teachers and stress: pressures of life at the chalkface

by Wendy Moore

Few people would doubt that teaching can be a stressful job. Stories about staff shortages, disruptive pupils, funding problems and anxieties over school inspections frequently dominate the news.

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Several teachers have won large sums in compensation for stress at work following high profile court cases and there have even been instances where teachers have taken their own lives apparently because the pressures have proved too much.

But do teachers really suffer worse stress than people in other jobs or is it just a case of collective grumbling?

the facts

Not every teacher suffers stress. But there is concrete evidence that teaching is one of the most stressful jobs possible. In a survey assessing the stress levels of various jobs by the Health and Safety Executive, teaching came out top. The report, The Scale of Occupational Stress: further analysis of the impact of demographic factors and type of job, published in 2000, found that 41.5% of teachers reported themselves 'highly stressed', while 58.5% came into a 'low stress' category.

Research by the main teachers' union, the National Union of Teachers (NUT) confirms this picture. A survey in 1999 found 36% of teachers felt the effects of stress all or most of the time.

Teachers' stress has also been recognised in the courts. In 1999 secondary school teacher Muriel Benson won a landmark case when she won £47,000 in compensation for stress. Since then the NUT has backed more than 90 cases where teachers have won compensation for stress. Actions have been taken on behalf of one teacher who will never be able to work again through mental distress, while another is unable to drive any distance through the effects of stress, according to an NUT spokesperson. You can read Muriel Benson's story in my stress battle.

a recipe for stress

Stress experts acknowledge the pressures of teaching. Cary Cooper, BUPA professor of organisational psychology and health at the University of Manchester's Institute of Science and Technology, says teaching is not intrinsically stressful in the same way as the job of a bomb disposal officer. But teaching in the UK at this moment can be very stressful, he says.

'Teaching is a political football, it changes all the time,' he explains. The combination of continual change – with frequent new government demands – coupled with long, unsociable hours and poor pay, make up a stressful recipe.

He also agrees with teachers' leaders that the workload is excessive. Although the school day may be shorter than most office working days, teachers put in many more hours in the evenings and at weekends preparing lessons, marking work and organising extracurricular events, he says.

stress down the line

The teachers' counselling service, the Teacher Support Network, is perhaps closest to the pressures teachers suffer. Two-thirds of callers to its helpline, Teacher Support Line, report work-related problems. This contrasts with the private sector where on average about a third of callers to counselling services have work-related concerns while two-thirds call about personal issues.

Analysis of calls to Teacher Support Line (formerly Teacherline) shows the most common concerns are stress, anxiety and depression. A total 27% of callers fall into this category. But work-related stress clearly features in the other main categories too.

what causes teachers stress?

In many ways, teachers' stress is no different to stress for anyone else. The HSE defines stress as: 'The reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed upon them.' Just like anyone else, teachers get stressed when they feel they are not coping with their workload or other pressures of the job.

But there are some particular features which appear to make teaching more pressured than other professions. Research by the NUT, has highlighted a long list of common causes of teacher stress.

Callers to Teacher Support Line also complain about workload, being 'overwhelmed by new initiatives', and 'working all hours'. Many report problems in relationships with their managers – headteachers, deputy headteachers and department heads – and anxiety over schools inspections by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted), its Welsh equivalent Estyn, and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) in Scotland. Another common concern is isolation, since teachers have to tackle difficult behaviour and look after their pupils' welfare, with little outside support.

A spokesperson for Teacher Support Line says: 'You have teachers frequently talking about working 50 to 60 hour weeks, week in, week out, and working a lot at home and at weekends. They find it hard to wind down and relax and recuperate. People can't do that continually without there being an effect.'

He adds: 'The direct effect in the initial stages are anxiety and depression. If the situation does not improve, teachers then get physical symptoms and start going off sick.'

the view from the classroom

Amanda Haehner, an English teacher at a south London comprehensive school, says the relentlessness of the job is particularly stressful. Most teachers have little or no time between lessons to prepare, plan or simply recover. 'There is no breathing space,' she says. 'If you have a bad lesson with a bad class you don't get a chance to wind down.'

Often time intended for lesson preparation gets taken up at the last minute by having to cover for other staff, she says. Working hours are long due to additional paperwork and although teachers enjoy longer holidays than most people, they frequently take the first week to recover and the last week to plan ahead.

