The State of Education: Staff Workload, Wellbeing and Retention
Survey of NEU members on their working lives over the past year, and how they view it in the months and years to come.
Mental Health
Recognise the most common mental health issues for young children and adolescents and explore responses, including play based strategies and whole school approaches.
SEND
Building inclusion in schools and colleges
Advice
Coronavirus: inspection briefing and checklist for health and safety reps
Inspection briefing and checklist for NEU health and safety reps to use during the coronavirus crisis.
Coronavirus: what you need to know - staff mental health and wellbeing
Ten points on how to protect staff mental health during the Covid-19 crisis.
Coronavirus: pupil mental health and wellbeing
What you need to know about supporting child mental health and wellbeing
Managing stress and wellbeing in FE
This guidance explains why taking stress seriously and tackling it will make your college a more effective organisation, and how to go about it, with step-by step advice and case studies from colleges that have found approaches that work
Keeping happy and healthy
This guidance document is aimed at NEU members who are worried that their mental health is suffering because of the demands of their work. It will also be of use to NEU members who are considering returning to work following a spell of absence due to a mental health condition.
Online stress survey guidance for local officers, reps and safety reps
The NEU offers an online staff stress survey as a resource for local officers, reps and safety reps to assist them gather evidence about stress levels within a school and establish the causes and impact of this workplace stress.
Preventing work related mental health conditions
As a school leader, it is important to ensure that your school is a great place to work, with a happy and healthy workforce and low levels of sick leave.
Protecting staff mental health
It is important to understand the extent of governing body’s responsibilities for managing health, safety and welfare of teachers and ways in which the NEU and governors can work together to safeguard the mental health of teachers.
Resisting the resilience approach to work related stress
This advice explains the ‘resilience’ approach, why it does not lead to meaningful improvements for employees and how safety reps should instead seek to tackle work related stress in their school or college.
NEU Mental Health Charter
This charter, when followed, will help to ensure that the way work is organised does not cause or contribute to ill-health.
Tackling stress
Excessive workload and working hours are continually cited by teachers as one of the main causes of their workplace stress. This advice explains how to tackle stress at a local level in your workplace.
Work and suicide
If someone is threatening imminent suicide call 999 and stay with them until the emergency services arrive.
Stress risk assessment
A stress risk assessment is a careful examination of what in a workplace could cause staff to suffer from work-related stress, so that you can weigh up whether you have done enough, or should do more to prevent harm.
Mental health conditions in the education profession
Excessive workload is a key cause of mental health problems among teachers and education professionals. This advice explains what to do if you are struggling with mental health and outlines the different ways you can get support.
Blog
Coronavirus: getting the basics in first
What did we learn from the first lockdown that can help us better manage this and future disruptions?
Clean Air Day 2019
Last year's Clean Air Day saw over 550 events taking place nationally and this year's event on Thursday June 20th is set to be even bigger. Clean Air Day aims to raise awareness of how we can all take action, and support action, that will make the air we breathe cleaner and safer for all.
Mental Health funding
Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU writes about the impact of school funding cuts on pupils with SEND and poor mental health.
Seven practical solutions to poor mental health in schools
Natasha Devon looks at some possible solutions to the crisis in mental health provision.
School was my safe space. Our children should have the same respite today
Natasha Devon is putting Gove-o-philes, the Department of Education, and Theresa May on notice: something has to change to solve the crisis in mental health provision.
Press release
LGA calls for Government to provide funding for school-based counselling
We agree with the LGA that more school-based counselling would be a sensible step given the increased number of young people with anxiety and mental health issues.
NFER on Pupil Covid-Related Anxiety
National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) report on an increase in pupils with mental health issues.
Mind report on Young People’s Mental Health
We need a holistic approach to education recovery over the coming year because of the strong relationship between mental health and learning.
Behaviour Management in Schools
The consultation on behaviour management in schools should focus on wellbeing not phones.
SEND Funding and Mental Health
Government must properly fund all schools and conduct an urgent review of high-needs funding.
