Encourage positive relationships between your students** Encourage your students to build positive relationships with their peers. After a long break without seeing their friends or being allocated into a new class, students may be hesitant or have difficulty developing friendships. Peer relationships are crucial in transitioning students back to school as they provide social support whilst students are separated from their parents. Team-building games promote positive peer relationships through working together to complete a common goal. We have included instructions for Crab Soccer in our [Back to School Wellbeing Guide](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/back-to-school-activity-guide-teachers) to encourage the development of peer relationships - whilst having fun! ### **7. Make wellbeing activities routine** Establishing a clear routine or schedule of wellbeing activities at school can help students understand and normalise their emotional awareness. Talking students through the routine is especially important for reducing concerns in anxious students. Encourage parents to conduct wellbeing activities and mindful practices outside of school too, to reinforce language and consistency of a positive approach. Consider implementing a wellbeing program aligned to the Australian health and physical curriculum led by trained experts to support you and your students. Find more information [here](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/student-programs). ### **8. Check in with parents** Form relationships with students’ parents. Request parent contact information, send regular email updates and set regular meetings with parents. Building positive relationships with parents can ease their anxieties and help them keep track of their student’s progress, as well as reinforce them.  ### **9. Set Time to Unwind** We know that the school day can create pent-up emotions and less-than-positive feelings for our teachers too, so it is important to set time out of the day, and at the end of the day to unwind. This time can be used for mindful practice, quiet time, refuelling, physical activities or - best of all - sleep! Of course - this goes for parents, and the little ones too! ### **10. Keep wellbeing front of mind throughout the year**** ** Wellbeing should be a whole-school, strategic priority for schools. Student wellbeing is best supported by consistent social emotional and physical learning, and the evidence is clear that these strategies are most effective when implemented across the whole school; when the whole school community - staff, students and parents - reinforce learnings with a consistent language. If you want to learn more about whole-school wellbeing and best practices, [sign up to be notified](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/events) about our latest wellbeing webinars throughout the year to learn more!  ______________________________________ Independently assessed and approved by the [Be You](https://beyou.edu.au/resources/programs-directory/l/life-skills-go) Programs Directory, our platform can support your wellbeing goals by providing lessons aligned to the Australian Curriculum (ACARA), CASEL, and skills for 21st Century Learning (WEF). Life Skills GO provides comprehensive, effective and measurable methods of teaching social, emotional and physical literacy while supporting educator wellbeing.  Check out our [Back to School offer](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/back-to-school-lsgo-discount) on our online platform [Life Skills GO](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/go), to help you kickstart your whole-school wellbeing strategy (valid only until 28 February for new users!) Want to find out how Life Skills GO can help your school understand and achieve your wellbeing goals?   --- ### [BOOK A DEMO WITH OUR TEAM](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/request-demo) Book a personalised meeting with our product specialists, to will show you how Life Skills GO can help you achieve your school's wellbeing goals. We will guide you through a short interactive demo and answer any questions to help you determine if Life Skills GO is right for your school.  #### [And get started with your FREE TRIAL today](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/en-au/life-skills-go-free-trial)   Start collecting valuable, student driven data with **[Life Skills GO](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/go)**, an easy-to-use emotion and wellbeing data collection tool, designed in collaboration with educators, that measures student readiness to learn, and is supported with a comprehensive library of evidence-based and curriculum aligned resources and adaptive lessons to foster wellbeing and social and emotional literacy.   --- #### Additional Resources - [FREE WEBINARS: Find our more and register to attend one of our upcoming webinars](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/webinars)  - [Case Studies: Hear from the schools that are finding success with Life Skills GO](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/case-studies) - [A 1 Minute Video: How Life Skills GO can help you make informed wellbeing data decisions](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/hubfs/Nikki%20CEO%20Life%20Skills%20GO%20intro.mp4) - [Download a FREE 32 page resource guide to teaching emotions](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/free-guide-to-teaching-emotions-0) - [Free wellbeing resources to get started with - activities, workbooks and games](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/hubfs/2024%20Resource%20Pack/LSG_2024WellbeingResourcesCombines.pdf) - [**Start your 14 day FREE TRIAL today**](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/en-au/life-skills-go-free-trial) Topics: [Educator](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/educator) [Classroom Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/classroom-wellbeing) [Social Emotional Learning](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/social-emotional-learning) [Whole-School Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/whole-school-wellbeing) [Best Practices](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/best-practices) ![Square-Life-Skills-Logo-1](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Square-Life-Skills-Logo-1.jpg?width=440&height=440&name=Square-Life-Skills-Logo-1.jpg) #### About Life Skills Group Our mission is to globally empower educators to prioritise, support and measure the development of social, emotional and physical literacy for our next generation of leaders. We provide curriculum-aligned, evidence-based and measurable social, emotional and physical education solutions which enable children to thrive in their academic, personal and professional lives. [![](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/hubfs/Life%20Skills%20Group/Resources/left-arrow.png) Previous: Identifying, Understanding and Managing Emotions - A Best Practice Guide for Teachers ](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/identifying-understanding-and-managing-emotions) [Next: Practical Advice on Implementing and Measuring Whole-School Wellbeing ![](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/hubfs/Life%20Skills%20Group/Resources/right-arrow.png)](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/practical-advice-implementing-measuring-whole-school-wellbeing) ##### Share with your network - ** - ** - ** - ** - [** ](mailto:?subject=10+Ways+Teachers+Can+Bring+a+Wellbeing+Focus+Back+to+School&body=Thought%20you'd%20find%20this%20interesting:%20https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lifeskillsgo.com%2Fblog%2Fteachers-wellbeing-focus-first-day-back-at-school) [X](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/teachers-wellbeing-focus-first-day-back-at-school#) × ##### Related Resources Tuesday 30 June 2026 ##### [Why Belonging Comes First: The Evidence Behind a Critical Driver of Educational Attainment](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/why-belonging-comes-first-the-evidence-behind-a-critical-driver-of-educational-attainment) [Educator](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/educator) [Classroom Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/classroom-wellbeing) [Social Emotional Learning](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/social-emotional-learning) [Whole-School Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/whole-school-wellbeing) [Best Practices](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/best-practices) Tuesday 16 June 2026 ##### [The Essential Resource Australian Education has been missing.](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/the-essential-resource-australian-education-has-been-missing) [Educator](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/educator) [Classroom Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/classroom-wellbeing) [Social Emotional Learning](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/social-emotional-learning) [Whole-School Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/whole-school-wellbeing) [Best Practices](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/best-practices) Thursday 21 May 2026 ##### [When Students Fall Through the Cracks, the Cost Is Carried by All of Us](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/when-students-fall-through-the-cracks-the-cost-is-carried-by-all-of-us) [Educator](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/educator) [Classroom Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/classroom-wellbeing) [Social Emotional Learning](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/social-emotional-learning) [Whole-School Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/whole-school-wellbeing) [Best Practices](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/best-practices) Wednesday 20 May 2026 ##### [The Personal Story Nikki Bonus, Our CEO, Has Carried Into Every Classroom](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/the-personal-story-nikki-bonus-our-ceo-has-carried-into-every-classroom) [Educator](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/educator) [Classroom Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/classroom-wellbeing) [Social Emotional Learning](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/social-emotional-learning) [Whole-School Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/whole-school-wellbeing) [Best Practices](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/best-practices) Friday 1 May 2026 ##### [The Wellbeing Data Gap: Why Prevention Needs a New Baseline](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/the-wellbeing-data-gap-why-prevention-needs-a-new-baseline) [Educator](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/educator) [Classroom Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/classroom-wellbeing) [Social Emotional Learning](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/social-emotional-learning) [Whole-School Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/whole-school-wellbeing) [Best Practices](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/best-practices) Friday 1 May 2026 ##### [5 simple, evidence-based ways to strengthen belonging in your classroom and school](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/5-simple-evidence-based-ways-to-strengthen-belonging-in-your-classroom-and-school) [Educator](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/educator) [Classroom Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/classroom-wellbeing) [Social Emotional Learning](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/social-emotional-learning) [Whole-School Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/whole-school-wellbeing) [Best Practices](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/best-practices) Friday 1 May 2026 ##### [The students we miss are not always the loudest](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/the-students-we-miss-are-not-always-the-loudest) [Educator](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/educator) [Classroom Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/classroom-wellbeing) [Social Emotional Learning](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/social-emotional-learning) [Whole-School Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/whole-school-wellbeing) [Best Practices](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/best-practices) Friday 1 May 2026 ##### [What if one of the strongest predictors of academic success is something many schools still treat as optional?](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/what-if-one-of-the-strongest-predictors-of-academic-success-is-something-many-schools-still-treat-as-optional) [Educator](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/educator) [Classroom Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/classroom-wellbeing) [Social Emotional Learning](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/social-emotional-learning) [Whole-School Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/whole-school-wellbeing) [Best Practices](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/best-practices) Friday 1 May 2026 ##### [Why Emotional Literacy and Self-Regulation Must Sit at the Heart of Behaviour Management](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/why-emotional-literacy-and-self-regulation-must-sit-at-the-heart-of-behaviour-management) [Educator](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/educator) [Classroom Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/classroom-wellbeing) [Social Emotional Learning](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/social-emotional-learning) [Whole-School Wellbeing](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/whole-school-wellbeing) [Best Practices](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/tag/best-practices) ## Helping our children thrive [![Get Quote  ](https://hubspot-no-cache-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/4596264/e48f28f4-03dc-4f86-975f-a58416ca2697.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/4596264/e48f28f4-03dc-4f86-975f-a58416ca2697) [![REQUEST PROGRAM INFO  ](https://hubspot-no-cache-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/4596264/2a14e55d-4e90-47c8-9439-6cdb5efbbf9f.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-ap1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/4596264/2a14e55d-4e90-47c8-9439-6cdb5efbbf9f) ##### Join The Community [X](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/blog/teachers-wellbeing-focus-first-day-back-at-school#) ![-_LSGO LOGO MASTER_NO KIDS_STACKED_FC](https://www.lifeskillsgo.com/hs-fs/hubfs/-_LSGO%20LOGO%20MASTER_NO%20KIDS_STACKED_FC.png?width=37&height=34&name=-_LSGO%20LOGO%20MASTER_NO%20KIDS_STACKED_FC.png) © **LIFE SKILLS GO.** All rights reserved.[Privacy Policy](https://www.lifeskillsgroup.com.au/privacy-policy) - - - - - -