Covid: Wales teachers to get more mental health support

At a secondary school in Carmarthenshire, they know the strain of the pandemic all too well.

The Headmaster of Ysgol Maes y Gwendraeth has referred more staff to wellbeing support in 12 months than in the first seven years of his tenure.

It is an example of the pressure on staff themselves while supporting students through the pandemic.

In response, the Welsh Government is tripling funding to support teachers’ well-being and mental health to £1.25million.

At the secondary school in Cefneithin, near Llanelli, they have also noticed an increase in problems related to student well-being.

Headmaster Wyn Evans said the break for the past two years has affected different year groups in different ways.

Younger students could not properly deal with friendship circles, so that there are more arguments on the playground and on the Internet, while older students miss the important exam.

“Covid has certainly led to an increase in problems,” he said.

“Some of the issues were just more of the same, like the fights between younger students – there are more of those kinds of incidents.”

But there are more serious problems too.

“At the darkest end, students are in very dark places where they may be at risk, or certainly the school feels they are at risk of harming and killing themselves,” he said.

“Staff are hearing things from students that they might not have heard from students in the past and that they find quite disturbing.”

In addition to increased referrals to occupational health services, the school has seconded a member of the chaplaincy team who can make appointments with both staff and students.

The Welsh Government said support for the mental health and wellbeing of staff will increase from £350,000 to £1.25m in 2022/23.

Overall, funding for student and staff wellbeing has doubled to more than £12million since the pandemic began.

Education Secretary Jeremy Miles said the pandemic has emphasized the need to “strengthen and widen the support network” for both learners and staff.

“We have invested in increasing support during the pandemic, but I realize this is not a one-off, short-term measure,” he said.

“I want to grow support year over year to make it easier for staff and learners to access the support they need, when they need it.”

Ysgol Maes y Gwendraeth has seen a “noticeable increase” in the number of children using his counseling services and there is a sizeable waiting list, Deputy Principal Rhian Adams said.

Supporting children in their well-being adds to the overall impact on staff over the past two years.

“You see it every day — the issues of fatigue, of feeling under pressure,” she said.

“Covid has impacted their lives and the lives of their families so getting back to the new normal within the school has been quite a challenge.”