Support service set up for teachers
A free 24-hour support service for teachers has been launched after local authority data found an average of two sick days (treble the national figure) per teacher were lost to stress, anxiety and depression in Scottish schools last year.
The free telephone and online service, set up by charity Teacher Support Scotland and staffed by trained counsellors, aims to improve the well-being of teachers by providing them with practical and emotional support.
A trial of the new services in Fife revealed health and wellbeing enquiries, including both mental and physical health, were more frequent than in similar pilots in England.
The top reason given by teachers for calls during the trial were working conditions (32%). This included workload and legal issues. Other reasons included personal issues (24%) and health and wellbeing (18%).
Teacher Support Scotland chair Dr Ivor Sutherland said: "We're very pleased that, after a rewarding period of consultation with Scottish teachers, we have now launched these services. We're rightly proud of our education system but its distinctive nature as well as Scotland's unique character inevitably means that the challenges faced by Scottish teachers sometimes differ from the rest of the UK. I'm sure Teacher Support Scotland's new services will make an invaluable contribution to the wellbeing of Scottish teachers - and thereby the education of Scottish children.''
The helpline is 0800 564 2270 or visit the Teacher Support website