the pressure of Ofsted inspections, exam targets and badly behaved pupils in putting teachers under extra stress. the National Union of Teachers have been looking into the issue for the past two years, and found that there is a higher suicide rate amongst teachers, and that many leave the profession due to stress.
The NUT is now appealing to the government to tackle the issue, and encourage the school inspection body Ofsted to pay more attention to the mental health of staff when assessing schools.
Helen Andrews from the NUT said: “Originally we had issues such as class sizes, now it has been joined by Sats tests, performance [assessment], Ofsted, and management bullying.
“Schools under constant alert of Ofsted inspections frequently create unacceptable levels of stress which are passed on to all staff, and which can be sufficient to tip a teacher into mental illness.”
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