Mental health absences account for 40% of overall sickness levels among school staff in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT), according to a council committee report, with a teaching union representative describing the figures as “deeply worrying.”
The report, presented to the council’s education and inclusion scrutiny committee on Tuesday, October 13, says mental health is the main reason for absence across secondary, all-through, primary, and special schools.
Breakdown by school type
In secondary and all-through schools, mental health conditions account for 37% of overall sickness, while in primary schools they account for 40%. In special schools, the figure rises to 51% of overall sickness.
For teaching staff specifically, mental health conditions account for 46% of overall teachers’ sickness and are the main reason for absence across all school types. In secondary and all-through schools, this is 39%; in primary schools, 49%; and in special schools, 75%.
Sickness rates for 2025-26
For the academic year 2025-26, the sickness rate for all staff across all schools was 4.8%, compared to the overall council rate of 5.2%. The rate was 4.3% for secondary and all-through schools, 4.9% for primary schools, and 6.7% for special schools.
The sickness rate for teaching staff across all schools was 4%, and for support staff it was 5.4%. For teaching staff in secondary and all-through schools it was 3.7%, with support staff at 5%. In primary schools, teaching staff sickness was 4.1% and support staff 5.4%. In special schools, teaching staff sickness was 6.2% and support staff 6.9%.
Union concerns and causes
Mark Cleverley, representing the NASUWT teachers’ union and the teachers’ panel on the committee, said: “The figures in the report are deeply worrying. They really are. Particularly around mental health.” He described workload as a “massive issue” and said pupil behaviour and violence at work are “definitely a major cause of stress and anxiety leading to mental health issues further down the line.”
“We are very very concerned about sickness absence particularly when you look at the impact on teaching and learning,” he added. He also highlighted the impact on recruitment and retention, noting that the cost of supply teachers to school budgets runs into the millions and that supply teachers are often abused.
Craig Jones, representing the GMB union, said a lot of long-term sickness is about waiting for the NHS, getting to see specialists, and accessing treatment. He said it is frustrating for trade unions trying to keep members in work when all they need is to see a specialist, treatment, or a scan.
Councillor calls for more data
Councillor Julie Barton said she was shocked by the rate of absence in special schools due to mental health issues, but noted the report did not provide a breakdown of the cause of mental health issues. She said she needed to know the split between workplace-related and outside-of-work mental health issues.
Cllr Sheryl Evans said they needed to break the data down into internal and external mental health so they may be able to better support school staff in returning to the working environment sooner rather than later.
Cllr Jayne Brencher mentioned pupil behaviour having been acknowledged as extremely problematic, the struggles young people have with their mental health, the new curriculum placing emphasis on individual schools and teachers to navigate it, the ALN (additional learning needs) processes having been totally changed, and the inspection process which can be a tipping point. She said the local authority needs to take a broad view of the whole impact, adding that the data was “shocking.”
She said the council has a responsibility to take a strategic look at the cumulative effect of all of these changes on individual staff.
