Teachers are being encouraged to “think like athletes” in order to cope with stress in lockdown and maintain their energy levels under pressure.
The coaching is being delivered by former world champion Thai boxer Rachael Mackenzie, who is sharing some of her coping strategies to deal with stress, including a meditation technique to lower heart rate and gain focus, which she used in changing rooms before bouts.
The coaching is part of a week-long programme of online sessions known as “Empathy Week”, which is mainly designed to give teachers the latest help and advice on teaching PE and sport during the pandemic - both remotely and in schools.
However, the session with Rachael Mackenzie is intended to encourage teachers themselves to take physical activity every day in order to improve their performance.
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A spokesperson for the Youth Sport Trust charity, which is running the sessions, said: “Rachael will talk about the fight or flight response and how this will impact teacher wellbeing. It will ultimately help teachers to think like an athlete.
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“It [her session] will provide teachers with top tips from the research and learnings athletes use to compete and train around sleep, regulating emotions and lowering heart rates through a quick meditation technique, as well as how they can cope under pressure every day and develop healthy habits.
“Rachael will also talk about the importance of teachers ensuring they get some form of physical activity every day to focus and have better performance.
“We are targeting PE teachers predominantly, but we welcome all teachers to join. It will be open to all of them.”
In other sessions, teachers can gain ideas and practical solutions for teaching PE remotely, including how using apps like TikTok can remove barriers and make PE fun and accessible for those children who wouldn’t usually engage.
Other sessions will help teachers to prepare for a return to school and address worsening confidence and competence levels in pupils.
The free sessions run from 22 to 26 February.
See the full programme here, including the session with Rachael Mackenzie between noon and 1pm on Wednesday, 24 February.
