It has been five years since we started The Flourish Movement™ program (TFM). It all started with a call from a small group of rural NSW school principals, led by Bob Willetts and the support of our founding client, the NSW Primary Principals Association. We started with a very clear mission to improve the wellbeing, effectiveness, and mental health of school leaders. In that time our data (independently measured by Deakin University) has told us that the program has made a significant impact on a group of people who show up each day and do one of the most challenging jobs we have ever come across. During this time, we were also fuelled by the countless messages we got from school leaders about the significant shifts that have come from being part of the program. 

However, to fulfil the true vision we had for TFM, a number of critical and potentially scary questions had to be asked. They are:

• Do the effects of the program last beyond the final data collection?

• Are the school leaders continuing to implement the tools and principles they have been taught?

• Do we see a fundamental shift in their mindset around how they live, in order to manage their wellbeing, effectiveness and mental health?
  
  

To find out the answer to these questions, Deakin University studied school leaders who had finished the program more than 12 months, and up to 48 months ago. We were delighted with the outcomes of the study which showed that the impact of The Flourish Movement™ is long lasting. This not only validates the program’s design and content, but also shows that if school leaders are given evidence-based strategies, peer support and behaviour change methodologies, they can make substantial changes in their lives. They are amazing at adapting their behaviour to work and live in a way that improves their wellbeing, increases their longevity in the role and improves how effective they are.

The Flourish Movement™ remains one of the few wellbeing programs for school leaders that has an independent university measure its outcomes, and the only one we have been made aware of to measure the sustainability of the changes seen. We hope to inspire other programs to bring this level of rigour to their practice, so we have greater clarity around what model and content brings positive and measurable outcomes for their participants.