Just pause, for one moment, and consider what the UK has faced in recent years. The political upheavals of Brexit, the divisions created by misinformation, a global pandemic that hit here particularly hard, and now uncertainty created by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These are not “normal” times (whatever they are)! And all the while, teachers and other education workers have been driving improvements and keeping children learning through extraordinarily challenging circumstances. Is it any wonder that wellbeing has taken a hit?
Research from Education Support Teacher Wellbeing Index: mental health & wellbeing research (educationsupport.org.uk) has revealed that over the last five years, “levels of stress and anxiety remain unsustainably high” among education staff. Workload and lack of work-life balance are key drivers for poor mental health, and, unsurprisingly, Covid-19 had a significant impact on wellbeing. Disappointingly, staff remain concerned that they will be viewed negatively if they seek mental health support, and a consistently high proportion of staff consider leaving the profession.
Despite some glimmers of hope – organisations have improved staff awareness of wellbeing policies, “as well as their implementation”, which is clearly a good thing – the picture painted by the latest Teacher Wellbeing Index from Education Support is dire. Nearly half of those questioned said they always go into work while unwell (and that’s 54% for senior leaders), and 77% experienced symptoms of poor mental health due to work. A whopping 42% feel that their organisation’s culture has a negative impact on their wellbeing, and a phenomenal 72% are stressed (rising to 84% for senior leaders).
Education Support CEO Sinéad McBrearty said that the findings, “represent the experience of school and college support staff, teachers, lecturers and leaders. This is their story. If we fail to act on these findings, we are complicit in the damage to the lives and opportunities of those responsible for teaching, guiding and inspiring our nation’s next generation.”
There is no doubt that we need to act. We have haemorrhaged education staff from the profession and without significant reductions in workload we face yet more losses of well trained and well experienced staff. We also face the ever-present threat of Covid in classrooms without meaningful mitigations in place. After a long run of bleak events, the picture in education is not as bright as it might be, and that is an understatement. If my inbox is anything to go by, education staff are struggling and are not seeing help appearing on the horizon. The question many of them face is, can they continue like this without change, or do they have to seek work elsewhere?
Education Support suggests a number of policy recommendations such as inspection bodies adapting to the current challenging context and prioritising the recruitment and retention of senior leaders, but policies can take months and years to take effect. For schools and colleges, Education Support suggests:
- Prioritising a culture of wellbeing and reduce stigma
- Look after leadership
- Support your staff
It is also important to look at the specific circumstances of each school. What is the context of wellbeing that education staff are working in at your school? We know from the survey what a dire state wellbeing at work is in across the education sector. While we wait for the necessary policy changes, what can be done at your school? These ideas may help:
Voice
Make sure staff have the opportunity to voice their concerns about workload, wellbeing and the impact that their job is having on their life as a whole. While the phrase “work-life balance” is not helpful (if we consider that work is not a part of “life” we will struggle even more) staff do need to be able to tell you when there is no sense of balance in their lives and to know that things can be done to address that. The key is balance and the adjustments that are available to achieve it.
Pay and conditions
Despite the restrictions that schools work within when it comes to pay and conditions, there are ways of demonstrating to staff that your school has their wellbeing at heart. For example, when staff need compassionate leave, remove as many obstructions as possible. This is not unrealistic. If people cannot attend graduations, funerals, hospital appointments and so on, the job becomes incompatible with normal life. Flexibility and humanity are invariably highly valued by staff and returned many times over.
Culture
What is the overall culture like in your school for both staff and pupils? Is it punitive? Or are the people in your school’s community encouraged to work with autonomy and trust? Are they working within tight parameters or are they able to adapt to the current context they are working in?
Acknowledge
Get to know staff so that they feel supported and acknowledged at school. Specific rather than generic questions can greatly help this. For example, how are you after having Covid a few weeks ago? Rather than, how are you? You are all people with a back story; that doesn’t leave us when we walk through the school gates. Acknowledging that costs us nothing in terms of money or time.
Encourage life outside school
Life beyond our time at work is to be cherished and nurtured. We can encourage that in schools in many ways, but sometimes just making space on a noticeboard to advertise local events, businesses and opportunities that may inspire a fulfilling life beyond work is a positive start.
Encourage boundaries
Model the use of firm boundaries beyond which schoolwork cannot encroach. Fully supporting a sense of balance as a community can only serve staff and children well.
Find out more…
Education Support can be accessed here Education Support, supporting teachers and education staff.
About the author
Elizabeth Holmes
After graduating with a degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of Reading, Elizabeth Holmes completed her PGCE at the Institute of Education, University of London. She then taught humanities and social sciences in schools in London, Oxfordshire and West Sussex, where she ran the history department in a challenging comprehensive. Elizabeth specialises in education but also writes on many other issues and themes. As well as her regular blogs for Eteach and FEjobs, her books have been published by a variety of publishers and translated around the world. Elizabeth has also taught on education courses in HE and presented at national and international conferences.
