This is a training manual containing school staff self-training plus lesson plans for staff who are intending to give stress management lessons to students in secondary schools. Exam stress is included in the course as Lesson 5, but it is not a free-standing lesson. Students need to be taken through general stress management in Lessons 1–4 before doing Lesson 5. The subsequent Lessons 6–9 take a preventative approach to stress. Their rationale is to promote increasing stress resilience, in order to prevent stress arising in the first place rather than deal with stress after the event.
Unique selling point
The unique selling point (USP) of this manual is founded on the belief that, in order for any stress management programme to have an impact, tuition needs to move beyond merely giving students information about stress, to direct training in stress reduction skills.
This programme includes MP3 files which contain audio relaxation recordings. The duration of recordings is between eleven and eighteen minutes approximately. All the students need to do is listen to each recording and follow what it says, in order to receive straightforward, step by step training in stress management. It may be unusual to find relaxation recordings which are written and spoken by an author whose experience of writing and speaking relaxation scripts has been gathered over several decades.
The provision of a chapter on staff self-training may be another unusual component. The self-training of staff in stress management is included as part of a whole-school approach to help staff manage their own stress. Keeping in mind the time constraints in schools, the staff self-training is one session only, lasting around 60–90 minutes. This allocates sufficient time for staff to derive some stress management benefit, while becoming familiar with the lesson plans. Self-training also has the potential for allowing staff a better understanding of the training which they will subsequently provide for students.
This programme contains factual information from the stress literature which is backed up by theory on how stress arises and a second theory on how stress can be reduced. These two theories are woven together in the scripts for the audio relaxation recordings. On the surface the relaxation recordings sound simple and they are simple at the point of delivery. Under the surface the scripts have been designed from a robust and complex theoretical basis. It may be unusual to find a training manual which matches theory to practice. We all need explanations about why we are doing what we are doing and why it should work. Theory provides these explanations. The two theories are explained quite fully in the text and concisely in the slides to be shown to students.
Every effort has been made to devise lesson plans which are straightforward and which school staff will be able to absorb quickly and deliver fluently. It may be a slight oversimplification but all you have to do is show some slides, invite students to have a structured discussion and then play the audio relaxation recording.
A stress management lesson: what does it look like?
The core sequence of events for each lesson comprises information input on stress management using PPT slides, followed by structured class discussion for which a list of questions and answers is provided for each slide. The students then listen to a voice recording of a relaxation script which provides direct and straightforward training in stress management skills.
A takeaway at the end of each lesson helps students to practice their relaxation at home under their own guidance. That practice is important as students need to be able to continue the habit of regular relaxation after the course of lessons is over and independently of school staff.
The lesson plans in Chapter 10 are aimed at the full secondary school age range, although they may be particularly valuable in the years when exams are approaching. The lesson plans are designed in a similar way to those offered for staff self-training.
It is possible for a single approach in stress management training to cover all ages of secondary students and school staff because stress management training must always be presented in straightforward terms to any group of participants. People under stress are not in a position to absorb complex methods. The basic principles and techniques of stress management are therefore, of necessity, straightforward. This means that similar stress procedures can be applied across a wide age group of youngsters and adults.
All audio relaxation recordings are provided with this manual as an MP3 download. Each successive relaxation recording contains some repetition of the script before it. This repetition is intentional and useful as it provides students with practice at each type of guided imagery, thinking of a pleasant picture, nice phrase or saying and so on. As with the acquisition of any skill, we improve with practice.
Can we all cope with stress?
Relaxing with a drink may be one way of coping with stress. This may be a helpful way of taking time out to think and adapt to stress. On the other hand, too much drink can lead to disturbed sleep and hangovers, making us less able to cope with the following day’s demands and therefore more susceptible to stress.
Some school staff have hobbies and pursuits, such as reading, gardening and so on, which refresh and renew us psychologically. Nonetheless it can be difficult to maintain these interests under stress. Hobbies take time and thought, both of which can be in short supply when we are under stress. Do you know anybody who was an avid novel reader as a young adult, who hasn’t read a novel for years?
Many members of school staff are aware that physical exercise can be beneficial when a person is stressed. Muscle tension can be dissipated by activity then resting afterwards. Energy levels can be increased when we are more physically fit and eat healthily. Unfortunately taking exercise and planning a healthy diet can be forced off the priority list when we are under stress.
