Record levels of stress ‘put teachers at breaking point’
‘Burnt-out’ school staff are suffering severe psychological problems, reveals report
Teachers are suffering from more severe psychological problems than at any point this century, experts have warned. In an alarming report they reveal the school workforce is being pushed to “breaking point”.
Education Support, a charity that gives mental health help to education professionals, predicts school standards will fall and mental health problems in the classroom will multiply if the government does not act quickly to offer teachers more support.
Seen exclusively by the Observer, the charity’s teacher wellbeing index indicates that stress levels among teachers and school leaders have ratcheted up for the third consecutive year to the highest levels ever. Nearly three-quarters of teachers and 84% of school leaders now describe themselves as “stressed”, and more than a third of education professionals have experienced a mental health issue in the past academic year. Almost half (49%) believe their workplace is having a negative impact on their mental health and wellbeing.
“Overwork has become normalised. Education professionals don’t feel trusted,” said the charity’s chief executive, Sinéad Mc Brearty. “They are almost twice as anxious as the general population. That’s a measure of how harsh our accountability systems are and the way in which accountability in education is so reductive. This report has to be a very loud wake-up call for all concerned.”
She said the sector was now at breaking point: “We are beyond ‘crisis’. We are in a state of distress.” If the situation continued, she warned, it would result in “burnt-out leaders on an industrial scale” and schools would face huge problems recruiting and retaining staff.
“We know that [the] performance of anyone in any job is compromised by stress and poor wellbeing. We are going to see that in our classrooms. As it is, 10 million children are spending a significant amount of time every year in high-stress environments – and that is going to affect them.”
The charity is calling for the government to make educational reforms that will increase teachers’ autonomy and change the accountability system to reduce “unproductive tension and anxiety”. It also wants all CONTINUE READING: Record levels of stress ‘put teachers at breaking point’ | Education | The Guardian
