Education Support’s 2021 Teacher Wellbeing Index has raised concerns about the state of mental health among teaching professionals, having uncovered that the mental wellbeing of teachers is worse now than during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Teacher Wellbeing Index has been running since 2017 and aims to help improve understanding of mental health and wellbeing among staff working in education.
Based on responses from over 3,000 staff working in the industry in 2021, the Index found that 77 per cent of teachers had at some point experienced symptoms of poor mental health due to their work, an increase of three per cent on 2020]. 72 per cent of teachers said that they were suffering from stress, a figure which rose to 84 per cent when factoring in senior leaders only.
Meanwhile, 46 per cent of teachers claimed to have gone to work at least once even though they were feeling unwell.
The report concluded that excessive workload and a poor work-life balance were two of the main drivers behind soaring stress and anxiety levels, with 64 per cent and 66 per cent, respectively, highlighting these issues.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also been an exacerbating factor, with 62 per cent of school staff saying that the health crisis had negatively affected their mental health in 2021, compared to just 33 per cent last year.
More worryingly so, 42 per cent of respondents held the view that their organisation’s culture was having a negative impact on their personal wellbeing, while 54 per cent had considered leaving the profession on account of their mental health.
For many education professionals who are suffering, it is not a simple case of seeking help for their struggles. Education Support reports that many respondents had not sought help because they believed that they would be negatively perceived if they were known to be seeking support for mental health troubles.
Education Support CEO, Sinead McBrearty, said that enough is enough and has called for action to address a growing mental health crisis in the sector.
She said: “These findings represent the experience of school and college support staff, teachers, lecturers and leaders. This is their story. If we fail to act on these findings, we are complicit in the damage to the lives and opportunities of those responsible for teaching, guiding and inspiring our nation’s next generation.”
Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of the NASUWT teachers’ union, added that no teacher “should be expected to sacrifice their mental or physical health to do their job” and pinned blame on the pandemic for making “a desperate situation even worse”.
Education Support earmarked the lack of government funding and resourcing for the sector as a blame factor in fuelling the excessive workload behind the struggles of so many staff, and called on Westminster to intervene.
Education Support said: “The government’s extra £4.7 billion core funding and £1.8 billion for education recovery are welcome. However, many schools and colleges still lack sufficient resources to meet the needs of their communities. This is particularly true for smaller schools, and those in areas of increased need. The funding model must evolve again to provide schools and colleges with the capacity to recover, deliver and improve.”
The organisation urged policy makers to prioritise mental health in the education recovery plan and across all education policy and suggested that Ofsted and other inspectorate bodies had to adapt their frameworks to account for the current challenging outlook for mental health and avoid too much strain being placed on teachers and senior leaders.
While Education Support recommended that ministers prioritise measures to recruit and retain senior leaders, it also advised this be made a priority in the UK’s educational institutions to help look after leadership, support staff, and create a culture of wellbeing to reduce stigma.
The government has taken steps to address staff wellbeing, outlining 12 commitments in a new wellbeing charter in the sector and pledging to improve access to mental health support and bring unnecessary workloads down.
£760,000 of funding has also been set aside for a new Education Support Scheme, which will provide school leaders with one-to-one counselling and peer support.
Kerry Hill FCCT MA, a primary school head teacher and member of the Leaders Council, has championed mental health and wellbeing in schools. In December she will be receiving the prestigious Princess Royal Training Award 2021 from HRH the Princess Royal, for the high quality and impact of her school’s training around mental health.
Kerry commented that: “The new report is no surprise given the year on year increases in poor mental health, that have been reported by the Teacher Wellbeing Index Reports, in particular on teacher and senior leaders.
“The Covid pandemic has exacerbated an already under pressure and struggling system. We know that positive staff wellbeing is essential for motivating, retaining and recruiting staff and impacts on pupil wellbeing and academic outcomes. While the steps being taken by the government are welcome, more is needed to make a sustainable impact and ensure that the education sector is a mentally healthy workplace for educational professionals.”
Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash
