Students' mental health is the largest concern among staff working in education, a new report by education union Voice Community has discovered.
As revealed by The Independent, the poll found that the mental health of students ranked as the biggest problem within the education sector, with educational recovery, the attainment gap and the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic also of serious concern.
Voice Community surveyed more than 600 members of staff at schools and early years centres and found that mental health had become an "overwhelming concern".
“Mental health was the single biggest concern voiced by our members,” the report read. “It was clear that the impact of coronavirus would be felt for a long time and that children would need to develop social skills and that the curriculum needed to support this.”
A similar report focused on schools in Northern Ireland found that an increase in pupils suffering from mental health issues was "directly related to lockdown".
The Education and Training Inspectorate report looked at how students were impacted by time spent away from school during 2020, and saw a "greater incidence of self-harm, anxiety and depression".
Headteacher at Drumrane Primary School, Alison Steen, was elected president of the Ulster Teachers’ Union earlier this year and acknowledged that the challenges facing the education sector were "unprecedented" as a result of the pandemic.
“There probably will be many things we once did to which we may never return," she said.
"No-one can predict what lies ahead or what the new normal will actually look like."
“We cannot afford to allow a generation of children to continue into adulthood with mental health issues unaddressed," she added.
Mrs Steen said that the school has looked to foster "even closer relationships" with parents during this difficult period, but could not have imagined how difficult this period would prove.
“At Drumrane where we have a close-knit family of pupils, staff and parents, however, when school broke up last March, it was still an emotional time," she added.
"We planted bulbs on the last day just as a sign of hope that there would be better days ahead and I remember feeling very concerned about what the future would hold.
“Ironically though one of the positives from our lockdown was the even closer relationships teachers have fostered with the parents with whom they were in regular contact.
“Indeed the school motto is, ‘Working together to achieve our best’, though a year ago though, no-one could have imagined how vital that would be.”
