The response rate varied across countries, ranging from 70% (155 responses out of 220 staff) in Malaysia to 1% (47 responses out of 6,900 staff) in Saudi Arabia. Psychological distress scores were categorised as low (10–15) and moderate to very high (16–50) 12, 13 8, 9. Only consenting participants could proceed to the next screen to access the survey questions.
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The findings give insight into where there is already a solid foundation Tackling teacher wellness in schools and where targeted support can make the greatest impact. To understand more about this pressing issue, we analysed our data on workforce resilience across the sector in 2024. Workforce stress remains a significant challenge across the education sector.
Findings on overall support from senior leaders are mixed
- Full-time school teachers reported working 51 hours on average during the given week, while senior leaders worked even longer, 57 hours on average.
- Join our campaign to call on Government to take urgent action on teacher retention.
- A substantial number of the teachers in the study reported physical and psychological challenges and suboptimal working conditions for well-being, a largely neglected workforce issue, for this working population.
- Other industries, like healthcare, have implemented innovative workforce models that could inspire meaningful change in HR in schools.
Staff with Bachelor and higher qualifications, Professor appointments, smoking, current alcohol use, recent blood lipid profile checks, and perceived good to excellent mental health were more likely to exhibit medium to high resilient coping. (Table S.1) Details of socio-demographic data and characteristics of study population are presented in Table 1. For country-wise comparisons, the reference country was selected based on the lowest prevalence of perceived job insecurity, perceived burnout, moderate to very high psychological distress, and medium to high resilience coping. A structured survey based on a previous global study led by the first author (MAR) was used . Email invitations containing the online survey link were distributed to all staff in the participating organisations through the assistance of the lead investigator from each organisation.
It was important to understand the landscape of national offerings, development of locally sustainable approaches, collaboration and the procurement of packages of support from third parties being accessed by LA staff. There are six key organisational features identified by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) as impacting on work-related stress, but these are open to change and improvement. To develop a greater understanding of this landscape, this Education Workforce Support Project, overseen by ADES and the SG, was created to gain a comprehensive understanding of current practice as to how education workforce HWB is supported nationally. From enhancing workplace wellbeing to providing vital support when it’s needed most.
Relationships with parents can be a negative factor and a source of stress
The report also used the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS), which scores a person’s wellbeing according to how often they report feeling optimistic, relaxed, or close with other people, for example. Principal and school leaders are pivotal to schools achieving excellence in teaching and learning. As a department, we have a strong focus on the wellbeing of all staff and students to create a sense of belonging and a positive environment for teaching and working. The department has a comprehensive staff wellbeing framework that includes multiple initiatives, information resources and interactive training modules. Programs often work most successfully when you use the skills and interests of staff members and make connections with local community people, organisations, resources and programs.
We found that a positive working environment is a predictor of staff well-being. Local authorities and multi-academy trusts should follow DfE guidance and ensure they do not increase workload through unnecessary data requests. They do not always feel fully supported by senior leaders (nor parents) in managing pupils’ misbehaviour. In addition, there is often a lack of parental support on this front. Senior leaders are not always seen as providing sufficient support for managing pupils’ behaviour. They feel that despite having the skills and knowledge to deliver good quality education, the lack of resources does not allow them to reach their educational goals.