Education Support has released its ninth annual Teacher Wellbeing Index, offering a detailed insight into the mental health and wellbeing of teachers and education staff across the UK. Although it makes for sobering reading, the findings won’t come as a surprise to anyone working in education, as it depicts the realities of a career in education today. The report evidences the increasing pressures facing the teaching profession and sets out recommendations to support positive change in UK schools.

Below, we highlight the key findings, outline the recommendations, and amplify Education Support’s urgent call for government action to improve teacher wellbeing, strengthen teacher retention, and secure the best possible learning outcomes for children and young people.

Poorer wellbeing than the general population

It is saddening – but not surprising – to see that teachers and education staff report poorer wellbeing than the general population. Overall, the wellbeing score is the lowest since Education Support began recording it in 2019.

In 2024-25:

• One third (36%) of staff are at risk of probable clinical depression
• 77% experience symptoms of poor mental health due to work.

However, the Index warns that these figures are far more than statistics. Quality education depends on the wellbeing of those who provide it. If we want every child to thrive, we must ensure that those who teach and support them are thriving too. An unwell teaching workforce cannot deliver the best outcomes for children and young people.

Schools absorbing unmet societal needs

The Index shows the extent to which education settings continue to bridge gaps left by under-resourced public services. The report demonstrates the true impact on teachers and staff, who are left absorbing responsibilities that extend far beyond their professional remit, deepening workload pressures and accelerating the retention crisis.

In 2024-25:

• 87% of staff provided emotional support to pupils at least monthly
• 57% provided food, and 49% bought supplies for their school or college with their own money at least monthly
• 49% of staff providing this additional support say it negatively affects their mental health, rising to 51% of senior leaders.

While these acts illustrate the extraordinary commitment of the workforce, they carry significant personal cost.

School leaders remain at the highest risk

School leaders continue to shoulder unsustainable levels of stress across the education workforce. The data highlights the pace, intensity, and emotional labour that define educational leadership, providing conditions that can have profound implications on decision-making, school culture, retention, and overall staff wellbeing. 

Key findings include:

• 86% of senior leaders feel stressed, with many showing signs of burnout and exhaustion
• 81% report experiencing time poverty (too much to do, not enough time to do it)
• 62% work at very high speed, and 71% work to tight deadlines, for three-quarters or more of their time.

Retention remains a pressing issue 

The Index shows that 29% of teachers and education staff have not only considered leaving due to wellbeing pressures, but they have actively taken steps to change or leave their role. This includes 29% of teachers and 26% of senior leaders. Among those considering leaving, 66% cite workload volume.

Education Support is calling on the government for a national retention strategy with staff wellbeing at its core. Their Commission on Teacher Retention (2023) made targeted recommendations on workload reduction and flexible working. Their latest paper, Revisiting the teacher retention crisis, broadens these insights, highlighting the essential role of school culture, trust, autonomy, and sustainable professional practice; all areas emphasised within Chartered College research and recommendations.

Alignment with the Chartered College of Teaching 

The Index findings closely mirror the priorities set out by the Chartered College of Teaching at Westminster last year, including the need to:

• value teacher expertise, by making changes slowly to manage the impacts on teacher workload, and by rethinking the accountability system
• provide better resources, including funding for those services that support children and young people, so that education staff can focus on their core roles, and 
• develop a career-long professional development strategy that should sit within a dedicated teacher retention strategy, underpinned by a focus on wellbeing and diversity.

The Chartered College of Teaching supports the calls for a reset of the public services that should support pupils and their families, and for a UK-wide teacher retention strategy underpinned by wellbeing. The government must work hand-in-hand with the profession to build a system wherein pupils and staff are healthy, energised and able to build the trusted relationships needed to teach and learn. 

Please read and share the Teacher Wellbeing Index 2025 to help raise awareness and support these important recommendations for change. 

Remember that immediate support is available: 

Education Support continues to offer a free, 24/7 emotional support helpline for anyone working in education: 08000 562 561. You do not need to be in crisis to speak to a qualified counsellor.