Weekly round-up: Teacher stress, staff shortages, school funding

The toll that the job is taking on teachers’ - and particularly leaders’ - mental health was laid bare this week, with worrying new research revealing that most school staff have considered leaving because of the impact that work is having on their wellbeing.

There was also a warning that the teacher shortage could be exacerbated by trainees dropping out of their courses in the cost-of-living crisis, and a Tes investigation uncovered how schools in financial difficulties have faced a five-month wait to get support from government-appointed advisers. 

Catch up on your must-read Tes news and analysis articles from the past week right here:

• ‘9 in 10’ school leaders suffer poor mental health
  Some 87 per cent of senior school leaders - and 78 per cent of school staff more generally - have experienced symptoms of poor mental health due to their work, according to research by the charity Education Support.
   
• Revealed: the shortfall in teacher trainees
  The government has failed to hit its targets for recruiting both primary and secondary teacher trainees, new Departmet for Education data shows, raising fears of worsening teacher shortages in many subjects. In a further analysis article Tes breaks down the figures to reveal the subjects worst affected.
   
• Trainee teachers dropping out amid costs crisis
  Teaching students are dropping out because they can’t afford to complete their courses in the cost-of-living crisis, school-based teacher training providers have warned, fuelling fears that teacher shortages will get worse.
   
• Schools wait ‘far too long’ for DfE cost-cutter help
  Settings struggling to balance their books in the funding crisis have faced five-month waits to get financial help from government-appointed advisers under the new school resource management adviser (SRMA) scheme.
   
• Revealed: new dates for Sats tests
  New dates have been announced for Sats tests in 2023 to accommodate schools being closed on the extra bank holiday for King Charles III’s coronation.
   
• SEND plan delayed until next year 
  The long-awaited plan to reform the special educational needs and disabilities support system has been delayed until 2023, despite a government pledge to set out changes this year.
   
• Why the new funding won’t fix our SEND system 
  The extra money to train more educational psychologists is welcome, but it is just a “drop in the ocean” in terms of repairing our inadequately funded SEND support system, warns E-ACT chief Tom Campbell.
   
• Ofsted to launch 3-tier SEND area inspections next year
  Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission are launching a new inspection framework for SEND area inspections, which will come into effect early next year with three separate inspection outcomes.
   

• School support staff buying food for hungry pupils
  Support staff in schools are skipping meals because they are struggling in the cost-of-living crisis - but they are still finding money to buy food and other items for their pupils, research by the union Unison shows.
   
• GCSEs 2023: What schools must do if exams are cancelled 
  Schools should collect evidence of student performance that would be used to award grades in case of the “very unlikely” event that exams are cancelled, the government says.
   
• Oak National Academy: legal action launched against DfE
  Three organisations have launched a joint legal challenge against the Department for Education over its decision to transform Oak National Academy into a publicly funded curriculum resources provider.
   
• Why schools can’t afford to stop funding CPD
  Schools are having to make cuts to balance their budgets in this funding storm but teacher professional development is too valuable to be targeted for cost savings, writes academy trust chief Ian Bauckham.
   
• School sixth forms face closure without funding increase 
  The exclusion of post-16 settings from the chancellor’s Autumn Statement funding increase threatens the “viability” of school sixth forms, leaders warn.
   
• Primary pupils worse hit by Covid school closures
  Primary pupils were more heavily impacted by Covid school closures, in terms of their mental health and wellbeing, than secondary students, according to National Foundation for Educational Research analysis.