Pandemic causing ‘anxiety and distress’ among teachers

THE CORONAVIRUS pandemic has led to anxiety and lower levels of happiness among teachers, researchers say.

The first lockdown in March resulted in a decline in the wellbeing of school staff compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER).

There was a rise in distress and lower levels of life satisfaction among teachers at the onset of the pandemic – and anxiety began to rise in the autumn as Covid-19 cases began to rise, the report shows.

Covid-19 led to a squeeze on teaching staff capacity as schools experienced considerably higher absence rates than usual, which placed “additional strain” on the teachers who could work, researchers say.

During the autumn term – when schools were fully open to pupils – full-time teachers’ working hours rose to around 46 hours per week, which is more hours than the 41 reported by full-time similar professionals during the same period.

However, the lower level of wellbeing among teachers in England was also experienced by similar individuals in other professions according to the report.

“There is even some evidence of teachers being less negatively affected compared to those in other professions,” the report suggests.

NFER’s report, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, monitors the progress schools in England are making towards meeting the teacher supply challenge by measuring the key trends and working conditions. Despite the pressures on the workforce, the report says the immediate threat of a crisis of teacher supply “appears to have abated due to the recession” increasing teacher recruitment and retention with applications up 26 per cent from last year..