Today’s Education in the media blog looks at what is being done to reduce teachers’ stress levels, as well as the latest data on the 30 hours free childcare offer.
STRESS AMONG TEACHERS
Today, Thursday 11 January, the Guardian reported on stress levels among teachers.
Teachers’ mental health and wellbeing is extremely important. We know that workload remains a challenge for teachers and that is why we have published a clear action plan setting out the steps to support them.
We also expect headteachers to take action and support any staff that are suffering from stress.
We have clear guidance in the School Teachers’ Pay & Conditions Document that says governing bodies must allow teachers to have a work life balance.
A Department for Education spokesperson said:
Teachers play an important role in our society, and there are now more teachers in our schools than ever before – 15,500 more since 2010.
We continue to work with teachers, unions and Ofsted to tackle unnecessary workload and challenge unhelpful practices that create extra work, which includes a programme of targeted support for schools.
Guidance to governing bodies is clear that they have a responsibility to take work-life balance into account when managing staff. Where staff are struggling we trust headteachers to take action to tackle the causes of stress and ensure they have the support they need.
30 HOURS DATA
Today, Thursday 11 January, we have published the latest data on the 30 hours free childcare offer.
These figures demonstrate just how popular 30 hours continues to be with parents, with over 325,000 eligibility codes issued for this term. Eligibility codes are codes issued to parents that are eligible for 30 hours of free childcare. Once given a code, parents can take this to their chosen childcare provider. We expect engagement with the offer to continue to grow.
We are already seeing the positive benefits the additional hours are having. Our early evaluation showed improved flexibility in parents’ working lives and a reduction in families’ financial pressures.
A Department for Education Spokesperson said:
These figures demonstrate just how popular our 30 hours offer continues to be with parents, with over 320,000 codes issued for this term.
With more parents having signed up for the scheme so far, we expect even more children to benefit from access to high-quality, affordable childcare.
Read the latest data on the 30 hours free childcare offer here.