Teacher Support Cymru’s trained coaches and counsellors are available to support all teachers in Wales 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Not only is our Support Line free but they are also completely confidential and available 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.

What makes our support lines different from others is that our lines are staffed by fully trained coaches and counsellors. They can provide a whole range of support, dealing with a broad range of enquiries, such as advice on teachers wanting to take the next step in their teaching career to occasionally very difficult calls, such as from those contemplating suicide.

Our calls are very diverse and require the expertise of our trained coaches and counsellors who have vast experience in many different areas. They are on hand to offer emotional support along with practical advice including our specialist money advisors who help with financial budgeting, advice and grant applications.

One recent caller was Tracy: a primary school teacher who works part-time after having her second child. She was feeling overwhelmed by the combination of three intense days in school with her busy home life. Tracy felt uncomfortable talking to her family or friends as she did not want to appear as though she was failing in anyway. She told us:

“I had not heard of Teacher Support Cymru in the past but had come across their services whilst searching the internet for teaching job vacancies. I could not believe that this dedicated teacher phone line existed and that it was free to use. The advice and help I received was tremendous. Just having someone on the end of the other line listening to me was a huge help as I have always found it hard talking to people close to me about the negative way I was feeling.

“I would recommend Teacher Support Cymru’s service to any teacher out there. I just wish more teachers knew about it.”

In the last six months just over 24 per cent of calls received by the Support Line have been on ‘Personal Issues’, including relationships outside of school and family. This is closely followed by calls on ‘Working Conditions’, with 23 per cent of calls and including performance and pay, legal issues and workload. ‘Careers’ calls accounted for 15.5 per cent, followed by ‘People Skills’ with 13.8 per cent, including relationships with adults at work, bullying and harassment.

In addition to this we have a website – www.teachersupport.info/wales - dedicated to teachers in Wales where you can find a range of information including the latest news and updates affecting the teaching profession.

We have over 1,300 factsheets available, with an additional 400 in the Welsh language, offering information on a range of topics. Simply type your key words into a search box to see any matching factsheets.

Our Support Line is fully bilingual and all our services are free of charge. We’re here to support all teachers, from trainees right up to those who have retired. You can call us any time and in confidence on 0800 085 5088.