About the Project
Teachers and education professionals across Europe are increasingly exposed to chronic stress, emotional overload and burnout. High expectations, time pressure, emotional labour and a lack of accessible preventive support tools make everyday work in education mentally demanding — often leaving little space for self-care, reflection or regeneration.
Move and Play the Stress Away (MPSA) was created as a preventive response to these challenges. The project focuses on strengthening teachers’ and educators’ mental wellbeing by reconnecting them with movement, play and embodied reflection — simple, accessible practices that can be integrated into daily professional and personal life.
About MPSA
MPSA is grounded in the understanding that stress regulation is not only a cognitive process, but also a bodily and relational one. Through playful movement, creative exploration and guided self-reflection, adults can regain a sense of agency, safety and balance. These experiences help educators better recognise early signs of overload, develop healthier coping strategies and rebuild internal resources before stress escalates into burnout.
The project offers a set of complementary tools designed to meet different needs and contexts. These include an online learning course (MOOC), self-reflection cards, training resources for counsellors and additional curated materials from related European initiatives. Together, they form a coherent support system that can be used individually, in peer groups, or within professional development and counselling settings.
MPSA places strong emphasis on accessibility and low-threshold engagement. The activities do not require specialist equipment or prior experience and are adaptable to different cultural and institutional contexts. By focusing on movement and play as universal human resources, the project supports educators in caring for their own wellbeing — which in turn positively influences their relationships with students, colleagues and the wider school community.
Ultimately, Move and Play the Stress Away aims to shift the narrative around teacher wellbeing from crisis response to prevention. By empowering adults to pause, move, play and reflect, the project contributes to more sustainable, resilient and human-centred educational environments.
About the partners
Move and Play the Stress Away (MPSA) is implemented by an international partnership of organisations experienced in adult education, teacher support, mental wellbeing and play-based approaches. Each partner contributes complementary expertise, ensuring that the project responds to real needs in educational contexts and is grounded in both practice and evidence-informed methodologies.
The partnership brings together organisations working directly with teachers, counsellors and education professionals, as well as institutions experienced in training design, facilitation and digital learning. This diversity allows MPSA to combine hands-on, field-tested practices with structured learning pathways and scalable online solutions.
All partners share a common belief that teacher wellbeing should be addressed preventively, not only in moments of crisis. Their work focuses on creating safe, supportive spaces where adults can explore stress regulation, emotional balance and resilience through movement, play and reflection. Importantly, the partners approach wellbeing not as an individual responsibility alone, but as a relational and systemic issue within educational environments.
Within the project, partners are responsible for co-developing content, piloting activities with target groups, gathering feedback and adapting materials to different cultural and institutional realities. This collaborative process ensures that the MPSA tools are practical, relevant and transferable across countries.
Beyond project implementation, the partner organisations are actively engaged in national and local networks supporting educators’ mental health. This enables the project to connect with existing support systems, share resources widely and contribute to long-term impact beyond the project’s duration.
Project Partners
Poland
GratoSfera Foundation
GratoSfera Foundation is an educational organisation specialising in play-based and movement-oriented approaches that support mental wellbeing, resilience and social development. The foundation works primarily with teachers, educators and families, creating preventive tools that strengthen emotional balance and reduce stress through play, creativity and embodied learning. GratoSfera brings extensive experience from European projects focused on wellbeing, free play and mental health prevention in educational settings.
Hungary
Rogers Foundation
Rogers Foundation is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to supporting mental health, emotional development and social inclusion through experiential and community-based methods. With strong expertise in counselling, adult education and wellbeing-focused training, the foundation works closely with educators and helping professionals. Within MPSA, Rogers Foundation contributes its experience in stress prevention, reflective practice and the facilitation of safe, supportive spaces for adults.
Czech Republic
UPOL – Palacký University Olomouc
Palacký University Olomouc (UPOL) is a public higher education institution with strong expertise in pedagogy, psychology and teacher education. The university is actively involved in research and professional training related to mental health, wellbeing and innovative approaches in education. In the MPSA project, UPOL contributes academic insight, methodological support and experience in connecting research with practical tools for educators and counsellors.