Teacher Support Network is marking the 10th Anniversary of its 24-hour Support Line this week – a service that has dealt with 15,555 calls over the last 12 months.

The Support Line has remained available every single day since its launch in 1999, offering free, confidential, expert advice to trainee, serving and retired teachers.

It provides support on a wide range of issues, both personal and professional, with work-related stress, workload, conflict with colleagues as well as parents, pupil behaviour and financial difficulty the most common reasons for teachers to call.

Download The 10-Year Report (pdf).

With invaluable support from the teacher unions, Government and local authorities, the Support Line was launched in response to significant changes within education and after consultation with teachers themselves. Research had show that levels of stress amongst the profession had reached critical levels, with teachers more likely to suffer from stress, anxiety and depression than most other occupations. This remains the case today.

Complimenting the support offered by trade unions, the Support Line originally covered England and Wales. Thanks to the support of the Welsh Assembly Government, in 2002 an independent, bilingual service was set up for Wales, before being joined by the College and University Support Line in 2006 and Scotland’s Support Line in 2008.

The charity is issuing a report, ‘Improving wellbeing in education: 10 years of the Teacher Support Line’ on the 18 November at a Parliamentary Reception on the Terrace of the House of Lords, hosted by the Chair of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Children, Schools and Families, Barry Sherman, and addressed by Minister for Schools, Vernon Coaker, MP.

Over the last few years the charity’s Online Support services have become an increasingly important element in their support for the profession. Either through email support or via the online InfoCentres, which contain hundreds of factsheets, Online Support Services have helped teachers over 181,627 times in the last 12 months.

Teacher Support Network Chief Executive, Julian Stanley, said: “Teachers guide us through the key milestones in our lives and their impact must never be underestimated. We’re very proud of the achievements of the Support Line over the last 10 years. Thousands of teachers throughout Britain, and now staff in post-16 education benefit from our free, confidential services every year.

“In the decade to come, we will ensure that our services continue to meet the needs of teachers, providing the profession with critical support. We will also use the expertise gained through contact with thousands of teachers every year to influence national and local policies in order to improve teacher wellbeing and win the recognition they deserve for playing such a vital role in the lives of young people.”

Attached file(s):
• The 10-Year Report