9 September 2018
September 10
Primary school leaders are struggling, and it’s getting worse, with some showing symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder, according to the results of a survey conducted by NZEI Te Riu Roa and the Australian Catholic University.
Researcher Associate Professor Phil Riley says initial results from the annual Health and Wellbeing Survey have shown so
far that 37 percent (of 321 principals and senior school leaders) were displaying significant degrees of distress
through raising a “red-flag” in answering questions in the survey. This group are in need of urgent attention, says Dr
Riley.
In the red-flag system, a participant is sent an automatic email urging them to seek help and sending links about where
to do so. Red flags are generated in three ways - either the participant has indicated they are thinking of
self-harming, they have a high combined score across categories or a series of quality of life indicators that are
concerning.
Dr Riley says that senior leaders in schools need help, and the education system needs a whole re-design and to come up
with creative solutions such as job-sharing.
The problem is getting worse - in 2016, the final red flag percentage was 20 percent. The survey is also being done in
Australia and Ireland which were showing similar results, indicating that there is something wrong with the role, not
the person, and that it is a systemic problem, says Dr Riley.
The survey was still open with 321 fully complete surveys returns. Of those, 120 were red flags. There were a further
174 partially completed surveys, so numbers were not yet final, he said.
NZEI Te Riu Roa President Lynda Stuart said she was deeply concerned about principals, senior leaders and their
wellbeing and it needed to be acted on immediately as part of the current collective agreement negotiations.
“We have made long lists of recommendations, but so far nothing has changed much, in fact it has become worse as this
shows. Some are not even filling out the survey. I have principals say to me they are waiting to be less busy, or
feeling better, before they fill it out so that it looks less negative.”
The survey is in its third year and is important for highlighting trends and also giving individual feedback on health
and wellbeing. This year’s report is also being supported by the New Zealand Principals’ Federation (NZPF), NZ Maori
Principals - Te Akatea, and NZ School Trustees’ Association. The PPTA are running a concurrent survey with secondary
principals.
NZPF President Whetu Cormick said the trends highlighted in the survey were a “grave concern” to the Federation, and the
teacher shortage was adding to stress and workload for principals.
“Teacher supply issues are directly impacting principals’ ability to lead learning and manage the day-to-day operation
of their schools.
“The challenges are everywhere. I’ve recently heard from four Invercargill principals who have been teaching fulltime in
the classroom for the past eight weeks. You can’t lead the teaching and learning when you’re in the classroom fulltime.”
ENDS