Help us to help teachers like Mary

While in previous years some teachers may have been able to work out their problems unaided, the financial pressures of recent months have meant that increasing numbers of ordinary teachers have found themselves in impossible situations.

Take the case of Mary, for instance. A middle aged teacher with many years’ service, Mary called us after her husband left her, leaving her to care for their two sons alone. Mary has been struggling to keep herself and her two sons while working full-time and paying the mortgage.

But Mary isn’t just one teacher…she’s representative of many. Mary is the full-time teacher who took on extra tutoring until the recession put paid to this work. The teacher who took out loans to meet day-to-day obligations and is finding it impossible to pay them back.

Click here to read Mary’s story in full.

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What's new and what's hot from our InfoCentres this month
Our websites have all been busy this month with our online InfoCentres seeing over 16,300 factsheet views in England and Scotland. Find out what teachers have been looking at on our site.

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Give us feedback about our site and services
All our services, as well as our press and policy work, are geared toward achieving better wellbeing for education professionals. We want to hear from you about how we're doing. If you've been reading our website, getting our e-newsletter or using our online or phone support services, your feedback is of great value to us. If you're new to Teacher Support Network, we'd like to know what impression we've made thus far. Visit our site and offer some feedback.

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Julian Stanley to speak at sustainable CPD Conference
Julian Stanley, Chief Executive of Teacher Support Network, will act as one of the leading speakers at the Sustainable CPD Conference this year. He will speak about the importance of effective Continued Professional Development in relation to the wellbeing of teachers.

Held in London on 12 November, the conference will look at innovative approaches to CPD, how to create a culture of sharing good practice in a cost-effective manner and how to make the most of expertise within schools.
Practical and inspirational workshops – delivered by CPD Coordinators and School Leaders - will help with several aspects of your work upon your return to your school:

• Identifying training needs through an audit of the CPD your school offers.
• Making your ‘twilight training’ programmes popular and effective.
• Setting up systems to 'cascade' learning.
• Implementing cost-effective solutions to problems with the provision of CPD.
• Improving coaching, mentoring and peer observation.

You can find the conference website here and can register your place here (use promotional code ‘TSN’). The conference organisers have told us they are looking forward to welcoming readers of Teacher Support Direct in November.