The Teacher Wellbeing Index 2025

AMHIE has developed a Wellbeing & Culture Toolkit to support our free members, sign up before 30th November 2025 to get your copy

“Education Support’s ninth annual Teacher Wellbeing Index reveals a stark reality: the wellbeing of our education workforce is at crisis point. The pressures educators face are unrelenting, and the consequences should alarm anyone who cares about education.

Unwell teachers cannot deliver quality education

This year’s overall wellbeing score is the lowest since we began recording it in 2019.”

Key stats – 76% of staff are stressed ~ 36% are at risk of probable clinical depression ~ 77% experience symptoms of poor mental health due to work.

Teacher Wellbeing Index 2025: Why School Culture Must Change to Protect Our Workforce

The Teacher Wellbeing Index 2025 has once again highlighted what many working in education already know—educator mental health is under profound strain. But this year’s findings are not simply alarming; they are instructive. They show us where the system is breaking, why the workforce is struggling, and what schools can realistically do to protect their staff.

This isn’t a temporary spike or a post-pandemic aftershock.
It’s a structural problem that requires structural solutions.

At the Association of Mental Health in Education (AMHIE), we believe the Index offers not just data—but direction. And it’s time for schools and leaders to act on it.

The “Cracked Dam” of Educator Wellbeing

A powerful metaphor for the 2025 findings is the cracked dam:

• Organisational culture is the internal structure that keeps the dam strong.
• External pressures—unmet pupil needs, social care gaps, challenging behaviour—are the floodwaters pushing relentlessly against it.

When either weakens, cracks appear.
When both weaken, the dam gives way.

Right now, many educators feel they are trying to hold this dam together with their bare hands.

Organisational Culture: Nearly Half of Staff Feel Harmed by Their Workplace

One of the most striking statistics in the 2025 report:

49% of education staff say their organisation’s culture negatively affects their mental health.

This mirrors last year’s figure, proving a long-term pattern—not a temporary situation.

Staff working within a negative culture were far more likely to experience:

• High stress
• Symptoms of poor mental health
• Reduced work–life balance
• Feelings of being unappreciated or unsupported

In fact, staff who feel unsupported are twice as likely to have considered leaving their school.

But this is not the whole story. Where culture is strong, staff flourish.
Educators in positive environments consistently report:

• Compassionate leadership
• Supportive relationships
• Feeling valued and heard

The research is clear: culture is not a “nice extra”—it is a protective factor for mental health.

External Pressures: When Schools Become the Last Safety Net

Another major theme of the 2025 Index is the intense pressure caused by gaps in wider public services.

69% of staff say they receive little or no support from CAMHS, NHS services, or social care.

This leaves schools absorbing responsibilities far beyond teaching.

Staff report regularly:

• Supporting pupils’ emotional regulation (weekly for 70%)
• Providing food, uniform, or essential items
• Managing escalating challenging behaviour
• Helping families in crisis without external agency support

These additional responsibilities have a measurable impact:

• 66% report worse mental health
• 70% report reduced professional self-efficacy
• 66% say it affects their ability to switch off from work

And challenging behaviour is a significant contributor:

• 82% say increased pupil behaviour issues have harmed their wellbeing
• 70% say the same about increasingly difficult parent interactions

Educators are stepping in to fill social care gaps because they care deeply.
But caring without support leads to burnout.

What Can Schools Do? Practical Steps from Mental Health Experts

While systemic issues require national solutions, there are powerful, evidence-based steps that schools can take now.

Strengthen Organisational Culture	Focus on the core drivers of positive wellbeing: – Manageable workload – Clear boundaries – Appreciation and recognition – Psychological safety – Compassionate leadership Even small shifts—such as protected break times or consistent appreciation rituals—can have significant impact
Create Boundaries Around Emotional Labour	Schools can support pupils while also protecting staff by: – Using regulation scripts – Clarifying pastoral expectations – Providing clear signposting processes – Offering staff debrief opportunities after difficult incidents
Build Partnerships Beyond the School Gate	Link with: – Local charities – Family support hubs – Uniform banks – Youth mental health services This reduces the burden on educators and provides more sustainable support for families.
Support Staff Through Accountability Pressures	Offer: – Pre-inspection wellbeing plans – Clear communication and demystification – Opportunities for staff to talk openly about anxieties – Post-inspection reflection focused on learning, not fear

Educators Need More Than Encouragement—They Need Infrastructure

One of the most important conclusions from the 2025 Index is this:

Individual resilience cannot compensate for systemic failure.

