SNP postbag f illed with letters from stressed teachers

STRESSED and frustrated teachers have written more than 100 letters to Nicola Sturgeon outlining their growing concerns for Scotland’s creaking education system.

The First Minister had encouraged teachers to write to air their grievances with her.

But the volume of complaints over ‘very high stress levels’ as well as ‘unmanageable workloads’ has pointed to a system that is struggling to cope.

The letters have warned of an exodus of experience from the classroom as teachers turn their backs on the profession.

Dozens of teachers revealed that they had considered or were planning to leave their jobs as they hit out at the Scottish Government’s handling of a morale crisis.

The letters will make uncomfortable reading for Miss Sturgeon.

One teacher wrote that she had a ‘breakdown at work’ adding: ‘I cried uncontrollably in my cupboard.

‘I can’t emotionally cope with facing a classroom of learners I feel the system is failing each day.’

They went on to claim that they ‘regret’ their decision to become a teacher.

Another said: ‘Yesterday I drove home in tears again.’

Miss Sturgeon received 120 letters from concerned teachers last year, with an SNP member warning her professionals were ‘on our knees’ trying to deliver the Government’s curriculum for excellence.

The First Minister pledged to make education her top priority, but Education Secretary John Swinney has failed to get a grip of problems plaguing schools.

This includes concerns around teacher morale, anger over primary one assessments and growing unrest over the exam process.

One letter from a disgruntled teacher says: ‘We are struggling to keep our heads afloat, and below the water we are drowning.’

Another describes the pressure facing teachers as ‘absolutely ridiculous’, adding it is ‘no wonder experienced teachers are leaving the profession in their droves’.

One teacher of 34 years said that the ‘very high stress levels’ and ‘overloaded’ curriculum had forced her to think about retirement.

The letter concluded: ‘I fear for the future of education.’ Another said: ‘I have taught for 15 years and am being slowly but surely demoralised by the lack of pay, investment and staff and falling attainment due to cuts.’

Teachers also complained of ‘political interference, costcutting measures, and out of touch accountability’.

They also warned of ‘substandard classrooms, unsupportive management in some schools and lack of classroom equipment’, with some teachers spending thousands of pounds of their own money to buy basic tools.

Scottish Conservative education spokesman Liz Smith, said: ‘These letters speak for themselves.

‘As well as all the other pressures currently being cited by teachers, the growing level of violence in our classrooms is a major worry.

‘It is a completely unacceptable state of affairs that many teachers are forced to operate in this kind of environment.’

Among the letters were a number from SNP members who said they were ‘embarrassed’ by the Scottish Government’s education policies.

One claimed that they are worried these will ‘have a detrimental impact on the future of teaching and learning’.

Recent figures revealed teachers and support staff had taken 395,330 sick days due to their mental health, including stress, anxiety and depression.

This comes as teachers look certain to strike. The Educa- tional Institute of Scotland union is to ballot its members on industrial action after failing to reach a pay deal.

A government spokesman said: ‘We have undertaken actions to reduce workload, acting to clarify and simplify the curriculum framework and to remove unnecessary bureaucracy, while the education reforms being implemented by this Government will also create new opportunities for teachers to develop their careers.

‘That is why the Scottish Government and local authorities have made an improved pay offer which, including increases as a result of restructuring the pay scale, would see teachers receive a minimum 9 per cent increase between January 2018 and April 2019 and a 3 per cent rise in April 2020.

‘This is a better deal than for any group of public sector workers in the UK.’

‘I fear for the future of education’ ‘I drove home in tears again’