Sharp rise in teachers asking for mental health help

by eddie Sun Nov 17, 2019 7:37 pm

Growing numbers of teachers are struggling with mental health issues and the risk of suicide is also rising, one support charity says.

The Education Support Partnership (ESP) says that between April last year and March 2019 they dealt with more than 9,600 cases of classroom support assistants and teachers in crisis. That’s a rise of 20% over two years.

The charity says that its emotional support helpline is now seeing its highest ever level volume of calls.

Of these, the number of teachers who are assessed clinically to be at the risk of suicide increased to 561 – that’s a rise of 57%.

One of the big issues, the charity says, is that teachers are not asking for help until they are in crisis.

Other data reveals that nearly 60% of the helpline’s callers are staff who have worked in education for less than five years.

‘Teachers who are struggling to maintain good mental health’

The charity’s chief executive, Sinead McBrearty, said: “We have seen a steep rise in teachers who are struggling to maintain good mental health and well-being in challenging times for the profession.

“It’s striking that teachers are not asking for help at the first sign of difficulty, or even the second. Most contact us when they have reached crisis.”

https://www.theeducator.com/news/sharp-rise-teachers-asking-mental-health-help/