From: rpattree2@gmail.com   
      
   Teachers report rise in mental health fears   
      
      
   By Katherine Sellgren   
   BBC News education reporter in Manchester   
   14 April 2014 Last updated at 10:36   
   Teacher in class   
   ATL general secretary Mary Bousted said education professionals did more   
   unpaid overtime than any other group   
   More than a third - 38% - of school and college staff have seen a rise in   
   mental health issues among colleagues in the past two years, a poll for a   
   teachers' union suggests.   
      
   And 55% said their job had a negative impact on their mental health.   
      
   The government says it trusts heads to address any health issues with staff.   
      
   The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) last month polled 925   
   education staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.   
      
   Disturbed sleep   
      
   Comments from respondents   
      
   A head of a department from a college in Wales said: "The constant pressure,   
   with unrealistic targets given at short notice, has had an adverse effect on   
   my health.   
      
   "If you complain or discuss it, your job will be at risk."   
      
   A head of department in Kent said: "It is no good telling the management about   
   your hidden disabilities because they will consider you as a weak link."   
      
   A lecturer at a college in Manchester said: "Difficult working conditions,   
   pressures from management and Ofsted and very little spare time all contribute.   
      
   "The profession is full of ill-health and tiredness."   
      
   A teacher at a Kent primary school said: "I have decided to leave teaching   
   because of work-related stress.   
      
   "I have been expected to work up to 90 hours per week and this has had a   
   terrible impact on my family life and my health."   
      
   Source: ATL   
      
   Of those who said they believed their job has had a negative impact on their   
   mental health, 80% said they were stressed.   
      
   Some 70% said they were left feeling exhausted by their work and 66% said it   
   disturbed their sleep.   
      
   The ATL is concerned that a stigma attached to mental health issues means many   
   people are afraid to tell their employers if they have such problems.   
      
   The poll found 68% of those dealing with a mental health problem had decided   
   to keep it a secret from bosses, compared with 38% of those who kept a   
   physical health issue to themselves.   
      
   The ATL debated the topic at its annual conference in Manchester on Monday.   
      
   In a range of passionate speeches, delegates spoke of talking colleagues out   
   of suicide, having panic attacks on the way to work, crying in a friend's   
   classroom and being told to "get over it" by management.   
      
   Tamsin Honeybourne, a union representative in Surrey, said she typically had   
   three members a year about whom she was "seriously worried".   
      
   "It's under-recognised. The problem is huge. In 80% of cases, there are mental   
   health issues around being in a high pressured profession, being on the public   
   stage."   
      
   Rod Bissett from Birmingham, who himself suffered a period of mental health   
   problems, said: "I've seen colleagues reduced to tears because of their   
   depression and other mental health problems."   
      
   A resolution calling on the union to establish a dedicated working group to   
   investigate the issue was passed.   
      
   Union members want to look specifically at the impact of performance   
   management systems on those with mental health problems or hidden disabilities   
      
   'Intense pressure'   
      
   ATL calls for more to be done to ease the stigma surrounding mental health   
   problems   
   Dr Mary Bousted, ATL general secretary   
   Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of ATL, said she was shocked by the survey   
   findings.   
      
   "Education professionals do more unpaid overtime than any other group and are   
   put under constant intense pressure to meet targets, with excessive   
   observation, changes in the curriculum and Ofsted inspections.   
      
   "Those working in education need to be supported better, with schools and   
   colleges making adjustments to their jobs and working conditions where   
   necessary.   
      
   "ATL calls for more to be done to ease the stigma surrounding mental health   
   problems."   
      
   A spokeswoman for the Department for Education said statistics showed that   
   teaching had never been "more attractive, more popular or more rewarding".   
      
   "We trust the professionalism of our head teachers to work with their staff to   
   ensure they receive the support they need and to see that any issues are   
   addressed," she added.   
      
      
      
      
   http://m.bbc.com/news/education-26990735   
      
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