Caring For Those Who Care: Mental Health Awareness for SEND Educators
02 Aug, 20241-2 minutes
In this blog, you will learn:
- About the issues facing SEND educators.
- Insights from SEND Teachers, Teaching Assistants, Early Career Teachers about mental health awareness.
- Where the latest SEND teaching jobs are and how to find them.
Teaching children about the importance of taking care of their mental health is crucial, but who is supporting the mental health of SEND educators? We interviewed a seasoned SEND Teacher, a newly qualified Teacher and a SEND Teaching Assistant in an effort to better understand mental illness, break the stigma and raise awareness about mental health issues.
Discover the wider issues facing SEND educators and how to prioritise the mental health and wellbeing of SEND Teachers and SEND Teaching Assistants.
Why is the mental health of SEND educators so important?
SEND educators serve as mentors and offer emotional support for their pupils; however, their own wellbeing affects their performance and ability to teach in the classroom. Promoting good mental health has never been more important for SEND educators but it can be difficult to prioritise in a profession that can be mentally demanding and challenging.
A leading UK charity who advocates for the mental health of Teachers and education staff, Education Support, described the overall picture of wellbeing as ‘poor’ and ‘well below the national average.’
Chief Executive of Education Support, Sinéad McBrearty, said “Our education workforce is stressed and unhappy at work. Such high levels of burnout, overwork and loneliness will not lead to a world class education system.”
Why has there been a sudden decline in employee wellbeing and what is the impact?
- Overwhelming workload.
- Lack of resources, support and training opportunities for schools.
- Rise in behavioural challenges.
- Lack of support.
- Demanding environment.
Overwhelming workload
One theory suggests an increase in workload could be responsible. According to the Department for Education, the number of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) increased to 1.6 million in 2023. This accounts for 17% of all pupils which has dramatically impacted and shifted Teachers' workload and accountability.
In a recent interview with SEND recruitment agency, Spencer Clarke Group, a SEND Teacher Shaun said “The workload and day to day requirements for all Teachers is certainly a challenge. Being responsible for a number of students all with individual needs and strengths can be tough to manage.”
Shaun continued, “Schools that put pressure on staff and increase workloads without enough support in place to meet these high demands are at risk of severely impacting mental health in the SEND educator profession including causing burnout.”
Lack of resources and training opportunities for schools
A second theory which could be contributing to poor staff wellbeing is a lack of resources for SEND educators to perform their job adequately. An increase in the number of children with SEND has resulted in long waiting lists in special schools. It also means that more children with severe, complex mental and social needs are in mainstream schools than ever before.
The lack of resources, support and training opportunities for staff who work directly with SEND children can result in feelings of low self-esteem, inadequacy, and the need to overcompensate with longer working hours to better understand and support the child's needs.
Rise in behavioural challenges
The diverse array of behavioural challenges that SEND educators encounter in the classroom is another significant factor that could impact their mental health.
A report by Teachers Union, NASUWT, discovered that nearly one in five reported needing time off work due to the impact of violence and abuse from pupils. 89% also cited the number of pupils exhibiting physically violent and abusive behaviours had increased in the 12 months prior.
With violence and the abuse of Teachers on the rise, pupil behaviour can have a negative impact on the physical and mental wellbeing of SEND educators. SEND educators with poor mental health may subsequently find it more difficult to develop relationships with their SEND pupils. This could then lead to a chicken and egg situation of deteriorating wellbeing and support for both the educator and the pupil.
Lack of support
It is important for SEND educators to understand their mental health rights at work and to feel supported in their role.
An Early Career Teacher (ECT) working in the SEN unit of a mainstream school said, “Mainstream schools also need funding and support in order to put things in place. For crisis prevention, I would like staff training to increase with more, adaptive teaching strategies on how to deal with challenging behaviour.”
Without the right support and guidance in place, SEND educators are at risk of a number of mental health issues such as burnout, depression or anxiety. But what can be done to address the challenges?
NASUWT cites the need for ‘action’ from the government’ to ensure schools and colleges are ‘safe and orderly environments for Teachers to teach’ and ‘for children and young people to learn.’
Demanding environment
The demands of the role as a SEND educator and the challenging environment can greatly impact their mental health and wellbeing. The pressure to meet every expectation and prioritise the individual needs of pupils with SEND, can negatively impact SEND Teachers and Teaching Assistants.
A SEND Teaching Assistant said “often we take home a very heavy burden and the majority of the time we feel powerless to help the neediest of our children.” Feelings of inadequacy and self doubt can impact not only SEND educators' ability to work efficiently, but also their ability to switch off at the end of the work day and maintain a healthy work life balance.
The challenging and demanding environment SEND educators work in requires them to adapt to differing needs throughout school, which takes a toll on our mental and physical health.
How to prioritise the mental health of SEND educators
Employers can help mental health in the workplace by providing support that positively impacts their ability to carry out their role. Implementing reform can be a lengthy process but there are external support services to help educators acquire the tools they need to deal with issues independently; these include Education Support, Mentally Healthy Schools and Mindful Teachers.
The Schools in Mind network also offers a free, evidence-based framework to help schools and educators develop better approaches to staff wellbeing. Senior leadership teams within schools can use the framework to lean on more experienced leaders and peers to help their own staff.
By 2025, it's hoped that every school will have a Staff Wellbeing Lead, a person responsible for overseeing the wellbeing of both educators and pupils.
SEND Teacher Shaun, said “I think having space to talk openly about your challenges from a practical point of view is so important. Otherwise you end up taking so much home and that then impacts your mental health in a negative way.”
SEND jobs
If you’re searching for your next SEND job, why not take a look at the latest vacancies, or simply upload your CV to be notified when a relevant position becomes available.
Recruit SEND staff
As a specialist SEND recruitment agency, we support mainstream and SEND schools with their temporary, permanent and temp-perm staffing needs.
We currently work with hundreds of schools and have exclusive access to some of the best SEND Teachers and SEND Teaching Assistants in the North West.
If you’re struggling to fill a teaching vacancy, why not get in touch with one of our team to see how we can help?
- Primary schools - Jimmy Callagher
- Secondary schools - Liam Jones
- SEND schools - Jamie Heath
Share your experience
Every individual brings a unique set of experiences, thoughts, and insights to the table. We believe in giving a voice to a community of professionals to inspire positive change and champion reform in the education sector.
If you work in the education sector and would like to share your own personal and professional experiences, we’d love to hear from you. Perhaps you have a different perspective, could offer a fresh angle, or want to challenge assumptions.
Simply reach out to our Head of Content, Nicole Sherwood, to discuss a collaboration which makes your voice count.
Meet Jamie Heath
Who is Spencer Clarke Group?
Established in 2017, we’re a vibrant and progressive recruitment agency based in the heart of the North West.
We continually reimagine the recruitment process to challenge convention and defy expectations; from creating a better recruitment experience to remodelling employee engagement, we thrive off doing things differently and turning heads along the way.
We operate in two sectors:
In eleven specialisms:
Healthcare, Social Care & Nursing
Corporate Functions & Business Support
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