The former head of Topsham School is now coaching teachers, with the aim of reducing the numbers leaving the profession.

Emma Pipe left her job as headteacher last year and, after taking a coaching qualification, set up her own business helping teachers to consider their own needs and wellbeing, as well as those of their pupils.

Emma, who spent more than 30 years teaching at school in and around Devon, said: “Teaching is a hugely rewarding profession, but it takes your heart and soul if you are not careful. I wanted to give something back.”

According to the Department for Education more than 40,000 teachers left the profession last year alone – a rise of almost 8,000 on the previous year. Ever-increasing workloads, lack of support and burnout are some of the reasons teachers give for quitting.

Emma Pipe Coaching aims to prevent them from reaching that stage. She said: “Teachers give so much of themselves that it can be hard to find or make space to think.

“Teaching is a 30 or 40-year career so it’s a marathon not a sprint – you have to look after yourself to be able to look after others. This needs to be a priority not seen as something as an add-on or as a treat.”

Emma visits schools to undertake group work with teaching staff, and also offers one-to-one sessions with individual teachers all over Devon.

She said: ““It’s been incredibly popular. Teachers like the fact that I put their needs first and when teachers are happy, their children are too.

“My mission is to put educators first so they ‘teach well, lead well, and are well’ through personal and professional development. If I can achieve this for as many teachers as children I’ve taught over the years, I will feel I have done my bit for education.”

Emma Pipe is on LinkedIn and www.emmapipecoaching.co.uk