Camspace Limited
16 Bramblewood Close
Grantham NG31 8QH
T: 01476 572653
M: 07939 845920
E: enquiries@calmspace.co.uk
W: www.calmspace.co.uk
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Teaching has been identified as a profession with 1 of the lowest levels of wellbeing according to a quantity of studies.
Anxiety is 1 of the biggest difficulties facing teachers today and teacher anxiety is a priority for the National union of Teachers (NUT) who have worked with LEAs and the Well being and Safety Executive considering that 1990 to tackle the problem. In 1999 the NUT published guidance for its members that:
Analysed the causes, symptoms and effects of stress in schools and colleges, reaffirming the NUT position that stress was rooted in organisational causes Regarded as why employers necessary to take action to tackle stress, which includes their legal obligations under health and safety legislation
Set out a practical programme for NUT members in schools and colleges to promote discussion around pressure, identify the problems and take up problems with managers and governing bodies in order to tackle the causes and effects of tension
In 2002 a government working party was set up to develop concepts for cutting workload. A further report, commissioned by the government from the School Teachers Review Body and published in Could 2002 recommended a quantity of techniques schools could lessen the aspects leading to anxiety e.g.:
Lowering workload to an average of 45 hours a week within 4 years
Dedicated time for teachers involvement in management
Additional support, such as a lap best
Far more support staff
Guaranteed teacher time for lesson preparing and marking
Skilled aid for head teachers
At the 2010 NUT Conference delegates unanimously condemned their growing workload which has triggered a growth in stress-related illness and mental wellness issues. They vowed to take action to win a 35 hour week, smaller class sizes and an end to an inspection and management culture that makes growing demands on teachers ” in a far more and more bullying way”.
The Well being and Safety Executive defines pressure as:
“The reaction people have to excessive pressures or sorts of demand placed upon them. It arises when they worry they cannot cope.”
Pressure is not in itself an illness but it is a condition that can give rise to quite real illness.
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In the late 1990s a TUC survey found that tension was the main well being and safety concern in 4 out of five schools and far more than half of all ill-well being retirements had been pressure-related.
Despite the fact that tension is very much a wellness and safety problem, many of the causes of anxiety are drawn from wider areas e.g. conditions of service and management. Investigation carried about by the NUT found the following as the principal causes of teacher tension:
Excessive working hours
Excessive workload
Rising class sizes
Pressures due to OFSTED inspection
Adjustments in curriculum and courses
Adjustments to assessment and testing requirements
Poor management
Workplace bullying
Crumbling schools
Pupil behaviour
Risk of violence
Lack of support with bureaucracy
Lack of job security due to redundancy and fixed term contracts
Lack of control over the job
Threat to early retirement arrangements
Denigration of the profession by politicians and the media
Lack of public self esteem
Investigation investigating stress in teachers undertaken by Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College looked into the most stressful and most relaxing points of the day. They located the aspects contributing to a dramatic rise in blood pressure included:
Faulty photocopiers
Inappropriate room allocation
Insufficient equipment
Interpersonal relationships were also identified to be particularly stressful, specifically exactly where the reaction led to anger that had to be suppressed. Examples of this kind of interaction included:
Disciplining difficult pupils
Dealing with parents on the phone
Interactions with superiors in the presence of students
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Some of the most relaxing events included the mid-morning tea break and lunchtime clubs with keen pupils.
The effects of stress on the individual incorporate physical effects e.g. raised heart rate. Muscle discomfort and lower resistance to infection. Over a lengthy period pressure may possibly contribute to chronic well being troubles such as heart illness and ulcers. They may possibly also incorporate psychological and behavioural changes affecting work performance and interpersonal relationships, including poor concentration, overworking, irritability or aggression, becoming withdrawn or reluctant to accept constructive criticism.
The Teacher Support Network was used by 12,000 in its initial year ( 1999) It identified the best 5 issues raised by teachers looking for help as:
Pressure, anxiety and depression 27%
Conflict with managers and colleagues 14%
Pressures of workload and excessive changes 9%
Loss of confidence and performance anxiety 9%
Relationship, marital and family difficulties five%
Stress among teachers can also have a negative impact on schools e.g. the efficiency and good quality of education delivered and increased vulnerability to legal action from workers who are harmed.
