Epidemic of stress' blamed for 3,750 teachers on long-term sick leave!

Policy changes, budget cuts, fewer staff and bigger classes blamed for toll on teachers’ mental health revealed by figures compiled by Lib Dems

According to a report in The Guardian, teaching unions are warning of an “epidemic of stress” as research revealed that 3,750 teachers were signed off on long term sick leave last year because of pressure of work, anxiety and mental illness.

Figures obtained through a mass freedom of information request show a 5% rise on the year before, revealing that one in 83 teachers spent more than a month off work in 2016-17. Altogether 1.3 million days have been taken off by teachers for stress and mental health reasons in the last four years, including around 312,000 in 2016-17, the figures compiled by the Liberal Democrats show.

Read the full report here: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/jan/11/epidemic-of-stress-bla...