Nearly three out of four headteachers have seen a colleague cry since the start of September, a new survey shows, TES reports.
The finding was revealed by a survey of educators using the Teacher Tapp app.
It has prompted headteachers’ leader Tim Bowen, president of the NAHT, to say that in every school community there had been people “brought down to their lowest point” by the stress and workload of the pandemic.
“A kind word, a kind deed, from us as leaders, or from the people in the teams we lead – they are often the first steps on the way back from desperation,” he told TES.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the ASCL, said pressure and workload had been “immense”.
He added: “The expectations placed on them during an extraordinary period for education will have imposed a huge emotional strain. It is shocking, but not surprising, to hear that such a high number of people have broken down in tears in front of senior colleagues who will, in turn, have had to deal with the repercussions.”
Data seen by Tes shows that 74 per cent of the headteachers who responded said they had seen a colleague in tears.
For senior leaders who are not headteachers, the figure was 71 per cent.