How teachers face burn-out at blackboard
SCOTLAND’S ‘overwhelmed’ teachers are being pushed to ‘crisis point’ – with more than 850 forced to take at least a month off last year as their mental health suffered.
They were pushed out of the classroom because of stress, depression, anxiety and fatigue, official figures reveal.
Last night, union leaders warned that teachers ‘cannot sustain the level of stress involved’ – and MSPs called for action to combat staffing issues in schools.
Between 2013 and 2017, at least 13,251 teachers – one in four – took long-term sick leave, defined as a period of absence longer than 28 days.
Last year, at least 2,560 of Scotland’s 51,000 teachers were off sick for a month or more for various reasons. A third – some 853 – were absent with stress, anxiety, depression or fatigue.
Such conditions were the single largest reason for absences.
More than 100 primary and secondary teachers were off sick for over a year.
The data was contained in freedom of information request figures obtained by The Scottish Mail on Sunday. But the total number of absences is likely to be higher as six of Scotland’s 32 councils did not respond.
Last night, Scottish Tory education spokesman Liz Smith said: ‘At a time when we need to encourage as many as possible into the profession, more and more teachers are having to take time off due to stress and anxiety. It’s a shocking reflection on the SNP’s handling of our education system and shows we need to do far more to ensure schools are properly staffed and that correct support networks are in place.’
Jane Peckham, of the NASUWT teachers’ union, said teachers are ‘overwhelmed’ and at ‘crisis point’, adding: ‘The whole crux of the issue comes down to teacher workload, which is increasing.’
She said: ‘There is a real pres- sure on them. Staff shortages are adding to this, too, which is also caused by teachers leaving their jobs because they cannot sustain the level of stress involved.
‘Austerity plays a large role because teachers have had around a 16 per cent real-term cut in pay – it all impacts on their self-esteem and wellbeing.
‘If you recognise and reward teachers as the professionals they are, if you give them the resources they require to allow them to undertake their teaching and you pay them appropriately for their expertise, you get it right – and if you get it right for teachers then that translates into getting it right for education.’
Glasgow City Council had the most teachers off for more than a month last year – 297. Fife followed with 280, while Renfrewshire had 172, and Dundee 154.
The Scottish Government said: ‘We have undertaken a range of actions to ensure a reduction in teacher workload, acting to clarify and simplify the curriculum framework and to remove unnecessary bureaucracy, ensuring teachers can focus on providing valuable learning experiences.’
‘Workload is increasing’