78% of staff in the education sector report feeling stressed in their role, with 1 in 5 teachers in large multi-academy trusts having left in the past year – a turnover rate that disrupts continuity, increases pressure on remaining staff, and risks damaging student outcomes.
The wellbeing crisis in the education sector is deepening, and those responsible for leading the next generation of school leaders are facing mounting pressure to deliver excellence while navigating unprecedented levels of stress and operational challenge.
This is why we have developed this bespoke employee wellbeing framework to give MAT leaders a clear, evidence-based roadmap for tackling the root causes of stress and attrition, using both proven people strategies and the latest AI-enabled tools to create a healthier, more resilient workforce.
In this blog
The education wellbeing crisis cannot wait
The 4 pillars of staff wellbeing
The education wellbeing crisis cannot wait
To put things into perspective, the NEU reported that only 1% of teachers feel their workload is always manageable. The same research found that teachers in large MATs work an average of 52 hours a week, far above the UK’s 48-hour Working Time Regulation limit, with 41% of MAT teachers regularly cancelling personal plans due to workload pressures.
However, it isn’t just teaching staff who are feeling the pressure; teaching assistants, support staff, and even early-career teachers are also leaving the profession.
Sadly, the consequences of high turnover reach far beyond the staffroom, with the Education Policy Institute highlighting a clear link between staff turnover and declines in pupil attendance and attainment.
For MAT and education leaders, acting decisively here is not about incremental improvement – it’s about safeguarding organisational resilience, protecting educational standards, and sustaining long-term stability.
The 4 pillars of staff wellbeing
This framework brings together the precision of AI with the empathy of human-first leadership to turn employee wellbeing from an abstract concept into a strategic lever for retention, resilience, and performance.
1. Payroll confidence
Payroll errors on its own can have long-lasting repercussions for morale, engagement, and retention.
Add to this, research shedding light on the sheer amount of school support staff skipping meals, delaying medical care, and taking on extra jobs to cope with the cost-of-living crisis – payroll errors can have severe personal consequences. And for the education sector with its mix of contracts, pay scales, pension schemes, and allowances, the stakes are even higher.
However, AI-enabled HR and payroll systems can transform this high-risk process by:
- Automatically flagging anomalies before payslips go out
- Integrating complex pay rules and pension requirements seamlessly
- Ensuring full compliance with Teachers’ Pensions MDC/MCR reporting.
- Offering early access to accrued wages to ease financial stress
It is with this level of precision that you can minimise payroll-related HR cases, safeguard staff financial wellbeing, and free HR teams to focus on proactive, value-adding initiatives. Let’s not forget stronger retention through a consistently reliable employee experience.
2. Communication & access
In large and geographically dispersed organisations such as multi-academy trusts, keeping all staff in the loop in real-time is a challenge on its own. However, just as with any relationship, poor communication and limited access to information can quickly erode engagement and trust.
This is why modern 24/7 mobile self-service HR and payroll platforms empower your staff to securely manage payslips, leave requests, and rotas without chasing HR, giving them control over key aspects of their working life.
Just as we maintain meaningful, real-time connections with family and friends through social platforms, MAT leaders can adopt similar principles to bridge the communication gap between staff and management by leveraging the organisation’s own secure internal communications platform. This ensures that updates, resources, and key messages are delivered (and tracked) in a timely, consistent, and accessible way.
The impact? Greater autonomy for staff, stronger engagement, and a more connected, informed workforce.
3. Proactive support
In a sector where burnout often builds silently until it becomes a crisis, the ability to spot early warning signs is an absolute leadership imperative.
Take workload, for example. 44% of teachers say they plan to leave by 2027, citing workload as the top driver. But if you could monitor work schedules, engagement or pulse rates, along with absence levels (and more), you can give your leaders real-time visibility into patterns that the human eye alone might miss.
With these insights, your team and Trust leaders can intervene before small issues escalate – whether that means redistributing workload, offering targeted CPD, or enabling flexible working arrangements for at-risk staff.
This turns wellbeing into a proactive retention strategy. One where staff see evidence that their trust is committed to both their immediate health and their long-term career progression.
4. Human-first AI
In education, the promise of AI is about giving your people the tools, insights, and breathing space they need to thrive.
Just imagine every employee having a 24/7 AI in HR assistant that can instantly answer questions about payslips, leave policies, or CPD opportunities, without adding to HR’s workload.
That is human-first AI: tools that never replace leadership but enhance it.
AI provides the insight, but people make the decisions, ensuring every recommendation aligns with the trust’s culture, values, and commitment to staff wellbeing.
The impact? Faster answers, fairer workloads, richer career conversations, and a culture where technology amplifies empathy rather than eroding it.
The outcome
When all 4 pillars work together, staff wellbeing stops being a reactive initiative and instead becomes best practice. Workloads are balanced, pay is accurate and timely, communication is clear and accessible, risks are addressed before they escalate, and AI acts as a supportive partner rather than a cold replacement.
The result is a workforce that’s more engaged, more resilient, and more likely to stay – even in a sector facing some of its toughest recruitment and retention challenges in decades. Staff can focus on teaching and learning, confident that their trust values their time, supports their growth, and safeguards their wellbeing.
Key takeaways
- The wellbeing crisis in education is growing. School leaders face increasing pressure to deliver excellence amid rising stress and operational challenges.
- MAT leaders can tackle stress and attrition by combining effective people strategies with AI-enabled tools.
- Self-service HR tools, for example, empower your staff with real-time access, strengthening engagement.
- Data-driven insights help leaders spot early signs of burnout, enabling timely interventions that improve wellbeing.
- AI enhances (not replaces) leadership by providing instant support and insights.
- When the 4 pillars – payroll confidence, communication & access, proactive support, and human-first AI work together – MATs can ultimately build a healthier, more resilient workforce.
Tailored solutions, tangible impact
Every MAT is different – your challenges, culture, and ambitions are unique. That’s why our approach starts with understanding your world and tailoring solutions to your needs.
See how Zellis’ AI-enabled HR, WFM, and payroll solutions can help your trust protect staff wellbeing, boost retention, and unlock more time for teaching and learning.
