Discover the Tes 'School Wellbeing Report 2023'

The Covid-19 pandemic had a large impact on many areas of people’s lives. But one year on its after-effects are still being felt by young people and their teachers as the stresses and pressures are continuing to take considerable tolls on staff in all areas. The Wellbeing report (view in full here) saw almost 6,000 school staff respond to the wellbeing survey which gave an insight into the how-to profession is doing.

Key Findings

School budgets are being stretched further than before, and the stresses and pressures this creates are becoming unprecedentedly difficult for the profession as a whole. Worryingly only about 20% of the staff that was surveyed said that ‘they feel their school is well funded’. With only 36% of staff saying they ‘have enough resources to do their job’.

Workload unsurprisingly is another key concern highlighted during the wellbeing report. Respondents made it very clear that their current workloads are unmanageable. Many have also stated that leadership plays a considerable part in how supported staff feel and can take a heavy toll on their mental health.

Education Support’s latest UK Teacher Wellbeing Index released in late 2022, highlighted that stress, depression, and anxiety are at unsustainably high levels, which is leading to a large number of staff considering leaving the profession. Sadly, the index found that for the first-time lack of resources was one of the top reasons especially in a primary setting, why staff were considering quitting.

With all that being said, the report noted that there has been an improvement in the number of staff that agree they feel confident in their roles. The leaders are feeling the most confident with the teachers feeling the least confident. This suggests that more support is needed from leaders, but at the same time, those leaders are doing their best.

Workload and Work-Life Balance

Recruitment struggles have been an unmistakable sign of the workload struggle being faced in the education sector. With workloads having such an impact on recruitment and retention, it is an area that needs attention. Respondents also noted that a good work-life balance is the most important consideration in their current and prospective roles.

For the report, they gave options for the respondents to select any that apply regarding any implemented solutions their school has introduced to help reduce the workload. The highest on the list was: Reduced Marking at 49% with Timesaving EdTech and Lesson Planning software joint at the bottom with 8%. This suggests that there is more to be done especially with timesaving EdTech.

Funding and Resources

The report brings focus to how the cost-of-living crisis is being felt by schools. Energy bills are soaring, and budgets are already being stretched by other costs. Over half of the respondents to the wellbeing survey agreed that their school isn’t funded enough. It is clearly affecting how staff feel they are performing with an increase in the number of staff who said they don’t have enough resources from last year. Although there is a difference when you look at different sectors, those in independent schools are not feeling the pressure to the same extent as those in state schools.

Many schools are trying to take creative approaches to the use of their budget, from

• Using trainee teachers
• Early career teachers or graduate interns
• Improving efficiencies in timetabling

Communication, Feedback, and Development

Communication between school leaders is vital and can make all the difference. Allowing staff to feel like they have a voice is essential but sadly less than half of the respondents of the 2023 survey feel this way. However, the survey found differences in this, based on different settings and job roles within schools. Communication complications have also been found to come from staff receiving feedback on their performances and development.

Engagement and Pride

The report states that “Perhaps the biggest question to ask around wellbeing is whether staff feel their school is a place they’d recommend friends and family to work.” Almost half of respondents said that they wouldn’t feel comfortable recommending their school. This is an interesting result that should be considered by senior leaders, as to how they may be able to deal with this moving forward.

Relationships and Support

This section looked at the relationships colleagues have and whether they felt thought about and cared for by their co-workers. Thankfully, The wellbeing report found that the result for this has stayed somewhat stable since last year with just over 50% of colleagues saying they felt that their colleagues care about them.

Another heart-warming fact was that teachers’ relationships with their students seem to have not diminished, even with all the previous pressures and stresses that have been highlighted during this report.

Throughout this report, Tes has highlighted some great points that school staff/leaders should take note of and consider in their preparations for next year.

To read the report in full click here.