Teachers now social workers too, says minister

TEACHERS are now expected to be social workers, speech therapists and keep an eye on pupils’ health, the Education Secretary has suggested.

Damian Hinds said that “society asks more of schools than it did a generation ago”, as he recognised the scale of the demands placed on teachers.

Teachers are now expected to look after pupils’ mental health and check for signs of radicalisation, as well as monitor health and social issues such as domestic violence.

Addressing primary school leaders at the National Association of Headteachers annual conference yesterday, Mr Hinds was the first Tory Education Secretary for more than two decades to avoid being heckled.

Offering an olive branch to teachers, he said: “I certainly don’t pretend that I can just stand up here at this podium and say a few words that will solve all the challenges that you face.

“It is true that schools get more funding that they used to. But it is also true that society asks more of schools than it did a generation ago.”

Last month a joint survey of teachers carried out by the National Education Union and the Child Poverty Action Group found that teachers say they are having to wash their children’s clothes and loan parents money.