NASUWT comments on teacher wellbeing index

Commenting on the Teacher Wellbeing Index 2021, published by the charity Education Support Network, Dr Patrick Roach, General Secretary of the NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union, said:

“Sadly the findings are no surprise to the NASUWT and reflect our own research and casework that shows record levels of stress, burnout and anxiety among teachers.

“Far from a return to normality, teachers are facing extraordinary workload pressures and stress caused by the pandemic and the demands of securing the country’s education recovery.

“Even before the pandemic, levels of stress and breakdowns among teachers were rising year-on-year due to the lack of effective action by the Government to tackle excessive workloads and the overloaded accountability system. The pandemic has, for many teachers, simply made a desperate situation even worse.

“Teachers cannot simply be expected to soldier on. No teacher should be expected to sacrifice their mental or physical health to do their job.

“The wellbeing of teachers is integral to pupils’ progress and achievement in education.

“The Government has a real opportunity to build back better after the pandemic by taking decisive action to tackle the root causes of excessive teacher workload and support the mental and physical wellbeing of the profession.”