Drake, Melanie2025-12-152025-12-152025-12-06Journal of Educational Leadership, Policy and Practice, ISSN: 1178-8704 (Online), Walter de Gruyter GmbH, 39(1), 63-76. doi: 10.2478/jelpp-2025-00051178-8704http://hdl.handle.net/10292/20405In an era where schools are under immense pressure to deliver top academic results and meet performance expectations from stakeholders such as government departments, parents, and school boards, the idea of prioritising ‘fun’ over academic outcomes might appear unconventional. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, exposed the fragility of traditional schooling models and underscored the urgency of addressing students’ social and emotional well-being. This South African leadership narrative reflects on how the principal and leadership team, in the first ‘normal’ school year following the pandemic, implemented a year-long initiative known as the Fun Project. Designed to rekindle joy, connection, and emotional recovery, the project centred on fostering Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) through creative, collaborative, and academically aligned cross-curricular learning experiences. Drawing on a reflexive autoethnographic and pracademic approach, this study situates the author’s lived leadership experience within wider educational leadership theory, exploring the tensions between academic accountability and student well-being. The narrative demonstrates how integrating SEL and joy into school culture can reframe educational priorities, cultivate resilience, and model a form of leadership grounded in reflection, relational trust, and hope.© 2025 Melanie Drake. This is an Open Access article licensed under Creative Commons Licence CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.01303 Specialist Studies in Education1605 Policy and Administration3902 Education policy, sociology and philosophy3903 Education systems3904 Specialist studies in educationJournal ArticleOpenAccess10.2478/jelpp-2025-0005