We cannot afford to ignore the psychological health of teachers. Nor can we assume that those in positions of school leadership receive enough affirmation from the exercise of power to sustain them in their lonely, isolated positions. Conscious of this, in 1996 a certain local education authority in the English midlands offered £2,000 for personal development and training to each of the principals of its eighty-seven schools. Almost nobody applied. They felt they were too busy, that the school would cease to function without them and, anyway, they couldn't see the need for it. Sad, because everybody in the school would have benefited from having a re-energised    re-enthused principal who might have learned some new skills and acquired new knowledge into the bargain.

Best practice tells us that we must develop strategies for teacher self-care, for interpersonal support and for institutional support . Management needs to "stroke down" to its teachers, while teachers need to "stroke up" to management. We need systems and procedures that will identify and analyse signs of breakdown and burn-out and take preventive action.

One large school in Scotland had recently built a gym exclusively for the use of the staff, While few schools in Ireland might be in a position to provide such a facility , why not start with some aerobics in the staff-room - before lunch?

Carol Hall can be contacted  at                      carol.hall@nottingham.ac.uk