This table maps the specific, actionable interventions provided in the toolkit and from wider policy reform to the six fundamental needs identified by the 2025 Teacher Wellbeing Index.

Systemic Need	Definition of Need	Policy/External Reform
Tools	The provision of high-impact, time-efficient practical resources and methods to complete professional duties effectively.	Reform Accountability Focus: Shift the inspection framework to reduce non-developmental accountability demands (e.g., preparation for punitive inspections).
		Increase Professional Autonomy: Provide educators with greater control over curriculum delivery and assessment methods, reducing the need for rigid, prescriptive tools.
Frameworks	Established, auditable processes and systems that govern work allocation and quality, preventing ad-hoc workload increases.	Implement a “Workload Impact Assessment”: Mandate that every new educational policy includes a formal, costed assessment of the administrative time burden it creates.
		Set Minimum Staffing Standards: Enforce minimum ratios for administrative and teaching assistant roles, ensuring core support is frameworked into school capacity.
Support Systems	Internal structures that provide practical assistance and managerial awareness, ensuring staff are not isolated when facing high pressure.	Fund and Mandate Inter-Agency Support Teams: Establish and fully fund integrated hubs (e.g., CAMHS, social workers) within school clusters to absorb complex external needs.
		Prioritise Early Intervention Funding: Ring-fence funding for preventative mental health and family support services outside the school gates to address root causes of pupil needs.
Consistency	Standardised, reliable expectations and procedures across departments and line managers, removing ambiguity and duplicated effort.	Standardise Pay and Compensation Structures: Conduct an urgent review to ensure equitable and competitive compensation across the sector, improving the financial consistency of the profession.
		Consistent Policy Implementation: Ensure clarity and uniform rollout of national policies, minimising confusion caused by local interpretation.
Clarity	Clear definition of professional roles and responsibilities, explicitly setting boundaries on external service provision and illegitimate tasks.	Clear Role Boundaries: Define the educator’s professional scope in relation to external agencies, making it explicit that teachers are not a substitute for clinical or social services.
		Increase Professional Autonomy: Empower senior staff with greater control over internal operations and assessment to reinforce professional decision-making over compliance.
Psychological Safety	An environment where staff feel safe to raise concerns without fear of negative appraisal or victimisation; where wellbeing is prioritised over compliance.	Reform Accountability Focus: Shift inspection models (e.g., Ofsted) to a developmental auditing model that assesses school health, reduces fear, and prioritises staff wellbeing.
		Non-Intrusive Management: Leaders should be trained to avoid management behaviours that induce stress or anxiety in staff.

By focusing on these systemic components, institutions can effectively bridge the gap between individual resilience and institutional failure, creating a genuinely sustainable working environment.

Schools need to prioritise mental health strategically, not reactively.
And they need expert guidance in making that shift.

How AMHIE Helps Schools Lead the Change

The Association of Mental Health in Education (AMHIE) was created to help schools build the structures that protect staff, support pupils, and transform culture.

AMHIE offers:

• Evidence-led wellbeing and culture toolkit
• Leadership training on mental health in education
• Practical frameworks that reduce workload and emotional burden
• Behaviour and trauma-informed approaches
• Resources to support staff psychological safety
• A community of educators with shared expertise
• Advocacy at system level

We empower schools to turn insight into action—and to ensure their staff never feel alone in the challenges they face.

Final Thoughts

The Teacher Wellbeing Index 2025 is not just a report; it is a warning and an opportunity.
A call to rethink how we support the people who hold the education system together.

A better culture is possible.
A more supported workforce is possible.
A healthier education environment is possible.

But it requires tools.
It requires expertise.
And it requires community.

AMHIE brings all three.

👉 Want to build a healthier, more supportive school culture?

Introducing our Wellbeing & Culture Toolkit, designed to offer downloadable resources and tools to help combat current issues as explored in the report. Join as a Free Member of AMHIE before 30th November 2025 to receive your free toolkit (for full members, you can access a complete toolkit via the community portal)

Free Toolkit contents:

1. Understanding Organisational Pressures and External Pressures
2. Workload Audit Template
3. Marking and Feedback Reform Guide
4. Admin Streamlining Checklist