How To Tell Your Pupils You're Leaving
Joanne Howard 
You've made the decision. You've spoken to your head you have a leaving date and everything! 😁 Soooo when and how do you tell your pupils?
Having discussed this within the Academy, I've broken this down into a few key points which I hope will help, as and when you're in this situation... it will vary of course depending on the ages/needs of the pupils, but in the main I'm writing this as if telling a primary aged class who may need more support.
1 - Who do I tell in what order?
I would have a clear conversation with your line manager/headteacher about when they intend to inform the staff (if they haven't already) and when they intend to tell the parents.
They will likely want the parents to know before the pupils, especially if you are leaving part way through the year! Often schools will want to have recruited and have someone named ready to share at the same time if this is the case so make sure you're clear on the plan.
If they are unsure when, ask them to inform you in advance so you can talk to the pupils yourself.
2 - How will the parents be told?
Be clear on the narrative that the head is going to share with the parents and how i.e. via weekly newsletter, email etc.
Ask to include a couple of sentences yourself if this makes you feel better about how this is framed. If you're leaving for your mental health, then sharing you're looking forward to taking more time to spend with your family etc is reason enough.
3 - When should I tell my pupils?
If possible, telling them the same day as their parents are informed will help make sure some parents haven't already discussed your leaving with their child before you've had a chance to talk to the whole class.
Check with head if they have any preference about when you tell your class and how - they may want to announce this to the whole school for example if Primary.
When to share may also depend on when they're advertising your post - is their priority to share the news in case rumours of your leaving start to circulate or do they want someone ready to fill your shoes first?
With older pupils there may also be a concern that you will lose engagement. Reframing this to make this the best term yet might help in some instances...
4 - What time of day do I tell Primary aged pupils?
Depending on the age of your pupils, you may be concerned they'll be upset by the news.
Practically you can play it two ways:
a). Tell them earlier enough in the day so they can ask lots of questions and they're "defused" by the time they go home.
b). Tell them in the afternoon to allow time for questions but then send them home to chat through with parents/carers.
It really does depend on the needs of the class but after a full day hopefully most worries will be eased.
5 - Will they feel like I'm moving on to something "better"?
When you're leaving due to work-related stress/pressures, I think it's important to say to them you're going to explain to them why you're leaving as you would to another adult/friend/colleague and are going to be honest.
By explaining that you love teaching them and spending your day with them etc but are finding it difficult to look after your own family and yourself as well, you'll likely have several pupils telling you all about how hard their parents work/how busy they are!
It becomes less about them and more about prioritising your family.
Explaining your new job will give you more time at home will give them a clear way of discussing it with their parents/carers if they want to.
6 - What if I get emotional?
If you can, prepare yourself the day before by getting all of those messy emotions out - cry, shout in a pillow, write it out in a journal/letter, talk to a trusted friend - get it out in any way you can so you're not going in there ready to burst!
Make some notes of what you want to say - stick to 3-5 bullet points so you don't get overwhelmed.
If the time of day you tell them will help i.e. getting it over and done with first thing - do that!
Plan in time for them to ask questions, and with younger ones, maybe let them write anonymous questions.
Make sure you have a good distracting interactive activity planned for afterwards to help you all feel more positive - you just need to get to break-time/lunchtime then.
Being upset and explaining you can be sad and know something is still the right decision is a great teaching opportunity! Have they ever had to do something they knew they needed to but it made them a bit sad?
Grief, experienced by you and the pupils, is a testament to how fond of each other you are. Making space for their feelings and your own will help you all feel much better by the end of the day.
I hope these ideas have helped and please do post in the Facebook group if you have any top tips or need any specific advice.