School assistants struggle to cope


A crisis in health and well-being is engulfing schools, which could lead to a mass exodus of hardworking, dedicated staff unless urgent action is taken by the government, says the public sector union UNISON.


More than half (52%) of school support staff across the UK have experienced stress, anxiety or depression as they struggle to cope with their workloads, according to a UNISON survey.


At least two-fifths (42%) of those who took part in the survey said they had difficulty in completing their work, and around one in eight (13%) said they found it impossible to manage all that was being asked of them.


Almost half of support staff (47%) said they are considering leaving their jobs, citing issues like low pay, stress and huge workloads.


Many said it was difficult to talk about the pressures of their jobs, with two-fifths (40%) saying they felt unable to report concerns about the size of their workload to managers.


UNISON’s head of education Jon Richards said: “It’s shocking that more than half the UK’s school support staff are now experiencing stress, anxiety or depression because they are being given way too much to do. These are dedicated professionals, but with too few of them employed for the amount of work that has to be done, schools are increasingly relying on the goodwill of staff.”


www.unison.org.uk/news/press-release/2016/05/schools-face-exodus-of-support-staff-over-workload-stress-says-unison-survey/?