How to Rebuild Confidence After a Difficult Term

(When You’re Tired, Burnt Out, and Doubting Yourself)

You’ve nearly made it to the end of term, but instead of feeling proud or accomplished, you feel… empty.

Maybe your lessons didn’t land the way they used to.
Maybe behaviour challenges wore down your resolve.
Maybe you’ve stretched yourself so thin, there’s nothing left to give.
And somewhere along the way, you’ve started asking yourself, “Am I even good at this anymore?”

You’re not alone.

Confidence doesn’t usually disappear overnight. It erodes - slowly, silently - until one day, you wake up and feel like a stranger in your own classroom. The teacher who once stood tall and self-assured now second-guesses every decision, every word, every lesson plan.

And the data backs this up.

According to a survey by Tes, only 38% of school staff in the UK currently feel confident performing their role - a staggering drop from 79% just the year before. That means more than 6 in 10 teachers are struggling with confidence right now.

And it’s not just about the role in general. Confidence in subject knowledge is also wavering. The Department for Education’s “Working Lives of Teachers and Leaders” report found that 32% of teachers are not confident in at least one subject they’re expected to teach - an alarming sign of how deep this issue runs.

The reasons are varied but painfully familiar:

·       Curriculum overload

·       Behavioural challenges

·       Unsustainable workloads

·       Lack of recognition or support

·       Feeling undervalued or stuck in survival mode

When you’re caught in that storm - spinning from class to class, responsibility to responsibility - it’s easy to lose sight of your strengths. To forget that once, you walked into your classroom with certainty and purpose.

But here’s something you may not have considered:

You’re not failing.
You’re not broken.
You’re burnt out - and there’s a way back.

This blog isn’t about quick fixes or toxic positivity. It’s about recognising that your confidence hasn’t disappeared - it’s simply been buried under layers of exhaustion, pressure, and self-doubt.

The shortest way out of the storm… is through it.

And here’s the thing:
If this erosion of confidence is left unchecked, it becomes more than just a professional struggle - it starts to shape your whole identity.

You begin to show up differently.
Not just at school, but at home. With your family. In how you speak to yourself.
You second-guess things you used to do instinctively.
You start playing small.
You say “yes” when your whole body is screaming “no.”
You dread Monday before Friday has even ended.

Many teachers live in this cycle term after term, telling themselves, “It’ll be better next time.”
But hope without change becomes a trap.

And what if the real truth is this:
You were never meant to keep pushing through at this pace.
You’re not weak for feeling like this - you’re human.
And maybe it’s not about pushing through anymore.
Maybe it’s about pausing long enough to face what’s really going on - and beginning again, from a place of compassion.

The Bufalo

There’s a metaphor I love about the buffalo and the storm. When cows sense a storm approaching, they run away from it. But they’re slower than the storm - so it catches them. And they end up running with the storm, stuck in it for longer.

Buffalo do the opposite.
They turn toward the storm - and run straight through it.
Because they face it head-on, they spend less time in the chaos.

When I finally admitted I was burnt out, I realised I’d been running for years. I kept adding, pushing, giving - thinking I could outrun the heaviness. But it caught up with me. My confidence was the first casualty.

Everything changed when I stopped.
Paused.
Turned around.
And chose to walk into the storm.

That’s when healing began. That’s when I started to rebuild as a person.

The benefits of coaching

Many of the teachers I work with now say the same thing:
“I didn’t know how bad it had gotten until I finally stopped.”

They describe feeling like they’ve “lost their spark,” or that they “used to be confident.”
But here’s the truth:

·       Your confidence isn’t gone - it’s just buried under survival mode.

·       Rebuilding it doesn’t require perfection. It requires presence.

·       And sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is pause.

I want you to know…

If you’re reading this and thinking, “That’s me,” - I want you to know:
You don’t have to figure it out alone.

I offer clarity calls for burnt-out teachers who want to reclaim their confidence - whether they’re staying in education or exploring what’s next.

Together, we’ll face your storm - and move through it.

📅 Book a free clarity call today 📅:
 https://thehub-api.mastermind.com/widget/booking/p8dRhdICwt6wTdoyhABd

You’ve already done the hardest part: recognising the storm is there.
Now, take the next step.
You don’t need to sprint. You just need to turn and face it - one brave breath at a time.

Let’s rebuild your confidence together.