ASPIRE to Wellbeing in School with Dr Sue Roffey

How do we support the wellbeing of teachers, as well as their students and young people at a time of great change, challenge and uncertainty?

Dr Sue Roffey is a psychologist, academic, author, activist and speaker. She is currently an honorary professor at universities in the UK and Australia and the Director of Growing Great Schools Worldwide.  

In this wide ranging conversation with Sue, we discuss:

• Focussing on things within a teacher’s control.
• What “social capital” is, and we develop it in school.
• Why we should stop talking about social distancing.
• The importance of belonging and connecting with each other in school.
• Her ASPIRE principles:
  • Agency: Giving people a voice and responsibility.
  • Safety: Physical and emotional safety. Mistakes are welcome as a pathway to learning.
  • Positivity: Positive psychology. Focussing on kindness, gratitude and play. 
  • Inclusion: Welcoming everybody, regardless. Giving everybody a role so they can participate. Fostering the sense of belonging.
  • Respect: Good listening, not making quick judgments or assumptions, empower others.
  • Equality: How do we enable everyone to develop their strengths?

Sue is a prolific author, having written chapters, blogs and numerous books on issues related to school and student wellbeing such as behaviour, relationships and social/emotional learning.

You can connect with Sue:

On Twitter 

Her website is Growing Great Schools Worldwide.com

Her TedX Talk is School as Family Education Aligned with Healthy Child Development.

Her books are available on her website:

• The Primary Behaviour Cookbook.
• The Secondary Behaviour Cookbook.
• Circle Solutions for Student Wellbeing.

You can connect with Pursuit:

Take our 2-minute quiz and get your personal plan to help reduce anxiety and transform your wellbeing.

Find out more about our 5-Step Wellbeing Action Plan online course.