'The hours teachers are working are just ridiculous,' she says. 'I suppose what makes it more stressful is often it is not directly related to the job.'

Teachers' administrative load is a perpetual bugbear, made worse by the lack of basic resources. 'Photocopiers are always overused and there are not enough for the number of people and the volume of work,' she says.

my stress battle

Secondary school teacher Muriel Benson won £47,000 compensation for illness caused by stress, in an out-of-court settlement in 1999. It was the first teacher stress case to be settled.

Mrs Benson was forced to retire on ill health grounds from her job as head of year at a secondary school in the Wirral, in 1996. The NUT backed her case against employers Wirral metropolitan borough council.

She joined the school in her first teaching job in 1977. She taught English and media studies and was appointed head of year in the 1980s. 'I loved it,' she said. 'I always put 100% in.'

Mrs Benson ran many after-school activities, served as a teacher-governor and undertook various pastoral tasks. But her workload gradually increased and became more complex. She was teaching five year groups and was head of year for six classes, with insufficient time out of lessons to cope with administrative and pastoral duties.

She began writing to her employees about her workload in 1988 – a key point in winning her case – but no help was offered. 'They appeared to listen but there was no action,' she says. 'They just said I was doing a wonderful job.'

Stress-related problems emerged, including anxiety, shingles and hyperactivity. Finally, one morning with pupils seeking her help because two other heads of year were away and with no free time, she snapped. At lunchtime she left and never returned. She suffered sickness and depression. 'To survive I would have had to compromise on the quality of my teaching,' she says. 'I just could not do that.'

Pursuing a court case was 'tough' but helped channel some of her anger and brought some justice. 'But it doesn't really take the sadness away,' she says. Her advice to other teachers suffering similar stress is to raise the problem with managers – don't suffer in silence – and put everything in writing.

what needs to be done

The NUT argues that many of the pressures on teachers are caused by the way the job is organised. 'One of the difficulties that teachers face is their workload is not spread reasonably equally through the year,' says a spokesperson for the NUT. 'It comes in huge bursts. It can't be put off.'

Teachers are also weighed down by bureaucratic demands generated by government and Ofsted, she says. In primary schools, most teachers have no time outside the classroom to prepare, plan or mark work. Secondary school teachers are 'lucky' if they have one session a week for administrative tasks.

A spokesperson for the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) agrees workload is the biggest source of stress. But pupil – and parent – behaviour can be another problem. She says: 'If you are in front of a class of 30 people and someone is violent and disruptive that can be quite stressful. Parents can also be violent and abusive.'

A recent report to government by independent consultants, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), goes a long way to support the unions' case.

teachers' workload

The PwC review examined teachers' workload and the nature of the job in more than 100 schools in England and Wales. The final report, Teacher Workload Study, published in December 2001, found that teachers generally work more intensive weeks than comparable professionals. Teachers work an average 50 to 60 hours a week during term time, it said, but when teachers' longer holidays are included the time input annually compares favourably with similar jobs. Headteachers still work more than the average professional.

But the review found other reasons why teachers' jobs are arduous. It concluded that teachers suffer a lack of control and ownership over their work. Many tasks – like photocopying, form-filling and playground duty – could easily be done by other staff. And rising government and parent expectations – without adequate support – are an added pressure.

Although most teachers support recent government initiatives – like the national curriculum, SATs tests in years 2 and 6, schools inspections and league tables – the pace and manner of change has caused problems, according to the review. The study concludes that action to reduce teachers' workload is 'urgently' needed. It sets out ways to reduce the burden through a package of national and local action.

In addition, the review recommends teachers spend less time on playground duty, are given guaranteed time for marking and preparation in the school day, and have less responsibility for administrative tasks like organising school trips, which could be done by other staff.

In Scotland, a maximum 35 hour week was set for teachers under the McCrone Agreement in 2001. However, a survey by the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association, published in June 2002, suggested the agreement had not alleviated workload pressures. More than 60% of the SSTA's members believed that the introduction of the 35 hour week had not changed their workload, whilst 37% believed that it had actually increased workload.

inspection anxiety

Many teachers complain that the inspection process by Ofsted, its Welsh equivalent Estyn and the Scottish HMIE, is stressful from beginning to end. The build-up to an inspection, the visits themselves and the feedback can all pile on pressure.

