‘Occasionally there are moments of light’: the challenges of primary school teaching in England, and the factors that motivate teachers to stay in the profession

Abstract

This research, exploring the health and well-being of education professionals, was carried out at the behest of a Multi-Academy Trust of five primary schools. The intention was to assess the needs of educators, before designing a programme to support them. Data were collected through anonymous online survey from 244 staff in primary schools in England. Similar to previous literature, respondents reported feeling stressed and overwhelmed with their workload; as well as feeling undervalued, lacking autonomy and experiencing low morale. Our data suggest that these factors damaged educators’ health and well-being and, for some, impacted negatively upon their home lives. The general negativity of responses was tempered by mentions of the more intrinsically rewarding aspects of the role. This research highlights significant changes that are needed to education funding and policy, whilst suggesting approaches that schools can take, in the meantime, to protect the health and wellbeing of their staff.