166 teachers off sick every day in Kirklees

Jan 5 2009 by Barry Gibson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

“The vast majority of teachers, sometimes unwisely, go into school even though they may be ill because of their commitment to the children they teach.

“Unfortunately, too much stress is endemic to the job and it is the responsibility of not only the Government but the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats to explore ways of reducing the excessive numbers of initiatives faced weekly by schools.”

But a spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families denied there was a crisis.

He said: “Teacher sickness levels remain low and stable and well within industry norms. Teaching is an incredibly rewarding but also very challenging role and we have worked hard to reduce the pressures on teachers.

“We have employed record numbers of support staff, given teachers half-a-day a week outside of the classroom to plan and prepare lessons, given teachers the full support of the law in dealing with unruly pupils and removed admin tasks from the list of activities which they can be asked to do.”