Scottish teachers stressed, survey finds

A new survey of almost 16,500 teachers by the EIS Scottish teachers’ union “has laid bare” the impact of workload, chronic underfunding, and the cost of living crisis on health and wellbeing.

EIS general secretary Andrea Bradley said teachers are facing significant stress from “soaring levels of workload” and the cost of living crisis. This is being compounded by the “scarcity of support for pupils with additional support needs”.

Key findings included almost all (98%) teachers surveyed reporting that they work above their contracted hours each week, with 41% working the equivalent of an extra full day of unpaid work. Almost half said they had poor or very poor wellbeing, and more than two thirds said they always or frequently felt stressed.