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Unions call for action on teacher workload and student behaviour

Teacher workload and student behaviour were two key issues to emerge from the annual NEU and NASUWT conferences over the Easter period. Pete Henshaw reports
Endemic: More than 80% of teachers say their work has negatively affected their mental health, while 62% say that work-related stress is affecting them the majority of the time - Adobe Stock

A majority of teachers say they are stressed at work most of the time and find themselves unable to switch off when at home, with many working evenings and weekends, according to findings from the National Education Union (NEU).

A majority of teachers say their work has negatively affected their mental health and that work-related stress is getting worse year-on-year – with 8 in 10 reporting trouble sleeping due to work, according to findings from the NASUWT.

The country’s two largest teaching unions both held their annual conferences during the Easter break when issues of teacher wellbeing, workload and mental health dominated.

Both the NEU and NASUWT published findings from large-scale surveys of their members showing just how endemic workload and work/life balance challenges have become.

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