In one of the most extreme examples, a primary school teacher took her own life in January 2000 following critical comments from an Ofsted inspector. The teacher, with 36 years' experience, left a suicide note which read: 'I am finding the stress of my job too much. The pace of work and the long days are more than I can do.' The inquest revealed, however, there were also stresses in the teacher's home life.

Moves to reduce the stress and workload burden of Ofsted were brought in later in 2000. This means visits are now fewer – once every six years for most schools – and shorter – usually about two days for primary schools and slightly longer for secondaries. There is also less advance warning – six to 10 weeks instead of two terms – to reduce stressful anticipation. A booklet produced by Ofsted, Reducing the Burden of Inspection, sets out other ways to minimise the stress of visits.

In Wales, Estyn is consulting on changing its procedures. Currently schools are visited every six years but are given three terms notice. In Scotland, local authorities are visited on a four-yearly cycle.

what is being done to help teachers?

There seems to be general agreement – from teachers, unions, government and government agencies – that action is needed now to tackle stress in teaching.

A government working party, including teaching unions and employers, has been set up to develop ideas for cutting workload following the PricewaterhouseCoopers study. Throughout 2002, it will look at reducing long hours and creating more time for teachers to teach.

A further report, commissioned by the Government from the School Teachers' Review Body and published in May 2002, outlines ways schools can reduce red tape and bureaucracy. The report recommends reducing teachers' workload in England and Wales to an average 45 hours a week within four years. It also outlines several other changes, including dedicated time for teachers involved in management and Government action to reduce red tape. The full report can be accessed at www.teachernet.gov.uk.

At the same time, 30 schools are to pioneer new ways of working aimed at reducing excessive workload. The schools, announced in April 2002, will be given extra support including a lap top for every teacher, more support staff, guaranteed teacher time for lesson planning and marking, and professional help for headteachers.

Some schools have already been charting new waters under the Reducing Bureaucratic Burdens project, within the PricewaterhouseCoopers review. They include Prince Albert primary school, Birmingham, which has pioneered a web-based system to help teachers plan and prepare lessons.

how teachers can help themselves

Many burdens on teaching staff – like workload and long hours – are outside of teachers' control. However, some people seem to manage such stressful pressures better than others. There are many things teachers can do to help manage stress levels.

If you have a particular problem at work – or home – which is causing you stress, the first step is to talk to someone. That could be your line manager or a union representative or another colleague. Many local education authorities also have their own stress counselling services or employee assistance programme. Find out if your employer runs such a scheme.

If you want confidential and anonymous advice from qualified counsellors you can try the dedicated teachers' helpline, Teacher Support Line, on 0800 562 561, which is open 24 hours a day, all year round. The independent service, run by The Teacher Support Network is the largest workplace counselling scheme in the UK, receiving about 12,500 calls a year. Teachers can discuss work or personal problems, large or small. The website offers general advice, including a stress assessment quiz for teachers and online counselling, at www.teachersupport.info.

You can try our own stress management programme by checking into the stress gym. You will find details of helpful organisations under help and info.

Teacher Support Line offers some basic tips on managing stress. Here is their advice:

ten tips for teachers

• Recognise stress within yourself. Don't wait until you are in crisis.
• Identify what stresses you. Change what you can and work realistically with what you can't.
• Identify achievable goals and then take a 'small steps' approach to achieve them.
• Teachers tend to say 'yes'. Don't say 'yes' if what you actually mean is 'no'.
• Teaching demands a lot of you. Every now and then put yourself first.
• Caffeine, alcohol and self-prescribed drugs don't always help. Be aware and take control.
• Healthy environments are important. Take active responsibility for your school.
• Protect your own time. Relaxation and leisure time are not treats – they are essential ingredients in a healthy lifestyle.
• Keep things in perspective. Remember your achievements and the positive impact you have in your school.
• If you want confidential, professional counselling and support you can call Teacher Support Line.

For more tips on beating stress read headteacher Monica Galt's advice in how I beat stress.

You can also find out how schools in Norfolk are helping teachers beat stress in our enlightened employers section.

help and info

Channel 4 is not responsible for the content of third party sites.

