You're allowed to have a life: Reclaiming the person behind the profession

It’s an all-too-common story in education: a role that began as a vocation, full of purpose and promise, gradually stretches to fill every waking hour. Planning creeps into evenings. Emails ping well after dinner. Weekends become catch-up time. And slowly, the person behind the profession fades into the background.

One of the most quietly radical things an educator – especially a leader – can do in today’s culture is to remember: you’re allowed to have a life.

Letting go of guilt

Many teachers and leaders carry a deep sense of guilt when they take time for themselves. There’s always more to do. The stakes feel too high. The culture, at times, can seem to celebrate self-sacrifice and relentless availability. And yet, no job – not even one as significant as educating children – can thrive if it consumes the whole self.

Education Support’s Teacher Wellbeing Index consistently shows that leaders who take steps to protect their time, energy, and identity outside of work report higher resilience, lower burnout, and better long-term retention. The research is clear: when we invest in ourselves, everyone benefits – including the communities we serve.

Reconnecting with the rest of you

It’s worth asking: who are you beyond your role? What brings you joy, rest, or meaning outside of school?

• Are you still reading for pleasure – not just for CPD?

• Do you see friends who know nothing about Ofsted?

• When was the last time you did something just for the fun of it?

You don’t need to earn the right to rest or joy. You don’t have to reach the bottom of the to-do list first (spoiler: there is no bottom). You are allowed to protect your time. You are allowed to log off. You are allowed to be more than your role.

Modelling the message

When leaders show that it’s possible to live a full life alongside their professional responsibilities, they send a powerful message to their teams: it’s safe to be human here.

This might look like:

• Not replying to emails outside of working hours – and reassuring your team that they don’t need to either.

• Talking openly about your hobbies, holidays or family time in staff briefings.

• Protecting diary space for non-negotiables like exercise, children’s events, or quiet time – and encouraging others to do the same.

A reminder, not a reprimand

This message isn’t about adding guilt on top of guilt. It’s a gentle reminder that you matter. Not because of how many hours you work or how much you give, but because you are a whole person – with needs, hopes, and a life beyond the school gates.

So if you needed permission today: here it is.

You’re allowed to have a life. And in doing so, you may just become an even better, more grounded, and more sustainable leader.