Teachers are being offered counselling in school to help them deal with “increased challenges”. St Richard Gwyn RC High in Barry trialled the sessions with mental health charity Mind.
The school said the sessions proved so helpful that free counselling is now being offered to staff one day a week. Mind in the Vale designed a bespoke service which is delivered in school in a dedicated and privately-accessed room.
Head teacher David Blackwell said teachers were under increasing pressure partly as a result of the effect of the pandemic on pupils. "Teacher stress is a mixture of work and life," he said. "Work is busy as always but there are increased challenges with workload and supporting pupils with increasingly complex needs."
