Teaching is in the grip of a “mental health emergency”, a teaching union has warned, with teachers turning to antidepressants, alcohol and even self-harm to cope with the pressures of their job.
Teachers at the NASUWT’s annual conference warned that the incidence of suicidal thoughts and attempts to end their own lives are growing among the profession.
They called for suicide prevention training to be introduced for all school leaders, along with mandatory, fully funded mental health training for all staff in school and colleges.
The union’s wellbeing at work survey, which received nearly 12,000 responses from teachers, found that 87% said they have lost sleep because of work-related worries, with 85% reporting feelings of anxiousness and 84% low energy levels.
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One in ten teachers reported that work-related stress had led to a relationship breakdown. Nearly a quarter (23%) reported drinking more alcohol and 12% the use of or increased use of antidepressants. Three per cent had self-harmed as a result of their work.
Nearly one in five (19%) said they had taken medication as a result of work-related stress and/or seen a doctor. Thirteen per cent said they had sought counselling.
The findings were against a backdrop where 84% said they had experienced more work-related stress in the previous 12 months. A similarly high percentage (86%) said they believed their job had adversely affected their mental health and 68% their physical health in the previous 12 months.
Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT general secretary, said: “Nobody should be brought to the brink of ending their own life because of their job.
“We need a two-pronged approach to addressing the epidemic of mental ill health among the teaching profession, which both tackles the factors driving work-related stress, while also putting in place greater support systems for teachers and school leaders.
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“Too many teachers are having their health destroyed and others are leaving the profession in a bid to save their sanity. There is no intrinsic reason why teaching should have such high levels of burnout. Things can and should be different and we need the next government to work with us to restore teaching to a profession where teachers can thrive, not just struggle to survive.”
The Department for Education recently published a list of administrative tasks that teachers should not be expected to do in a bid to help reduce teachers’ workloads.
