‘The number of teachers seeking mental health support has risen by 35% in the past 12 months. Many of them are in crisis.’
The above statement is from an article recently published in The Guardian with Education Support Partnership. We don’t know about you, but we think that’s a hard one to get our head around and something that urgently needs to be addressed.
Of course, as many of you will know and understand, it’s not just teachers who are struggling, it’s support staff and the likes of teaching assistants too. Educators are faced with a multitude of challenges that haven’t been experienced before at such a magnitude, from class sizes to behavioural issues.
Education Support Partnership has said that from April 2017 to March 2018, the number of teachers seeking support increased by 35%, from 2,321 to 3,136, and you know there will be many others needing help who haven’t spoken up.
Retention and recruitment are two big struggles within the education world right now, and poor mental health plays a great part in this. To feel good in ourselves, we need to put time aside to stop and do the things that make us happy (without feeling guilty about not working). However, finding balance as an educator can be very challenging when you have constant planning and marking to do, mixed with everything else that life throws your way.
For many, teaching is a career they have dreamed of since childhood, and for every one that leaves the profession, it really is such a devastating thing. However, mental health is, of course, of the utmost importance. Naturally, as well, there is a link between poor staff mental health and poor pupil mental health.
So, what can be done?
There are some brilliant support networks out there for educators, such as Education Support Partnership, and it’s crucial that teachers and support staff alike are seeking this help as soon as they feel something isn’t right, rather than when they are at breaking point. It’s also important to make the management aware within your school because there may be something they can do to help with your workload, but you'll never know unless you ask!
If you think that you need to make some larger changes, supply teaching is a fantastic option for those of you who have that passion for teaching but need to prioritise your health and wellbeing.
Supply teaching gives you the flexibility to work when you choose, and with the SupplyNow app, the control is all in your hands at the push of a button. We also guarantee the best rates in Kent and Surrey (shortly London too)!
When it comes to using the app, you can pick when you work, the locations you go to, subjects you're comfortable teaching and even rate the schools you’ve been to so you know whether you’d like to return or not! But, just because we use an app, doesn’t mean you're left without support. The SupplyNow team are always a phone call or email away and have already made a reputation for their fantastic services.
Contact us today and see how we can help you to get that one step closer to feeling yourself again.
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