From burnout to breakthrough: Ex-teacher launches movement to save her colleagues
In 2022, I hit breaking point. After nearly two decades as a music teacher, I found myself waking every morning with a heavy sense of dread. Over the span of four years, I’d moved between four different schools hoping that a change of environment might help. But it didn’t. Instead, I found myself crying almost every week, feeling like a shell of who I used to be. It was as though my life was happening around me and I was just standing still, watching.
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Eventually, my GP prescribed me medication for anxiety and depression. That moment forced me to stop pretending everything was fine and finally admit that I was struggling — really struggling.
I felt so alone. It wasn’t until I was offered some counselling in 2023 that I began to turn a corner. Talking really is the best therapy; it offered me the opportunity to share my feelings and express the emotions I’d been bottling up for years.
I knew that if I was feeling this way, there were thousands of other teachers out there silently battling the same emotional exhaustion, disconnection and burnout. This journey ultimately led me to launch The Teacher’s Compass — a supportive online and in-person community for educators who are feeling overwhelmed, disillusioned or simply in need of a safe space to talk. It’s a wellbeing-focused community for teachers who are feeling like they’ve forgotten who they are outside the classroom.
I didn’t want to walk away from teaching and simply shut the door behind me. I wanted to reach back, open that door wider and say to others: "You are not alone — and you don’t have to keep pretending you’re okay."
The Teacher’s Compass is here to offer support, guidance and a safe space to simply be, with no pressure and no judgment. I don’t want to encourage teachers to leave the profession; we need them now more than ever. But I do want to help them find themselves again, to feel joy, purpose and connection in their lives.
We currently have local groups in Cannock, Lichfield, Pelsall and Aldridge where teachers can meet face to face for real conversations and shared understanding — something so many of us have been missing. I also run an affordable online membership where we focus on mindset, mental health and small, practical steps towards feeling better.
My mission is simple: to make sure no teacher feels like they have to suffer in silence. If we don’t support the people standing in front of our classrooms, we risk losing not just great teachers — but the spark that brings our schools and children to life.