Teacher Support Network located:
The high level of clinical interventions had been beneficial for some, but missed the mark for many
It had low to medium impact on the profession as a whole There was a low volume use of services
Schools and colleges have a legal obligation to take action on tension. Under the Wellness and Safety at Function Act 1974 schools and colleges ought to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of employees. Under the Management of Wellness and Safety at work Regulations 1992 they also have a specific duty to undertake risk assessments which seek to identify and get rid of or lessen risks to employee well being, safety and welfare.
Anxiety falls into this category which indicates that schools and colleges need to:
Consider the risk of anxiety amongst their workforce
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Take actions to get rid of or reduce the risks by modifications to working practices or introducing protective measures
The NUT advises that the most efficient schools/colleges stress policies contain how to tackle the root causes of anxiety by encouraging group discussions and issue solving. They also stress the essential role of their members in ensuring debate takes place, difficulties are identified and solutions are discussed and implemented. The
NUT/Nottingham University ” Action Strategy for Schools” was drawn up by Nottingham Trent
University and looked at:
Delivering education
How troubles had been solved in schools and colleges
The way in which personal and skilled development had been approached
Designing jobs and allocating duties so that teachers’ abilities are greater matched to the demands on them.
Lowering time pressure and introducing time management training
Supplying more non-contact time for preparation and marking
Making higher use of teaching and administrative assistants
Enhancing the physical environment and offering much more teaching resources
Lowering class sizes
Offering greater training on the management of disruptive pupils and a lot more support in dealing with them
Working towards increased agreement on the “aims and objectives” of the schools
Creating a more co-operative and supportive culture
Providing time and opportunities for staff to relax together
Enhancing cohesiveness and quality of social environment
Creating the concept of team difficulty solving and legitimising this by delivering time for staff to discuss troubles together
Enhancing communication within school
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Offer better feedback to teachers
Requesting senior teachers to share data far more readily
Developing far better individual-centred management approaches
Enhancing the leadership and management styles adopted by senior staff
Producing far more frequent and much better use of expressions of appreciation of teachers’ efforts and achievements
Moving towards much more frequent and greater use of feedback
Enhancing initial and in-service training for teachers, producing it relevant to their genuine will need
Which includes management training for head teachers, pressure and time management training, communications skills training and management of disruptive pupils
Looking for to provide better support facilities for schools, including a broadly-based occupational wellness service, counselling and leisure facilities
Producing efforts to boost community and public well being perceptions of the school and its teachers and pupils.
The positive aspects to a school or college managing pressure contain:
Improved morale. Performance and motivation of staff
Reduced staff absence leading to decreased costs of supply teachers Higher staff retention leading to reduced disruption
Reduction in the communication of pressure Reduction in well being retirements
Improvements in teaching standards due to reductions in turnover and use of supply teachers
Greater involvement of staff in school/college led change processes Much better support for head teachers and leaders in schools/colleges Invaluable information for schools self-evaluation for OFSTED
Support for other initiatives e.g. Healthy Schools and Investor in Folks Much less wasted management time
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At the very least schools and colleges will need to:
Demonstrate organisational ” get in” for managing tension
Create an awareness and understanding of the HSE Tension Management Standards
Gather and analyse information Create an action plan
Establish a genuine dialogue with staff Implement and evaluate interventions Generate sustainability by training staff
We know from experience that keeping teachers in function, where possible, is a priority. Calmspace works in a sector specific way responding to the altering requirements and habits of teachers:
Providing training in Anxiety Management, Time Management, Communication Skills, Team Dilemma Solving and the Management of Disruptive Pupils
Able to circulate, collate and analyse the NUT checklist of doable problems at function to identify troubles that can then be taken forward to group discussions of pressure Also able to offer independent facilitation of group discussions in order to:
Raise awareness and understanding of problems and prevent issues being glossed over
Gather evidence of the exact nature of the difficulty Identify actions which can be taken to address the issue Independently monitor and evaluate interventions
We have adopted an holistic approach to working with people that involves searching at:
Workload, function relationships, performance, pressure and so on
Frequent mental health difficulties
Personal difficulties e.g. funds, family members and young children
For a lot more details about Calmspace Limited’s pressure management services or to book a
Free of charge, no obligation, 30 minute consultation please ring 01476 572653 or e mail enquiries@calmspace.co.uk
NUT Health and Safety Briefing : Tackling Pressure ( published 1999)
Buckingham Chilterns University College 2007
Anxiety – Prevention is far better than cure by Worklife Support
Teachers Support
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