In the UK, 77 per cent of education staff experience poor mental health and 41 per cent of teachers intend to leave by 2028. In response to sobering like these, our research explored what can be done at the ground level in schools to support teachers in what can be a very rewarding, but also very challenging profession. Our suggests schools can support teachers鈥� resilience 鈥� their capacity to thrive in their work 鈥� by cultivating self-determination and adopting 鈥渨ork-smart鈥� strategies. But it also highlights the need for broader systemic change. For teachers to feel resilient in their work, they need to feel a strong sense of self-determination, a term used in psychology to describe fulfilment of three core needs鈥� Relatedness 鈥� feeling a strong sense of connection to your work Autonomy 鈥� feeling you have control over your work Competence 鈥� feeling confident about being able to do your job Below are some examples of the kinds of things that teachers felt were important in relation to each of these needs. Relatedness Teachers talked frequently about how important it was to feel supported at work, both practically and emotionally, often describing their colleagues as the thing that keeps them going. Feeling valued was also important. Teachers indicated that school leaders can help them with this by providing more regular praise and recognition for their work. They also highlighted that it was hard to feel valued where there is a perpetual focus on what needs to be improved. Autonomy Teachers talked about the importance of feeling trusted to make professional judgments. They suggested this could be supported at the school level to some extent through flexible policies that allow teachers to adapt their teaching to the needs and interests of the pupils. However, it was noted that the amount of flexibility that can be adopted in schools is highly constrained by external factors like the standardisation of practices across multi-academy trusts and the dominant focus on pupil data. Competence Our research suggests feeling competent is not just about teachers having the right skills and knowledge. It鈥檚 also about feeling effective in the moment when trying to navigate the complexities of teachers鈥� day-to-day work. Teachers reported that while they welcomed additional training, for example, in relation to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), they also needed ongoing support in relation to how to put this training into practice in the context of serious staffing issues and a lack of funding for SEND assessment and support. In addition to strategies for supporting self-determination, teachers and leaders also suggested that 鈥榳ork-smart鈥� strategies are important for supporting teacher resilience. These fell under three broad approaches. Work scope This involves focusing on what matters most and deprioritising or letting go of the rest. For example, some schools implemented 鈥渟top weeks鈥�, when they got rid of all additional activities (like meetings, visits, clubs etc) for one week each half term, allowing teachers to just focus on their core role. Teachers noted, though, that reducing the scope of their work is easier said than done given the high expectations on schools. As one secondary leader put it: 鈥淗ow do you cut workload when it’s all important?鈥� Work redesign This is about adapting the way things are done to reduce workload, for example streamlining the reporting of behaviour incidents, shifting towards live marking and reducing the number of assessments. These changes were welcomed by teachers, but in some cases were eventually reversed over worries about the potential impact on standards. Redistribution of demands and resources This involves shuffling events, initiatives and deadlines around in the school calendar to avoid staff feeling overwhelmed and juggling staff around to try to ensure teachers鈥� planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) time remains protected. This was described as being 鈥渓ike a game of Tetris鈥� because of excessive demands on schools and a lack of slack in the system in terms of staffing. Our research shows that schools are creatively using a range of approaches to try to develop teachers鈥� resilience, but highlights there is only so much that school leaders can do to support teachers within the current education system. Broader systemic changes are needed if teachers are to truly thrive. Teachers spoke frequently about the need for more funding for staffing and SEND support, an accountability system that is supportive rather than punitive and a curriculum and assessment framework that allows them to adopt a more person-centred approach to their teaching.