School wellbeing report’s findings must be addressed

Commenting on the 2023 Tes School Wellbeing Report, Helen Osgood, Community’s National Officer for Education & Early Years, said:

“The report’s findings come as no surprise to us. We know from the work of our officers and representatives that teachers and teaching assistants are suffering from increased workloads and work-related stress, and this results in mental health issues for many education professionals.

“The report highlights the issue of unmanageable workloads. We have for some time been urging the Department for Education (DfE) to produce an action plan of how they are going to reduce workloads in schools.

“This is a very real health and safety issue. If only 27% of teachers feel supported, that leaves a massive 73% who feel unsupported at school. This isn’t good enough. The government must do better, to help the demoralised, struggling education workforce.

“At Community, we work hard to make a real difference to the working lives of our members, and we are encouraging our members to step forward to become Health and Safety Reps, so as we can ensure that the issues that educators are struggling with can be raised effectively at school level.”

Further information

Community’s 2021 report, The Future of Education, and ongoing campaign calls for more support for school staff and children and measures to address the exodus of teachers from the profession.

Read a copy of the 2023 Tes School Wellbeing Report here.

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