Teachers struggling to support pupils’ mental health
SEVEN out of 10 teachers feel they lack the training to help pupils with mental health problems – while more than half say the pressures of the job have contributed to them suffering from conditions such as depression and anxiety.
These were some of the findings of a survey carried out by the the Mental Health Foundation Scotland.
A total of 51 per cent of the teachers questioned said the job had either led to them developing a mental health problem, or had made an existing condition worse.
Meanwhile, when it came to helping pupils with mental health difficulties, 71 per cent said they lacked the skills to do this – with only 13 per cent of teachers having received mental health first aid training.
Toni Giugliano, policy manager at the Mental Health Foundation Scotland, said: “It’s remarkable that despite the growing number of children struggling to cope, mental health is still not a core part of the teacher training curriculum.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said mental health first aid training is currently being provided in schools.
The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition, which campaigns to improve services for children and young people said the results of the survey were “no surprise”.
A spokesman said: “Like the Mental Health Foundation, we have long called for mental health training to be embedded in the teacher training curriculum.”