Here are some organisations and websites which offer advice to teachers on stress.

organisations

Teacher Support Network
Mabledon Place
London WC1H 9BE
Tel: 08000 562 561 England (every day, 24 hours)
Tel: 08000 855 088 Wales (every day, 24 hours)
Website: www.teachersupport.info
Offers practical and emotional support to improve the well-being and effectiveness of teachers.

National Association of Head Teachers
1 Heath Square
Boltro Road
Haywards Heath RH16 1BL
Tel: 01444 472475
Website: www.naht.org.uk
Provides dedicated support to its members in the primary, secondary and special school sectors.

Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED)
33 Kingsway
London WC2B 6SE
switchboard: 020 7421 6800
Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk
Government agency inspecting standards in schools in England.

Estyn (Her Majesty's Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales)
Anchor Court
Keen Road
Cardiff CF24 5JW
Tel: 029 2044 6446
Website: www.estyn.gov.uk
Responsible for inspecting schools and nursery settings in Wales.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIE)
Tel: 01506 600200
Website: www.hmie.gov.uk
Aims to promote improvements in standards, quality and attainment in Scottish education through first-hand, independent evaluation.

websites

Cutting Burdens on Teachers
www.dfes.gov.uk/cuttingburdens
Set up as part of the government's workload review, this website offers guidance on cutting bureaucracy and examples of good practice.

Department for Education and Skills (DfES)
www.dfes.gov.uk
Government website featuring information and resources for adult learners, employers, jobseekers, students, parents, teachers and young people. Includes details of news, research and policies.

Hamilton Trust
www.hamilton-trust.org.uk
An educational charity, based in Oxford, that supports teachers by providing downloadable materials including model lesson plans, projects and other resources.

National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT)
www.teachersunion.org.uk
One of the largest teachers' unions with members in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

National Union of Teachers
www.teachers.org.uk
Both a professional association and a trade union. Membership is open only to fully qualified teachers and brings with it a wide range of benefits and services. Website features advice on tackling stress.

Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association
www.ssta.org.uk
The SSTA, Scotland's second largest teachers' union, focuses on advancing education in Scotland and promoting the interests of Scottish secondary teachers.

Teachernet
www.teachernet.gov.uk
Interactive site for teachers, containing news, legal information, professional development, and educational resources, as well as an extensive range of links.

Teacherstress
www.teacherstress.co.uk/index.shtml
This site aims to raise awareness of stress in UK teaching. Discusses stress and depression symptoms and advises how to get help for yourself or a colleague. Also features stress management strategies and a discussion forum.

reading

Engaging Teachers in Research: Inspiration versus the daily grind by Bob Burns and Terry Haydn
Available as a PDF from the University of East Anglia website.

Managing Stress in Schools
Factsheet available to download for free from the Teacher Support Network at www.teachersupport.info/index.cfm?p=824.

Reducing the Burden of Inspection
www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/docs/1091.pdf
Online booklet produced by OFSTED outlining six main ways to reduce the burden of inspection on schools and others while maintaining the integrity of the inspection system.

Teacher Workload Study (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2001)
www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/remodelling/workloadstudy
This report, commissioned by the DfES, sets out a range of options for tackling excessive teacher workload and promoting the most effective use of school resources.

	Managing Teacher Stress by William A Rogers (Financial Times Prentice Hall, 1996)) This book enables you to cope with the demands of teaching providing you with practical solutions to every day problems – not academic or overly theoretical but developed through experience and concern for both teachers and pupils. Get this book
	Primary Teachers' Stress by Peter Woods and Geoff Troman (Routledge Falmer, 2000) Looks at the causes of teacher stress, asks why it's the most common reason for leaving the profession and suggests ways of coping with and preventing stress. Get this book
	Stress-busting for Teachers by Chris Kyriacou (Nelson Thornes, 2000) This book discusses the causes of stress, warning signs to look out for and how to cope. Get this book
	Stress Free Teaching by Russell Joseph (Kogan Page, 2000) This guide aims to provide practical solutions to educators dealing with stress in their job. It features case studies from both the UK and abroad. Get this book
	Teachers under Pressure by Cheryl J Travers and Cary L Cooper (Routledge, 1996) Cary Cooper, one of the UK's foremost experts on workplace stress, and Cheryl Travers, who has helped many teachers manage stress, provide a detailed analysis of the causes and cures involved in teachers' stress. Get this book

(updated November 2002, resources updated April 2005)