School staff have reported an increase in disruptive behaviour and abuse from pupils and their families, while leader stress remains “chronic and acute” despite improvements in workplace culture.
The charity Education Support has released its annual teacher wellbeing index.
Although it reported that the overall wellbeing score of teachers and leaders had improved slightly, chief executive Sinéad Mc Brearty warned “disturbingly high rates of stress, anxiety, and burnout continue to affect education staff, exacerbated by pupil and parent behaviour, and a lack of support outside school for children and young people”.
“The impact on teachers’ mental health is significant, and partly explains why so many are leaving the profession. These issues point to societal challenges beyond education that require deep thinking and creativity to address.”
1. More disruption and abuse from pupils…
Fifty-seven per cent of staff felt pupils had become more disruptive, while 63 per cent said they had experienced more incidents of challenging behaviour.
Fifty-one per cent said pupils had become more verbally abusive, while 29 per cent said they were more physically abusive.
Eighty-two per cent of those who reported increases in challenging behaviour said their mental health and wellbeing had been negatively affected.
Education Support said staff “believe poor pupil or student behaviour is driven by their unmet needs”.
Eighty-four per cent of those who believe verbal and physical abuse has increased “believe that poor behaviour arises due to lack of provision for their unmet needs (basic physical needs, emotional needs or mental health”.
2. …and parents
Fifty-six per cent of leaders and 40 per cent of teachers said vexatious complaints from parents and guardians had increased. Thirty-three per cent reported that parents were more verbally abusive, while 6 per cent said they had become more physically abusive.
Seventy per cent of those who reported more challenging parental behaviour said it had an impact on their mental health and wellbeing.
3. Stress levels still very high
The proportion of teachers teachers reporting being stressed remained at 78 per cent, the same as last year.
And although the proportion of leaders reporting this fell from 89 to 84 per cent, Education Support warned leader stress was “both a chronic and an acute problem”.
“The data from leaders is deeply troubling: they are not ok. They are most likely to work unsustainably long hours, be unable to switch off, and experience symptoms of burnout.”
4. Some reduction in mental health issues…
There was a drop from 39 to 35 per cent in staff reporting they had experienced a mental health issue in the past academic year, but the proportion reporting symptoms of burnout and depression remained the same at 35 per cent and 28 per cent.
Overall, Education Support said the wellbeing score of school staff was 43.9, up from 43.65 last year, but far below the England average of 51.4.
Education Support said it was “pleased to see a statistically significant decrease in the proportion of the workforce that has experienced a mental health issue in the past academic year”.
5. …but levels ‘continue to be unacceptable’
However, 77 per cent of the workforce still reports physical, psychological or behavioural symptoms due to their work
The reported levels of anxiety, depression, stress and burnout “continue to be unacceptable”.
Over a third of the workforce scores below 40 on the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale.
“This means their mental health may be a cause for serious concern.”
Education Support said we “may have become used to seeing these data every year, but familiarity must not become complacency. The extent of pressure on the health of the workforce is not safe, sustainable, or serving our children and young people.”
6. Workplace culture getting more positive
The “best news in this year’s report comes directly from school and college workplaces”.
The proportion of staff who said they considered their organisation’s culture had a negative effect on their wellbeing fell from 55 to 50 per cent.
And 27 per cent of staff now experience the culture of their organisation as “positive for their wellbeing”, up from 22 per cent last year.
And the proportion of staff reporting their organisations did not support employees who have mental health and wellbeing problems well fell from 46 to 38 per cent.
This year’s data “makes clear that appreciative, supportive cultures and good staff relationships really matter to teaching and support staff”.
7. ‘Little or no support’ from public bodies
This year, Education Support also asked about support for pupils from public bodies, such as mental health support services, social services and the NHS.
Twenty-six per cent of respondents said they felt public bodies could offer considerable or some support for pupils, while 69 per cent said they received “little or no support”.
“This is not just about the negative impact on staff morale, 85 per cent of those who feel under-supported by wider public services feel that this lack of support has a negative impact on the mental health and wellbeing of their pupils and students.”
Recommendations
Continue to transform schools as workplaces to improve staff experience
Prioritise staff retention through a “holistic” strategy and set a target to sit alongside existing recruitment target
Urgently properly fund provision for SEND, children’s mental health, social services and poverty reduction programmes
Prioritise the provision of targeted, high quality support to leaders
Renew the “social contract” between families, schools and colleges via a “multi-stakeholder approach”
Include work-related suicides in the Health and Safety Executive’s annual reporting and inspection regimes
Run a “positive campaign to raise awareness of mental health risks and to reduce the stigma associated with seeking help”, targeted at the education workforce
Samaritans are available 365 days a year. You can reach them on free call number 116 123, email them at [email protected] or visit www.samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.
Education Support runs a confidential helpline for education staff and teachers – call 08000 562 561.
