Today’s Education in the Media blog looks at research carried out by University College London, which found that one in 20 teachers in England are reporting a long-lasting mental health problem and their wellbeing has not improved over the past three decades.
Teachers’ Mental Health
Today, Tuesday 28 January, University College London (UCL) published a report which found that one in 20 teachers in England say they have a long-lasting mental health problem and their wellbeing has not improved over the past three decades.
The study itself acknowledges the rise could be due to greater openness about mental health issues and points out that other professionals like nurses, accountants and HR workers also report increased mental health issues.
Last year, the Department for Education launched its Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy, which focuses on the importance of developing supportive cultures in the workplace. Alongside this, the department has an Expert Advisory Group to examine how teachers and school leaders can be better supported to deal with the pressures of the job.
This story was reported by the Independent, Guardian , Schools Week and i news.
A Department for Education spokesperson said:
We are already taking action in this area in order to strengthen work life balance and wellbeing for teachers. This includes reducing workload, supporting early career school teachers, promoting flexible working and tackling accountability pressures, as well as supporting schools to deal with behaviour management.
Our Expert Advisory Group examines how teachers and school leaders can be better supported to deal with the pressures of the job, building on our Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy which focuses on the importance of developing supportive cultures.
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