Calling for government change to benefit the education workforce 

At Education Support, our mission is to improve the mental health and wellbeing of everyone working in education. While we continue to support individuals and schools, we know many of the issues facing education staff today - such as increasing SEND pressures, challenging pupil and parent behaviour driven by unmet needs, and an unsustainable accountability system - are societal challenges that require urgent government action and cross-sector collaboration. 

That’s why we also focus on driving change from government through robust research, influencing and campaigning—amplifying the voices of educators and advocating for meaningful policy reform. 

Shaping policy through research and advocacy

Our research is at the heart of our influencing work. By gathering insights from teachers and education staff across the UK, we highlight the real-world impact of policy decisions on their wellbeing. Our research has shown that educators often feel left to fill the cracks in struggling public services, such as CAMHS and social services. This, in turn, negatively affects their own mental health and wellbeing, as well as that of the children and young people they support.

We use this evidence to influence policy and campaign for changes that can make a real, lasting difference. By influencing government policy, we aim to help shape a new vision for the education sector, which builds hope, rebuilds trust and reenergises the burnt-out education workforce.

Our key policy calls

We’re actively calling for:

• A dedicated education staff retention strategy to counter the high levels of staff attrition in the sector
• High quality support for school and college leaders, including access to funded professional supervision
• Proper investment to tackle child poverty and wider children’s and family services, so that teachers and education staff can ensure that their most vulnerable pupils get the support they need.

Recent highlights

We’re proud of the progress we’ve made in raising awareness of education staff wellbeing and influencing change. There is still lots more to do, but here are a few of our highlights:

• Our first-ever letter-writing campaign saw over 600 supporters contact their MPs calling for action on teacher mental health. Thanks to your incredible support, the campaign has resulted in 12 parliamentary questions, raising awareness of teacher mental health and the urgent need for an education staff retention strategy.
• MPs from across the political spectrum got in contact with us following our Love Teaching, Time for Change and we look forward to meeting with them in Parliament over the next few months.
• In early 2025, we hosted a powerful roundtable in Wales— A Thriving School Workforce in Wales: working together to improve the wellbeing and job satisfaction of our teachers and school staff —bringing together educators, unions, local authorities and Welsh Government representatives to discuss the challenges for education staff and identify opportunities for change. 
• We shared our views on the changes needed to the Ofsted inspection system as part of the Big Listen initiative and were pleased to see some of our recommendations reflected in Dame Christine Gilbert’s independent learning review for Ofsted
• We shared our expertise at the Education Select Committee’s inquiry on teacher recruitment and retention in Parliament.
• Together with the Department for Education and members of the education sector, we co-created the education staff wellbeing charter for education staff in England.
• We were delighted that our Chief Executive, Sinéad Mc Brearty, recently met with the Minister for School Standards, Catherine McKinnell, to discuss the positive impact of professional supervision for school and college leaders. 
• We carried out a series of focus group with school leaders and teachers across Wales and England to understand in depth educators’ lived experience.

Looking ahead

Going forward, we will continue to urge the Government to prioritise a dedicated education staff retention strategy, through engaging with cross-party MPs, hosting roundtable events and publishing new research to keep this issue on the Government’s agenda

In the months ahead, we’ll be hosting a series of roundtables with MPs, school leaders and sector stakeholders to explore themes such as staff retention and strengthening parent-teacher relationships - building on our latest Teacher Wellbeing Index 2024 research.

With your continued support, we’ll keep pushing for changes to Government policy the education workforce truly deserves.