A council committee report says mental health absences account for 40% of the overall sickness levels of staff in schools in RCT
16:01, 15 Oct 2026Updated 16:19, 15 Oct 2026
The RCT Council HQ at Llys Cadwyn in Pontypridd.(Image: Anthony Lewis)
The number of mental health absences of staff in schools in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) is “deeply worrying,” a teaching union representative has said.
A council committee report says mental health absences account for 40% of the overall sickness levels of staff in schools in RCT and they are the main reason for absence across secondary, all-through, primary, and special schools.
In secondary and all-through schools absences relating to mental health conditions account for 37% of overall sickness while in primary schools they account for 40% of overall sickness.
In special schools absences relating to mental health conditions account for 51% of overall sickness.
For teaching staff absences relating to mental health conditions account for 46% of overall teachers’ sickness and is the main reason for teachers’ absence across secondary, all-through, primary, and special schools.
In secondary and all-through schools, absences relating to mental health conditions account for 39% of overall teachers’ sickness while in primary schools they account for 49% of overall teachers’ sickness.
In special schools, absences relating to mental health conditions account for 75% of overall teachers’ sickness.
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 sickness rate for secondary and all-through schools was 4.3%, for primary schools it was 4.9%, and for special schools it was 6.7%.
The sickness rate for teaching staff across all schools was 4% and for support staff was 5.4%.
For teaching staff in secondary and all-through schools it was 3.7% and for support staff it was 5%.
The sickness rate for teaching staff in primary schools was 4.1% and for support staff was 5.4%.
For teaching staff in special schools it was 6.2% and for support staffit was 6.9%. Make sure you never miss Wales’ biggest updates by getting our daily newsletter
At a meeting of the council’s education and inclusion scrutiny committee on Tuesday, October 13, Mark Cleverley, who represents the teachers’ union NASUWT and the teachers’ panel on the committee, said: “The figures in the report are deeply worrying. They really are. Particularly around mental health.”
He said workload is a “massive issue” and also said pupil behaviour and violence at work is 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 also mentioned the impact on recruitment and retention and that the cost of supply teachers to school budgets runs into the millions adding that supply teachers are often abused.
Craig Jones, representing the GMB union, said a lot of the long-term sickness is about waiting for the NHS, about getting to see the specialists and getting in to see what they need to be doing and the treatment.
He said it’s frustrating for trade unions trying to keep members in work when all they need is to see a specialist, treatment or a scan.
Councillor Julie Barton said she was shocked by the rate of absence in special schools due to mental health issues.
But she said she didn’t see any breakdown of the cause of the mental health issues and that she needed to know the breakdown between workplace-related mental health issues and outside-of-work mental health issues.
Cllr Sheryl Evans said they needed to break it down into internal and external mental health so they may be able to better support school staff in getting them back into the working environment sooner rather than later.
Cllr Jayne Brencher mentioned pupil behaviour having been acknowledged as extremely problematic, the struggles that young people have with their mental health, the new curriculum where emphasis is placed on individual schools and teachers to navigate it, the ALN (additional learning needs) processes having been totally changed and that emphasis is now on individual schools and teachers, and the inspection process which can be a tipping point.
She said the local authority needs to be taking a broad view of the whole impact of this adding that the data was “shocking”.
She said the council has a responsibility to take a strategic look at the cumulative affect of all of these changes on individual staff.