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The Bermuda Union of Teachers (Image supplied)<\/p>\n
Teachers need more resources to help them to deal with students who are facing greater mental health challenges than ever before, according to their union.<\/p>\n
The Bermuda Union of Teachers said in a statement yesterday that Bermuda \u201cschools are under resourced for the needs we are being asked to meet\u201d.<\/p>\n
A spokesman said teachers are expected to cope with more students experiencing greater mental health challenges including trauma, anxiety and aggression, in some cases with fewer resources.<\/p>\n
The spokesman said: \u201cEvery day, educators and support staff across the Bermuda public school system walk into classrooms where student needs are more complex than they have ever been.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not speculation or exaggeration \u2014 it is the consistent testimony of professionals with decades of experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cTeachers with 20, 30, even 40 years in the system are saying the same thing, without hesitation \u2014 the students in front of us today are different.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are carrying the effects of trauma, of disrupted early development, of prolonged social isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic, and of growing mental health challenges that extend far beyond the classroom.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese realities show up in schools as emotional dysregulation, heightened anxiety, aggression, withdrawal and an increasing number of students who are simply not equipped to cope with the demands of a traditional learning environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cStill, the expectation remains that schools will manage all of this with the same, or in some cases, fewer resources \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cSupporting students with significant behavioural and mental health needs is not optional. It is foundational. Without it, learning cannot happen in any meaningful or sustained way.\u201d<\/p>\n
The spokesman said that schools cannot be expected to function as \u201cthe front line of the mental health system\u201d without the required staff and structures in place. He said teachers are being asked to meet \u201cclinical-level needs without clinical-level support\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not sustainable, it is not safe and it is not fair, to students or to staff,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need more people in our schools, not in theory, not in long-term plans, but in real, immediate, tangible ways.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need more paraprofessionals to support students whose needs require consistent, individualised attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need more psychologists so that assessments and interventions happen when they are needed, not months or years later.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need more counsellors, educational therapists and social workers embedded within our schools so that students can access support before they reach a crisis point.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need occupational and physical therapists to address the developmental and sensory challenges that are increasingly present in our classrooms.\u201d<\/p>\n
The BUT said it was equally critical that educators were given time to plan, to collaborate and build trauma-informed responses rather than reacting from moment to moment or \u201cin survival mode\u201d.<\/p>\n
It said they are managing behaviours without the capacity to put in place preventive structures.<\/p>\n
The BUT said that there was a \u201cgrowing disconnect\u201d between what the Department of Education is saying publicly about education and what is being experienced in the classrooms.<\/p>\n
The union also suggested that Crystal Caesar, the Minister of Education, missed an opportunity to speak out on the matter recently but did not specify where the comments were made.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Education posted a video clip on its Instagram <\/a>page on March 23 of Ms Caesar on camera being asked about whether more teachers, counsellors and paraprofessionals were needed in the public school system. She responded to the interviewer: \u201cAbsolutely. We need more people to be full-time teachers \u2014 people who are dedicated to educating our young people.\u201d<\/p>\n Government has been approached for comment on the BUT\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n The 2026-27 Budget<\/a>, alluded to the reinstating and integrating counselling services for young people.<\/p>\n David Burt, the Premier, said in his February Budget Statement: \u201cThis Budget provides for the reinstatement and phased integration of counselling services, including youth counselling, within a co-ordinated framework that aligns health, education and social services.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ministry of Education received $156.5 million, representing a boost of $7.3 million, or 5 per cent, over the previous year.<\/p>\n The Department of Education saw an increase in funding for school psychology of $40,000 to $1,335,000.<\/p>\n