The State of Education: Young People’s Mental Health
In advance of the National Education Union’s annual conference, held online this week, more than 10,000 teachers, leaders and support staff from across the UK and in all school and college settings have made clear their views on the State of Education and the conditions under which they work.
Ofsted on Covid Isolation
It is hugely concerning that Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) children are not doing as well as their peers in terms of coping with remote learning.
IPPR report on the future of education
The NEU supports the call that all children should have access to on-site mental health support, including on-site counsellors and interventions to support parental support programmes.
Letter to Gavin Williamson on behalf of supply members
NEU joint general secretaries have written to the education secretary Gavin Williamson about issues affecting supply staff during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Extra money for mental health services
Extra £1.25 million for school counselling services will be invaluable to support the anticipated increase in need for mental health services as a result of social distancing and school shut down measures.
OECD Talis survey 2018
TALIS shows us that under normal circumstances, teachers are overworked, stressed and looking to leave the profession.
Children’s Mental Health
The findings of this report are further evidence of the chronic underfunding of children’s mental health services and the lack of available support for so many children and young people who need it.
Teacher Mental Health
There is no doubt that the excessive demands upon education staff and the poor working practices they endure in schools and colleges are helping create a toxic work environment, leading to mental ill-health among both teachers and support staff.
EPI on CAMHS
The EPI report makes for alarming reading and chimes with the concerns raised by our members.
Most vulnerable youngsters at serious risk due to austerity
Wales’s largest education union has called on the Welsh Government to support the rights of every child to a fully funded and equal education.
Young People’s Mental Health
Young Minds survey shows that academic pressure has significant impact on students mental health.
Reformed GCSEs are damaging the mental health of young people, and failing to accurately reflect their abilities
On the eve of this year’s GCSE results, the National Education Union (NEU) has carried out a snapshot poll of members about their perceptions of how recent reforms to the qualifications have impacted on the students they teach.
NEU poll shows damaging impact of A-Level reforms on students’ mental health and engagement
On the eve of this year’s A-Level results, the National Education Union (NEU) has polled members about their perceptions of how recent reforms to the qualifications have impacted on the students they teach.
Mental Health Training
Commenting on an announcement by Theresa May that every new teacher will be trained in spotting the signs of mental health issues, Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary NEU, said: “The aspiration to train school staff to spot signs of mental illness amongst pupils is welcome, but it will amount to little more than a sticking plaster."
Mental health in exam factories
Commenting on the passing of Motion 29 at the Annual Conference of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “The current draconian approach to the education of children and young people is turning our schools into Exam Factories and squeezing the joy and creativity out of the classroom.
The State of Education: Young People’s Mental Health
Mental health problems amongst young people hit “crisis point”, according to findings of NEU survey
Pressures at school making pupils suicidal – NEU survey
Almost half (49%) of education staff say secondary school pupils have been suicidal because of stress they are under, according to a survey of the National Education Union (NEU), released at the ATL section annual conference.
SATs do not benefit children’s learning and are bad for their well-being – NEU survey
Children crying, having nightmares and being so stressed they needed extra support to cope with SATs were highlighted by primary teachers in a National Education Union (NEU) survey on the primary assessment.
Capita and Primary School Tests
Capita is set to make a vast profit at the expense of young primary children’s mental health and well-being, after the award of a £109 million contract by the government, says the NEU.
Congratulations to students, but high-stakes A-levels do not demonstrate what students can do
Congratulations to students and staff but warning that there is increase in mental health issues and a narrowing of the curriculum with new assessment model, NEU says.
Changes to GCSEs and A-levels are damaging students’ mental health and increasing teachers’ workload – NEU poll
Changes to this year’s GCSEs and A-levels have damaged students’ mental health, according to a snap-shot poll by the National Education Union.
Event
Coronavirus wellbeing webinar
A webinar to explore some of the mental and physical wellbeing challenges members may face due to the coronavirus crisis.