Why rest matters for teacher mental health and wellbeing this Easter

The Easter holidays arrive and, at last, term ends. You can finally stop. But for many teachers, rest does not come too easily and instead the teacher guilt creeps in. The to do list grows and what should feel like a break starts to feel like another race to catch up. Teacher wellbeing can suffer even during the holidays, especially when Easter becomes the time to finish everything that didn’t fit into last term and get ahead of the pressure waiting next term.

Should you already be planning next half term? Sorting resources? Catching up on the jobs at home that never seem to happen during the school week?

If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. You’re a teacher in a profession where overwork has become so normal that rest can start to feel irresponsible.

That is exactly why this matters. Resting this Easter might be one of the most productive things you do.

The pressure on teachers to use school holidays productively

For many teachers, school holidays do not feel like proper time off. They feel like borrowed time. Time to catch up. Time to get ahead. Time to become the organised version of yourself you never quite manage to be in term time.

But the evidence suggests this pressure is not just in your head.

The Department for Education’s Working lives of teachers and leaders research continues to show that workload and teacher wellbeing remain major issues for teachers in England.

Education Support’s Teacher Wellbeing Index 2025 paints an even starker picture. It found that 76% of education staff are stressed, 77% experience symptoms of poor mental health due to work and 36% are at risk of probable clinical depression.

That is not a sign that individual teachers need to try harder, it’s a sign that many are carrying too much for far too long.

Why rest matters for teacher wellbeing

There is a body of occupational psychology research showing that recovery from work is not a nice extra. It is part of staying well and functioning properly.

One of the most useful ideas here is psychological detachment. In simple terms, that means mentally switching off from work during non-work time. Not just leaving the building but getting a break from the constant thinking, replaying and planning.

Research by Fritz and Sonnentag identified psychological detachment as one of the key recovery experiences that help people unwind from work. Later research by Shimazu and colleagues found that better psychological detachment during non-work time was associated with better mental health and teacher wellbeing .

That matters for teachers because teaching is not a job you always leave at the classroom door. It follows you home in the form of marking, planning, low-level worry and the mental tabs that never quite close.

And when recovery does not happen, the effects build up.

A large study by Kreuzfeld and colleagues found that teachers working more than 45 hours a week were more likely to struggle to recover and more likely to experience emotional exhaustion and teacher guilt than those working under 40 hours. In other words, long hours do not just take time. They also make it harder to get the benefit of the time you do have off.

Why rest helps you be a better teacher

Rest is not what happens once you have finished everything. In teaching, you rarely finish everything. There is always another tweak, another lesson to improve, another class that could do with a bit more thought, a report to write, a seating plan to adjust, a display that needs refreshing, the list goes on.

If rest only happens when the list is complete, it will never happen.

So perhaps the better question is not, have I earned a break? Perhaps the question should be, what do I need to do in order to teach well next term without running myself into the ground?

Because a rested teacher is not a less committed teacher. A rested teacher is more likely to have the patience, clarity and energy that good teaching actually depends on.

What teachers can do this Easter instead of working all holiday

This does not have to mean doing nothing at all. For some teachers, a small amount of preparation genuinely helps them relax and can actually improve their teacher wellbeing. The key is to be intentional, not swallowed by it.

Here are five practical ways to make next term feel easier without sacrificing the whole of your Easter holiday.

1. Choose one priority only

Pick one thing that would make the biggest difference next term.

Because when everything feels urgent it’s easy to believe you need to sort all of it at once. But that usually ends with Easter disappearing under a pile of half-finished plans and you going back to school more tired than when you broke up.

A narrow focus helps you shut out the noise. It makes decisions easier. It gives you a better chance of actually following through.

2. Decide your stopping point before you start

If you know you’ll feel calmer doing a bit of work, decide in advance where it ends.

Without a clear stopping point, one small job has a habit of turning into five. You open one file, remember three other things and suddenly the holiday starts to feel like term time in casual clothes.

You might decide to do no more schoolwork after the first weekend and then enjoy the rest of your time off. Or maybe you prefer to relax at the start and then get going at the end so your boundary could be that you agree not to look at work until the last two days of the holiday.

The important part is setting the boundary before the work expands to fill your entire holiday because we know it would if we let it.

3. Reuse before you reinvent

Not every lesson needs to be brand new to be effective.

When you’re tired, trying to reinvent everything can make planning take longer and teaching feel harder. You spend more time second-guessing, more time tweaking and usually end up more drained before the lesson has even started.

Reusing a resource you already trust, adapting something that worked well before or simplifying what you had planned is not cutting corners.

4. Protect proper days off

If you can’t resist working, reserve time where school is simply not allowed to encroach at all.

No emails. No quick checks. No opening your laptop for one tiny job that somehow steals half the afternoon.

Proper time off can feel uncomfortable at first, especially if your brain is still running through lists and lessons and all the things you meant to get done. But plan to have a few days off and stick to them like a non-negotiable appointment.

Why switching off during the holidays feels hard for teachers

For many teachers, resting is difficult not because they are bad at boundaries but because the work waiting on the other side is so heavy.

It is much easier to switch off when you are not carrying the feeling that next term depends entirely on what you build in your holiday.

That is one reason I created Computing Classroom.

It is not there to give teachers one more thing to keep up with. It is there to lighten the load. With ready-to-use units and ongoing support, it is designed to help you feel more prepared without sacrificing every evening, weekend and holiday to planning.

If that sounds like the kind of support you need, you can have a look at Computing Classroom.

A final reminder for teachers before the Easter holidays start

You do not need to earn your break. Rest is not a reward for finishing everything, it is part of what makes it possible to keep teaching well.

So if you need permission this Easter to do less, here it is.

Do one thing if it helps, let the rest wait, close the laptop and eat far too much chocolate whilst you do whatever make you feel happy.

FAQs

1. Why do teachers feel guilty during the Easter holidays?

Many teachers feel guilty during the Easter holidays because school culture often treats time off as catch-up time. Instead of feeling like a proper break, the holidays can feel like a chance to get ahead on planning, marking or resource preparation. When workload is already high, rest can start to feel undeserved even though it is essential for teacher wellbeing.

2. Why is rest important for teacher wellbeing?

Rest is important for teacher wellbeing because teaching is emotionally demanding as well as mentally draining. Time off helps teachers recover from workload, stress and constant decision-making. Without proper rest, it becomes much harder to return to school with the patience, energy and clarity that good teaching requires.

3. How can teachers switch off during the school holidays?

Teachers can switch off during the school holidays by setting a clear boundary around work, choosing one priority instead of trying to do everything and protecting proper days off where school is not allowed to creep in. For some people, doing a small amount of preparation helps. The key is to make it intentional rather than letting work fill the whole holiday.

4. Is it normal for teachers to feel stressed during the holidays?

Yes, it is very normal for teachers to feel stressed during the holidays. If the term has been intense, it can take time for your mind and body to slow down. Many teachers carry mental load into the break, especially if they are worrying about next term, unfinished jobs or unrealistic expectations. Feeling this way does not mean you're doing holidays wrong.

5. How can teachers protect their wellbeing during Easter?

Teachers can protect their wellbeing during Easter by allowing themselves to rest without trying to earn it first. That might mean limiting schoolwork, reusing existing resources, keeping plans simple and making space for things that genuinely help them recover. Protecting your wellbeing over Easter is not lazy. It is part of what helps you teach sustainably next term.