Talking toolkit: preventing work-related stress in schools

In 2018, over half a million working days were lost in secondary schools because of stress, depression or anxiety which had been caused or made worse by work. Employers have a legal duty to protect employees from stress at work​Stress risk assessment Web page Employers have a legal duty to protect employees from stress at work by doing, and acting on, a risk assessment. This is an easy-to-use template you can use, along with examples from three small to medium-sized businesses.Free By: Health and Safety Executive View resourceClose, in schools just as much as any other workplace. But addressing workplace stress has all sorts of other benefits too—from a healthier and more engaged school staff to a reduction in absence levels.

Often, just talking about issues openly and honestly can help prevent problems or stop them getting worse. This version of the Health and Safety Executive’s Talking Toolkit has been specifically tailored for education to help you to do this. It walks you through six specific conversations to have with staff, each on a different theme relating to workplace stress:

1. Demands
2. Control
3. Support
4. Relationships
5. Role
6. Change

Working through these conversations should help you to build up a picture of the potential causes of stress in your school. Each section is also full of links and suggestions for tackling the issues and taking things further.