East Lancashire teacher battling emotional breakdown due to 'impossible' school pressures caused by funding cuts says pupil mental health is 'worse than ever'

The teacher, who has been off work with stress and wishes to remain anonymous, said the mental health of their pupils is “worse than ever” and called the widening gap between privileged and deprived children “shocking”.

They also claimed it has become “impossible” to support the growing number of struggling children due to slashed funding for resources and that “staff absences have gone through the roof.”

“I have had this breakdown for the first time in my life. I feel so guilty whenever I have time off because it puts extra strain on other staff.

“I have students with life-changing exams coming up. I’m wondering if I’m doing them justice. If I have time off, I can't convince myself I’m not being selfish.

“My school is well organised, leadership is good, and I am well supported, but that is not the case everywhere.”

Many children who lacked support at home during lockdown are still struggling to catch up with their schoolwork more than two years on, the teacher added. They have seen a rise in GCSE pupils "giving up" when they usually start to knuckle down. Around four of their pupils have dropped out following the last lockdown, while three regularly miss lessons.

To help combat the issue, the school has a new mental health department and increased links with other agencies.

Lancashire County Council says its Mental Health Support Teams work with children experiencing mild anxiety, low mood, or behavioural difficulties to help keep them in school.

It also funds Lancashire Emotional Health in schools and colleges, which provides free emotional support to youngsters and staff.

Jayne Rear, Lancashire County Councillor and Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, said: "We understand that the impact of lockdowns has been difficult for many people, and Lancashire County Council takes the mental health needs of all our pupils and teachers seriously.

"We would always encourage pupils and staff struggling with mental health issues to reach out to the help available to them through their school or the NHS."

The Government will also inject a record amount of funding into schools totalling £58.8b by 2024/25.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We know that the pandemic had a huge impact on pupils’ learning and wellbeing. That’s why we’ve invested £5b. in education recovery initiatives, through which nearly three million tutoring courses have started, alongside millions to support children’s mental health.

“We are incredibly grateful for the continued efforts of teachers and school leaders in supporting pupils and will continue to liaise with the sector to improve teacher wellbeing, including working with the charity Education Support to provide mental health and well-being support to school leaders.

“More widely, we are investing an extra £2b. into our schools next year and the year after, which will be the highest real terms spending on schools in history, totalling £58.8b. by 2024/25.”

But the teacher we spoke to believes the record spending levels reflect a growing population rather than the actual needs of schools.

Supply teachers are often used at their workplace to fill the holes left by staff absences. But they are not appropriate long-term substitutes because they lack a relationship with the children, according to the teacher.

They also fear any pay rise resulting from teacher strikes will come out of the existing budget, leading to further cuts to resources like tutoring and teaching assistants, saying they are instead campaigning for more funds for schools.

“The pupils who need it the most end up losing out.

“I think the Government relies on goodwill and teachers doing more with less, which is unsustainable.

“The profession has been in a semi-permanent state of crisis for a long time. All it takes is one extra point to tip over the edge, and for me, the pay rise is the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

“If you value education, then the public has to back extra money for schools.”