RAPIDLY increasing levels of stress, depression and anxiety being suffered by Scottish teachers has forced a charity to set up a 24-hour counselling service to help thousands of them cope.
The Samaritans-style support is being organised by Teacher Support Scotland (TSS), formerly the Scottish Teachers Benevolent Fund, which claims that school staff have been reluctant to seek help in the past.
It has already seen hundreds of teacher
s make contact through a pilot scheme in Fife and Renfrewshire which is to be rolled out across the country this year, providing free confidential e-mail and telephone support.
Some of those contacting the charity have cited worries over bullying by management, heavy workloads, long working hours, and disruption, aggression and violence from pupils.
Recent research by Edinburgh University showed that more than 90% of teachers think the profession is "quite" to "very stressful".
The study also found that 33% of secondary school teachers show the same symptoms as clinical psychology outpatients, citing feelings of hopelessness and worry, along with physical symptoms of dizziness or choking.
TSS expects to offer one-to-one advice to more than 4,000 teachers every year when it goes nationwide later this year.
Mike Finlayson, the organisation's chief executive, said the help service was sorely needed. He added: "The reality is that teaching is a particularly difficult, stressful and pressured job for a lot of people. But teachers can't just sit back and expect people to do things for them if they are experiencing problems.
"It is not about teachers being poor victims. It is about them taking responsibility, being proactive and realising that to do their jobs effectively teachers need to be physically and mentally fit.
"This service allows that. It is designed to provide information, advice and coaching from highly trained professional counsellors if necessary. Hopefully it will be a service that teachers can dip in and out of throughout their careers."
The service is accessed first by e-mail and then follow-up telephone calls from councillors. Finlayson said:
"The service will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and initially there is a fast-response e-mail system. It means that you can ask a question and get a response from a real-life person. Telephone contact can then be initiated by either party. An online service also costs significantly less to run."
One secondary school teacher claims the scheme has already made a huge difference to her life. She said:
"To say I was stressed was an understatement; I was facing a nervous breakdown. The crunch time came when I burst into tears in front of a class. I hadn't prepared an engaging lesson plan and my pupils had spent the class talking and shouting over me. Once back in the staff-room, a colleague mentioned Teacher Support.
"I spoke to one of the counsellors who advised me straight away to explain the situation to my head. Luckily my head was very sympathetic and supportive and tried to reduce my workload."
Last year a report showed that Scottish teachers are among the best paid in the developed world. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development survey revealed Scotland came sixth in a table of 31 countries, with England 10th.
Rank and file primary and secondary staff earn between £23,300 and £31,000 a year. They can earn up to £38,000 if they take a further qualification to become a Chartered Teacher or boost their pay by going for promotion. Teachers in Scotland also get 13 weeks' paid holidays a year.
