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Why is teacher stress on the rise?

When we first started Universal Mindfulness, our focus was primarily on children, helping them to develop confidence, self-esteem and resilience as well as teaching them ways to cope with anxiety and stress. However, we quickly realised that we needed a three-pronged approach to truly support children’s mental health, so our Parent and Teacher Wellbeing Workshops were born.

It’s through these and being a governor at a local school, that I have discovered a new found respect for teachers of today. Teaching can be a very rewarding profession, but it is also incredibly stressful as teachers not only have to care about the academic growth of a child but they must also support them socially & emotionally. In addition, they have to deal with the added pressures of Oftsed, budget cuts, behavioural issues,  increased workloads, poor home/work life balance and communicating with difficult or aggressive parents. It’s no wonder that teacher stress is now as high as that of nurses and as a country, we are facing a recruitment and retention crisis. Many teachers feel over-worked, under appreciated and stressed, so their passion for the profession is waning.

67% of teachers surveyed said their job adversely impacted their mental or physical health (NASUWT, 2015)

The impact of teacher stress on health

 Small levels of stress can help us achieve more by increasing focus and motivation to reach deadlines. However, chronic stress weakens the immune system, increases fatigue, reduces mental stamina and causes irritability, mood swings, anxiety and panic attacks.   Recent research shows that 1 in 83 teachers spent more than a month off work in 2016-17 due to stress. This disrupts classrooms and can affect children as supply teachers are called in, so consistency in teaching is lost. More shockingly, nearly half of all teachers leave the field within the first five years and many others experience burnout. A stressed teacher is more likely to shout in class and react poorly to difficult situations rather than respond calmly and engage proactively. This results in lower self esteem and personal dissatisfaction of both teacher and pupil.

However, happy teachers lead happy schools. Research shows that active teacher engagement and positive teacher-pupil relationships result in better school outcomes. So shouldn’t teacher wellbeing and happiness be a priority in all schools? A teacher with high emotional wellbeing and positive morale is more likely to be creative, challenging and effective, leading to students doing better in exams.

How to improve Teacher Wellbeing

 In our Teacher Workshops, we make it very clear, ‘You cannot serve from an empty vessel!’ It’s important that teachers look after themselves in order to truly give to others. We introduce a variety of stress reducing strategies and the power of mindfulness for self-awareness, emotional regulation and motivation. We share tools to improve communication with children and colleagues and discuss ways to improve resilience in life. We also discuss the impact of technology on developing brains and how to help children in class improve focus, attention and empathy. We firmly believe that teacher wellbeing is key to a school’s success.

If you would like to find out more about our  Wellbeing For Teachers workshop, please email info@universalmindfulness.co.uk .

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