Teachers have come under increased pressure from parents
(Picture: Getty Images)Teachers are now being inundated with “aggressive” messages from parents who expect round the clock support, a leading union has said.
Due to the pandemic, the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) said working hours “had now become blurred”.
The union said parents now expect to be able to reach teachers 24 hours a day and sometimes send “bizarre and banal” messages.
Member Sharon Bishop said at the annual conference on Sunday, many have been told to download apps such as ClassDojo, a platform which allows teachers, students and families to communicate.
She said: “Many of us have been told to download apps such as ClassDojo to our phones, and parents and students have got into the habit of firing off emails 24/7, with the banal, bizarre, and sometimes, more worryingly, aggressive and accusatory messages.
"They seem to feel they can assess us 24/7. Working hours and parameters have been blurred since the pandemic.”
Another member, Michael Poulton said a firend and colleague had suffered mental health problems and committed suicide due to the increased strain on his job.
He added: “He didn't lose the battle to Covid-19. He lost the battle to mental ill health, and he took his own life during the first lockdown.
"We didn't get the chance to mourn Chris properly. During the lockdown we were able to attend his funeral but it was all socially distanced.
"We weren't able to really share our loss and say how we felt, and when we got back to school, it was almost like we just had to carry on as if nothing had happened, and there are people with mental scars.
"There are people who have lost loved ones to Covid, lost loved ones to mental ill health. And do we know how to cope with it?"
On Friday, a survey commissioned by the NASUWT found seven out of 10 teachers in England have considered resigning over the past year.
