LEARNING, we like to think, should be a joyful experience. However, new research paints a picture of stressed-out teachers teaching stressed-out pupils. Worse still, the stressed-out teachers don’t feel they have the training to help the stressed-out pupils.
Not all teachers are stressed out. Neither are all pupils. But the research, by the Mental Health Foundation Scotland (MHFS), shows that half of teachers are affected by mental health issues caused by work pressure. And as MHFS policy manager Toni Giugliano puts it: “Stress in adults can often leak into young minds …”
Thus, a vicious circle is created. Earlier this year, the Scottish Government announced a £60 million investment to support 350 counsellors and 250 extra school nurses, ensuring every secondary school would have a counselling service. We use the word “investment” advisedly. Research shows that the benefits of early mental health intervention continue into adulthood, lessening pressure on services and keeping productivity steady.
It has also been estimated that every £1 spent on counselling can bring a social return of £6.20 in improving future job prospects and cutting crime. So the Scottish Government’s commitment was welcome, even if it was only catching up with the rest of the UK in this regard.
Provision has also been made for teachers to have mental health first aid training, using a “train the trainer” model that should be offered by every local authority by the end of the 2019-20 academic year. Judging by the MHFS report, this cannot come quickly enough and, even then, may see the teachers having to apply such “first aid” to themselves.
Over two-thirds of teachers in the study supported the idea of mental health featuring in school inspection reports, and the feasibility of this merits investigation. Meanwhile, it’s truly tragic that, in too many cases, teaching has become so mentally troubling. Time we did everything possible to take out the trouble and put back the joy.
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