JNC April 25th 2023 EIS final Report on Wellbeing at Work
Renfrewshire Council · 25 April 2023
Back to Renfrewshire Council Joint Negotiating Committee for Teaching Staff — 25 April 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers To: Renfrewshire Joint Negotiating Committee for Teachers On: April 25th, 2023 EIS Report on Wellbeing at Work Report by Joint Secretary (Teachers’ Side) Background The issue of teacher wellbeing is one that concerns both the Teachers’ Side and Management Side in Renfrewshire. The EIS, following resolutions at recent AGMs, has commissioned a paper reporting on the issues around stress and mental health and the supports available in Scotland. The report also investigates some of the issues around workload and its relation to stress and teacher wellbeing. This paper includes EIS survey data, gathered regionally, on teachers’ views on their wellbeing as well as external research on mental health within the education sector. The document serves as a comparator of teachers’ experiences across Scotland and Renfrewshire statistics are contained therein. From these survey results it is clear that poor wellbeing at work and working in a high stress environment is not a new issue, but that it has been exacerbated by the pandemic and the cost of living crisis. This paper also explores views recorded through a series of focus groups conducted as part of this research. From their contributions it is clear that many teachers have been driven to poor health as a result of their working environments: poor support for children with Additional Support Needs, a workload that far exceeds the capacity of the working week, and violent incidents in the classroom are all key issues that need immediate redress. This paper further explores the legal duties placed on employers and how local authorities are reporting on and managing work-related absences as well as highlighting the types of support that are currently being offered to teachers and other school staff. Renfrewshire Council has provided data throughout the Item 6
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report along with other local authorities which, collated, gives a national perspective on the issues being addressed. This report highlights the seriousness of the issue. Within the data it is clear that significant numbers of teachers are suffering from poor health because of their working environment– tackling this must be a priority for all working within the education sector, local authority employers and the Scottish government. There are also examples within this report of the range of supports available to address some of the issues. Given the length of the report a link has been attached below for ease of access: Teacher Health and Wellbeing Report - February 2023.pdf Action: The Teachers’ Side commends the report to the JNC.