Staff wellbeing concerns increasing and unsustainable for North East schools
North East school leaders have reported an untenable situation around the impact of Covid-19 on staff wellbeing with increased workload, longer working hours and a decrease in staff morale. Concerns are emerging that, without intervention, the situation will impact staffing levels, the ability of schools to remain open and even long-term teacher retention. Our school staff have worked incredibly hard to support students and school communities since the beginning of lockdown, however the ongoing situation is having a serious impact on their mental health and wellbeing.
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Impact of workload
In a survey conducted by Schools North East, over 70% of respondents said that school staff were responding to Covid-19 issues outside of working hours, with 90% acknowledging that weekends and evenings had been disrupted to deal with these issues. Almost a third of respondents believed staff had dealt with an issue on more than half the weekends this half term, seriously impacting the work life balance of school staff.
In addition to dealing directly with Covid-related issues, the need to deliver remote learning has increased workload for the staff of almost 90% of respondents. The main reasons for this were increased planning time, delivering physical learning packs or putting lessons online, including getting to grips with the systems and software for this, and monitoring the work being done. School leaders have also pointed to increased workload and stress from constantly having to check emails for updates, keeping on top of changing guidance and planning for possible future changes to guidance, particularly around exams.
Almost half of respondents felt that workload had increased by 5 or more hours a week – clearly a significant impact in a profession already known for long working hours.
The effect on mental health and wellbeing
Generally it was felt that all staff had been affected, with hugely increased workloads for both classroom and support staff, however most felt the largest burden was falling on leadership who are needing to manage these issues and a multitude of new, complex processes. When asked about the impact of all of this on staff, respondents repeatedly highlighted stress, exhaustion and fatigue, which are on top of general anxieties about the pandemic itself. Alongside this, a cause for concern is that normal in-school support structures, and the ability to share concerns and talk to colleagues, are no longer available due to measures such as isolation and restricted bubbles. Over 80% felt that staff wellbeing was worse than the same time last academic year.
Respondents overwhelmingly felt that the situation is unsustainable with almost 80% suggesting that staff cannot continue like this for any length of time. Of those who responded otherwise, most felt that it was only sustainable with intervention, and others identified that staff had no choice and needed to keep going to provide a safe learning environment for pupils despite the serious impact on their own mental health and wellbeing. Following this, some pointed to serious consequences including increased absence, affecting schools’ ability to stay open, and even affecting staff retention in the long term.
It’s not just school leaders that are highlighting this as a problem. In Ofsted’s report earlier this week it was acknowledged that Head Teachers are facing “unrealistic pressure”, which is “unsustainable” and “overwhelming”, and that school staff are “exhausted”. Causes of this were identified as constantly “firefighting” and dealing with last-minute and frequently changing guidance.
Practical solutions
When asked about measures that could help resolve the situation, many respondents suggested the advanced publication of relevant contingency plans (i.e. for next summer’s GCSEs), which had the confidence of the profession and would help staff to prepare and plan. Additionally, improved covid testing availability, as well as taking the responsibility for tracing away from schools was identified as key, as is prioritising school staff for testing and making them a high priority, after health workers, for receiving the new covid-19 vaccine.
The high stakes accountability system was identified as a further burden, at a time when baseline, benchmarks and year on year statistics are either not being recorded, or are completely incomparable, making league tables, Ofsted Inspections and primary testing this year an unnecessary pressure on staff. Additionally, constant uncertainty is a recurring issue, with respondents wanting timely, definitive and clearer guidance, and consistent advice rather than ever changing updates and U-turns. Allowing schools flexibility over attendance and operating reduced in-school timetables was also a common ask, as many schools are now in the forced position of having to do this simply due to pressures on staffing.
Taking action
It is clear that urgent intervention is needed to protect our schools, and that there are many practical measures which can help to reduce the workload and stresses on school staff. While we accept that this is a challenging time, it is untenable to expect school staff to continue to the point of burnout. Our school staff have gone above and beyond since the start of the pandemic, ensuring that students could learn, supporting vulnerable students, providing meals, ensuring schools are safe, dealing with Covid cases and much more. We know that our staff will continue to do so at the cost of their own health and wellbeing, and intervention from policymakers is crucial to preventing burnout, increased staff absences due to illness and stress and long-term damage to the perception of the profession.
We have called on the Department for Education, Secretary of State and the region’s MPs to take action on a range of issues to combat this, and we will continue to do so, emphasising the importance of maintaining staff mental and wellbeing.
Please help us do this by filling in our very short survey and make your voice heard.
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