Efforts to Provide Peer Support and Emotional Comfort to Teachers Struggling with Mental Health and Workload
Ministry of EducationSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns initiatives to foster a supportive community for teachers facing mental health and workload issues, as raised by Mr Christopher de Souza. Minister for Education Chan Chun Sing replied that schools use Staff Well-being Committees and feedback loops to build a culture of care and collaboration. He highlighted the Wellness Ambassador initiative, where trained officers guide peers to help, alongside collaborative structures like Professional Learning Teams and Networked Learning Communities. Professional support is also available via the in-house iCARE counselling service and the 24/7 Whole-of-Government Counselling Hotline for external assistance. These measures provide educators with both peer-led emotional comfort and professional resources to manage their overall well-being.
Transcript
16 Mr Christopher de Souza asked the Minister for Education what is being done to create a warmer culture and community among teachers so as to provide peer support and emotional comfort for those struggling with mental health and workload.
Mr Chan Chun Sing: MOE supports schools to build a positive culture where teachers collaborate in teaching and support one another in well-being.
School Leaders are committed to developing a culture of care and to support their staff. They seek feedback from their teachers and take follow-up actions on survey findings about their schools’ staff engagement and well-being. Every school also has a Staff Well-being Committee to look into staff welfare and bonding, and these committees are supported by MOE HQ with resources, programmes and regular platforms to share best practices.
Schools also have structures that promote collaboration among teachers in their work. For instance, teachers come together in Professional Learning Teams to design lessons for their students. They can also approach the Teacher Leaders or Instructional Mentors in their schools for support pertaining to and beyond teaching and learning.
Beyond their school, teachers can participate in Networked Learning Communities (NLC), where teachers from different schools come together to focus on specific needs identified by them. Master Teachers work with teachers in these NLCs to design, enact and enhance lesson plans that they co-create.
To strengthen peer support for well-being, MOE introduced a Wellness Ambassador initiative in September 2021, which will be rolled out progressively with two officers in each school nominated to receive training. These Wellness Ambassadors are not expected to counsel colleagues but will help direct their peers on how to seek help.
For counselling support, teachers have access to iCARE, which offers in-house professional counselling, as well as to the 24/7 Whole-of-Government (WOG) Counselling Hotline, which offers external professional counselling should teachers wish to speak to someone outside of MOE.
MOE is committed to looking after the well-being of all teachers and will continue to explore ways to enhance the support given to our teachers in this area.