Report shows teachers’ mental health remains worrying

The 2021 Teacher Wellbeing Index, an annual report by charity Education Support in conjunction with YouGov, found that teachers’ mental health is getting worse - not better - in several areas, compared to a year ago at the height of the Covid pandemic.

The report found that a growing number of teachers have reported behavioural, psychological or physical symptoms - including panic attacks, anxiety, depression, insomnia, difficulty concentrating, mood swings, forgetfulness, overeating and tearfulness - as a result of pressures they face at work. That number stood at 77% this year, up from 74% in 2020.

According to the Index, one in five staff (19%) experienced panic attacks in the last year, among other symptoms linked to mental health. That was the same proportion as the previous year, suggesting that teachers’ mental health is not improving as many had hoped it would following the return to classrooms and a lifting of restrictions that piled pressure on teachers during the pandemic. That figure was significantly higher for those who had been in the sector for 0-2 years compared to those who had been in it for longer.    

Work-life balance and excessive workloads remain persistent issues relating to symptoms of poor mental health, but the proportion of teachers and staff citing Covid-19 as the factor contributing to poor mental health soared from 33% in 2020 to 62% in 2021.

The Index, which is based on surveys of 3,354 education staff, is the fifth of its kind and comes following a particularly difficult time for the teaching sector. It found that four in ten (38%) teachers reported experiencing mental health issues in the past academic year, up seven percentage points on 2020. More than three-quarters (77%) of all staff experienced symptoms of poor mental health linked to their work, with the proportion reporting psychological symptoms such as depression, anxiety and panic attacks standing at 51%.

The 2021 Index also highlights the stress on headteachers and senior leaders and the continuing effect that Covid-19 is having on schools and those who work within them. The proportion of senior leaders who said they experienced mental health issues in the past academic year rose from 29% in 2020 to 41% this year, while 38% said their symptoms could be a sign of exhaustion.

Of those reporting symptoms of poor mental health, 78% of heads and senior leaders attributed them to a poor work-life balance while the same proportion gave the reason as excessive workload (78%). The impact of COVID-19 on heads and senior leaders’ mental health also increased significantly from last year (33%) to 62% this year.

One primary school headteacher who recently spoke to Education Support said while the wider community is “COVID-weary” and desperate to return to ‘normality’, the situation remains desperate for frontline staff.

She said, “The message from Ofsted and the Government is that the pandemic is over, everything’s back to normal. But we’re so far from that in schools – we’re still living in the heart of it. Every day I make decisions that scare me. I’m not a medic. I’m a teacher, but everyone expects me to be a Covid expert. I’m afraid that one day I’ll make the wrong decision and someone will get hurt.”

The worrying pressure on teachers’ mental health and wellbeing is compounded by a lack of support and training, with teachers suggesting that their Initial Teacher Training (ITT) is inadequate in preparing them for the challenges of teaching.

According to the 2021 Index, three-quarters of teachers (74%) think their Initial Teacher Training (ITT) courses do not prepare them well to manage their own wellbeing, while six in ten (61%) said they did not receive sufficient guidance about their mental health and wellbeing at work. Only four in ten (39%) said they received sufficient guidance (7 percentage points lower than in 2020).

Education Support, which provides a 24-hour helpline for teachers and support staff, is urging ministers to heed the report’s findings, warning that ongoing anxiety and stress - potentially leading to burn-out - may mean teachers are unable to perform their roles effectively. Resulting absences, presenteeism and sub-optimal teaching and learning outcomes are not only catastrophic for the profession, but impact more widely at the very time the sector is striving to deliver the Government’s education recovery plans.