At the start of Mental Health Awareness Week, new research for
the NASUWT – The Teachers’ Union finds widespread
evidence of clinical depression amongst teachers and
headteachers.
Nearly 12,000 teachers took part in the NASUWT’s Wellbeing Survey
which has been calibrated using the widely respected
Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale.
The analysis found an average Wellbeing Score amongst teachers of
38.7, where a score below 41 indicates the risk of probable
clinical depression.
91% of teachers who responded to the NASUWT survey reported that
their job had adversely affected their mental health in the last
year.
More than half of teachers (52%) said workload was the most
important factor damaging their mental health, and 34% cited the
consequences of the pandemic.
The findings indicate that the situation is more marked amongst
classroom teachers, disabled teachers and amongst teachers
working in areas with higher rates of socio-economic deprivation.
The Union’s research heard from teachers who had suffered panic
attacks as a result of bullying, teachers diagnosed with
post-traumatic stress disorder and 3% of teachers who reported
that they had self-harmed.
Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT General
Secretary, said:
“These findings provide disturbing evidence of a mental health
crisis in schools and of psychiatric injury and harm being caused
to teachers and headteachers.
“Teachers and headteachers are at breaking point.
“Urgent action is needed to tackle the root causes of the mental
health crisis in our schools and colleges.
“Ministers need to wake up to the facts and commit to making
improving the morale and health of the profession its number one
priority.
“Delivering world-class education for every child requires that
our schools and colleges are world-class workplaces, too.
“Teachers, headteachers and pupils deserve better.
“We are reminding employers and the Health and Safety Executive
that they have a statutory duty to act in response to this
crisis, and to take positive action to protect and safeguard the
mental health and welfare of teachers and headteachers.”
