Oldham teachers among worst for sick leave

THE sickness record of Oldham teachers is among the worst in the country, according to Government figures.

Those who went off sick in 2013/14 missed an average of 11.5 days each, the second highest figure in the country. This is the equivalent of every teacher in the borough missing 6.5 days of school, the country’s second-worst figure.

A total of 14,508 days were lost in the borough to absence and 56.7 per cent of teachers has at least one period of absence. The figures give no insight into the reasons: Illnesses could be anything from a cold to severe and long-term.

Avis Gilmore, the National Union of Teachers’ North-West regional secretary, believes many absences could be due to stress-related illness

“We recently did a survey that found teachers are regularly working over 50 hours a week — and so much of it is bureaucracy,” she said “They are spending more time proving they have done something than actually doing it.

“At this time of year they get pressure from the Government to ensure their pupils get the required grades — and the goalposts are always changing. At the start of the year they think they know what they need to do and by the end of the year the Government has changed its mind. That’s on top of teachers being told they have to work until they are 68.

“The pressure is immense - and on pupils too. We are seeing more pupils than ever with stress-related mental health problems.”

Ms Gilmore said teachers are leaving the profession due to stress: “We are also seeing teachers making themselves available for redundancies because they have had enough and they want out before their health is affected.”