A 24-hour support service for teachers was launched today.

A 24-hour support service for teachers was launched today.

The free telephone service aims to improve the wellbeing of teachers by providing them with practical and emotional support.

Staffed by trained counsellors, the helpline has been set up by the charity Teacher Support Scotland.

Teachers will also be able to access self-help information online, ask questions of qualified coaches and sign up for email coaching.

Local authority data found an average of two sick days per teacher were lost to stress, anxiety and depression in Scottish schools last year.

This is treble the national figure.

A trial of the new services in Fife revealed health and wellbeing inquiries, 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.

Personal issues were rated second (24%), followed by health and wellbeing (18%). Careers and people skills were placed fourth and fifth (16% and 8%).

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."

Funding for the service, which the charity said would cost £25,000 in its first year, has been provided by Teacher Support Scotland.

The helpline is 0800 564 2270.

The online service can be accessed at www.teachersupport.info/scotland/