AQW 51086/11-16


Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry


Tabled Date: 18/11/2015
Answered On Date: 23/11/2015
Priority Written: Yes


Question:
To ask the Minister of Education to detail (i) what professional support is provided by his Department to reduce stress among teachers; (ii) whether he has any plans to increase the support available; and (iii) what discussions his Department has had with stakeholders in the last twelve months regarding stress levels among teaching staff.


Answer:
Responsibility for the health and wellbeing of teachers rests with the Board of Governors as their employers and, where relevant, the employing authorities. It is therefore their responsibility, dependant on the circumstances, to determine the appropriate professional support which should be made available to teachers.
My Department, in conjunction with the employing authorities and teaching unions, through the Teachers’ Negotiating Committee, continue to work together to tackle issues that impact on teachers health and wellbeing and this issue is a regular agenda item at those meetings.
Most recently, I personally endorsed the reinvigoration of the Teachers’ Health and Wellbeing Working Group of the Teachers’ Negotiating Committee (TNC). This group will consider matters in relation to support which is, or can, be made available to the teaching workforce.
In recent years a number of measures have been introduced to provide support to the teaching workforce. These measures include the development of a strategy for teachers’ health and wellbeing; a policy statement on tackling violence and abuse against teachers; a workload agreement; a teachers attendance procedure, which includes a new provision for the recording of incidences of work-related stress; an independent 24 hour confidential telephone counselling service for all teachers provided by Carecall; schemes to enable flexible working, job sharing, career break and temporary variation of contract and also a policy statement on planning, preparation and assessment time.
At my request, a series of meetings was recently held between the teaching unions and my Department to discuss strategic matters in relation to education and I can advise that matters regarding teachers’ health and wellbeing were raised for discussion by a number of representatives in attendance.