From the Teacher Support Network, www.teachersupport.info.

CONFUSION CONTINUES AS CURRICULUM FOR EXCELLENCE IMPLEMENTED

As the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) comes into effect for S1 pupils across Scotland, there still seems to confusion over whether schools are ready. While unions fear that teachers are facing 'burn-out' over the delivery of the CfE because of a lack of time and resources, the education secretary Michael Russell said many schools were on track to deliver CfE, the Herald Scotland reports.

Ann Ballinger, general secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association (SSTA) said: "In order to deliver the new curriculum, teachers will be required to work well in excess of their contracted hours. Those kind of additional hours cannot be sustained and we fear the impact will be that many staff will face exhaustion and burn-out, particularly when many schools have cut support staff to the bone"

Ronnie Smith, general secretary of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) said: For an initiative often described as the most radical programme of change in our schools in a generation, CfE has brought little dedicated funding and very few new resource materials for schools. Teachers, in general, are supportive of the aims of CfE, but they cannot be expected to deliver it on the cheap without the time to work on implementing such radical changes"

Ken Cunningham, general secretary of School Leaders Scotland said: "At the moment, we don't know if the resources are going to be there to support education and allow this change to happen in our schools ion future. There is already a disparity in terms of the way education, and therefore CfE is being funded in different local authority areas."

Michael Russell, Education Secretary said: "Teachers in secondary schools around the country have made good progress and put in a lot of hard work to make sure they are ready to put CfE into practice this year. We have put in place a wide range of support and resources. Now is the time to put CfE into action and seize the opportunity to deliver real improvements in our education system and ensure our young people have the skills they need for the future."

Julian Stanley, Chief Executive of Teacher Support Scotland said: Teaching is a rewarding, but often challenging profession and even the greatest teachers can struggle with the stresses and pressures they are faced with, particularly when a new system or curriculum is introduced. The situation in Scotland already reflects that of the UK as a whole, where stress is the leading cause of work-related illness in the education sector.

Worryingly, the impact of further absences or teacher "burn out" could be even greater than imagined. One teacher's absence can have an immeasurable effect not only on the colleagues, who may be expected to take up their workload, but also the pupils being taught.

Sickness absence and "burn-out" decreases - and therefore standards of education for pupils improve - when schools and councils implement meaningful policies that protect and enhance teachers' wellbeing.

In the meantime, we can help prevent the need for stress-related absence by ensuring that teachers are fully supported through this difficult changeover, the right resources are available and with early supportive intervention. Teacher Support Scotland offers free, confidential Support Services and Support Lines 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, where teachers in Scotland can access information and advice to help them tackle stress before it leads to long-term absence or "burn-out."

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