Home - The Resilience Project

Why the Resilience Project?

Recruitment, Retention and Resilience are intertwined and have become the new Three Rs. If we accept that Recruitment is hard, then Retention becomes that much more important. If Retention is hard, then Resilience becomes the key. Put simply, we need to start more conversations in school about well-being and Resilience. Luckily, The Resilience Project can do just that and can provide you with multiple ways to start this vital dialogue.

Firstly, I have published three books for teachers:

LIFT! – Going Up If Teaching Gets You Down

RISK: Signposting better choices to more adventurous teaching

SPIN: Time and task management in teaching

Each book offers 39 ways (one for each week in the academic year) to start a conversation about resilience in general, its impact on decision making and on how to manage your to do list. They are all designed to provoke reflection that in turn will lead to a discussion about staff well-being.

You can listen to a sample chapter of each on the links below:
LIFT! is now available on Audible. Narrated by me, and shared to help teachers cope with the challenges they face. Have a listen to a sample of LIFT! on Audible.

Secondly, ‘The Resilience Project’ can offer support through consultancy with myself. In the ‘How I Deliver’ section, I highlight the benefits of working in this way and how it can spark a conversation in the workplace; through staff meetings, INSET provision or 1-2-1 coaching.

Thirdly, I have written some online CPD material for teachers through Discovery Education (endorsed by NAHT) and Anspear (endorsed by NASBTT). Both are subscription-based websites and you can enquire about them by following the links.

Click the image below to get a taster of my resilience course for Discovery.

Click the image below to see my interview with Andrew Hammond where I introduce the concept of IF, OUR and WHEN:

About Me

My name is David Gumbrell, author and speaker on resilience and well-being. I have been a teacher in Surrey for over 20 years, in five different schools across the county. I have worked my way up from NQT to Headship, holding positions of responsibility, including NQT mentoring, along the way. Throughout my career, I always endeavoured to develop a team, to nurture an individual teacher’s career and to protect the well-being of children and staff. The Resilience Project is a natural progression to this and I now offer you a diverse range of opportunities to get a conversation on resilience started in your school or context.

Published Work

Children’s Book

There are three sample chapters within the ‘Look Inside’ feature. Or you can listen to the wonderful Rehannah Mian reading R is for Rainbow.

Academic Articles

I am a proud fellow of CollectivEd and I have written two articles (one jointly with Hannah Wilson) on the importance of mentoring:

An Alien Act, a Hoover and No Socks!

Virtual Reality Mentoring. A think piece working paper

Blogs

During the Covid crisis, I became part of the wonderful ‘500 Word Challenge’ conceived by Ethical Leader. Here are a sample:

https://medium.com/me/stories/public

I am proud to work alongside colleagues of Bowden Education. I have presented webinar and written blogs for them. Here is a sample:

https://www.bowdeneducation.org/post/what-connects-spirulina-guarana-and-baobab

Endorsements

For Lift

Lift! is a joy to read – a valuable book to dip in and out of throughout a teacher’s career! Full of fascinating facts, engaging ideas and thought-provoking reflections, the chapters provide a treasure trove for any teacher who is striving to retain the essential professional sparkle needed in a resilient teacher.

Professor Anna-Lise Gordon, Director of the Institute of Education at St Mary’s University, London.

For Risk

This is a welcome addition to sources of much needed support available for trainees and early career teachers. It is presented in a way that is practical and quickly accessible, meaning that they can pick up and learn from it in bite sized chunks – so important in this incredibly busy, sometimes overly pressurised time. The advice is easily actionable but appropriately underpinned by research and evidence and will be an invaluable addition to any busy teacher’s toolkit.

Professor Samantha Twiselton, Director of Sheffield Institute of Education at Sheffield Hallam University

For Amazing A-Z of Resilience

Look no further! The Amazing A-Z of Resilience is, as the title suggests, AMAZING! David Gumbrell’s unique creativity has brought to us a fun-based, practical resource that will support adults in helping children to build their resilience . . . I can’t wait to share David’s outstanding book with my Grandchildren.

Dr Neil Hawkes, Founder of Values-based Education International (VbE)

For 1-2-1 Training

David has an intuitive understanding of the needs of new teachers. He is an expert listener. He offered me a fresh take on things, along with practical solutions to professional challenges which have had a positive impact on my work life balance. The advice suddenly stops after you complete your NQT year and the sessions with David have certainly helped bridge this gap and enabled me to continue to develop my practice.

Teacher at The Chandler School

For INSET provision

I loved the metaphors, clear messages and top tips. The length of the session was great. It meant that you could really focus on what was being said and ask questions. I felt it worked really well. The instruction was clear. I shall stop asking, ‘How are you?’ and focus on being one more on the resilience scale – for myself and others. I shall also be more determined to look after number one – especially focusing on eating, drinking and sleeping properly, as well as doing something for me and connecting with my family.

Headteacher from Bedfordshire.