To deal with stress effectively it may help to embark on a specific stress management programme which is aimed at alleviating the mental and physical aspects of stress, without being too time consuming, expensive or impractical. This manual aims to provide that for school staff and students.
Distinguishing between work-related and personal stress
How do we decide whether stress is work related or related to our personal lives? It is possible that we all have personal stress at some point or other in our lives derived from family life, commuting, finances and so on. Work related stress can come from high expectations with too few resources, not always being appreciated by managers, overwork, isolation from colleagues’ support and so on.
However it is possible to untangle personal from work related stress. For example, for many years work related stress has had a basis in law. Under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act, 1974, employers have a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that their workplaces are safe and healthy. Following the Management of Health and Safety Regulations (1993/1999) the interpretation of the 1974 Act was extended to include stress. ‘Ill health resulting from stress caused at work has to be treated the same as ill health due to other, physical causes present in the workplace’ (HSE, 1995, p. 8).
HSE (1995) acknowledges personal stress in relation to domestic or personal circumstances outside work, but the responsibility for dealing with stress showing itself at work, is located within the work setting, as part of the role and function of managers. In other words, if you are stressed during your working life in school, this is work related stress and the school is expected to take that into account. Employers are encouraged to take work-related stress seriously and ensure that excessive stress at work is not seen as a personal problem (HSE, 1995).
A definition of stress
It is important that a definition of stress distinguishes pressure from stress. Pressure can be positive, motivating, help us to achieve our goals and perform more effectively. Stress means we are overloaded with too much pressure, and no recovery time, taking us beyond our capacity to cope. In work related stress we focus on what prompts stress in the design and management of work at school. We define stress as: ‘The adverse reaction people have to excessive pressure or other types of demand placed upon them.’ (HSE, 2003, p. 1).
From a different perspective, a flexible view of this definition allows it to apply to personal stress. Stress occurs when pressure becomes excessive and therefore, for personal stress, we can use the same definition but change the focus, to the things that prompt stress in our personal lives.
It may be useful to know about the distinction between work related and personal stress. However this manual takes the view that we, as individuals, should get on with the job of doing what we can about stress wherever it arises. We might start by thinking about the possibility that we are stressed. If and when we conclude that we are stressed we might admit to ourselves what causes stress in our lives. We are then free to take responsibility to do what we can to alleviate our own stress and act to minimize the chances of stress arising in future.
Teacher managers may continue to do what they can to reduce stress which may be specifically work related, by continuing to improve communication within school, further develop clarity of staff roles, enhance involvement of staff in decision making and so on.
Summary
This is a training manual containing lesson plans for staff who are intending to give stress management tuition to students in secondary schools. Exam stress is included as the fifth lesson, but you need to complete Lessons 1–4 before embarking on Lesson 5. There are nine lessons and a set of relaxation audio recordings included. Students can listen to each recording and follow what it says, in order to receive real world practice in stress management skills. Stress information is provided using PowerPoint (PPT) slides plus discussion guidelines. There are similar materials to provide self-training for school staff.
References
HSE (1995). Stress at Work: A Guide for Employers. Sudbury: HSE Books.
HSE (2003). Draft Management Standards on Work Related Stress: Pilot Project. London: Health and Safety Executive.
Chapter two
Why include stress management in schools?
Schools are concerned with enhancing the wellbeing of their students, although government level documentation often uses the term mental health when describing this area of need. We need a broad understanding of what is meant by the term, mental health.
Mental health means a state of wellbeing
The term mental health, internationally, is described as a state of wellbeing. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health is ‘a state of well-being in which the individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community’ (World Health Organization, 2004).
In other words mental health is not like physical health, with recovery from bodily illness achieved through medication or other treatment. Achieving a state of wellbeing is a learning process: it is educational rather than medical and therefore falls within the scope of schools. As an educational process it is for everybody and achieved progressively over time. The development of wellbeing in students is something which naturally interests school staff.
In this manual for schools the term wellbeing is preferred to the term mental health with its medical implications. Schools are concerned with meeting the needs of everyone and everyone needs to develop wellbeing, but not everybody is ill. Wellbeing seems to be the preferred term for those working in education.
Schools focus on the emotional, psychological, and social wellbeing of students, including how they think,...
