Understanding Teacher Absence: The Complete Guide for UK Schools

Staff absences are a reality for every school, impacting not just the teachers who are away but the whole team. When someone is off, others have to pick up the slack, which can lower teaching quality and increase stress. With 66% of teachers taking sick leave, and mental health being a major factor in longer absences, it’s clear that schools need practical solutions.

This article explains what staff absenteeism looks like in schools, shares the latest figures, and offers practical steps for both immediate action and long-term prevention. If you need urgent help, OpenUp is here to support you.

What is staff absenteeism in schools?

Staff absenteeism is the time lost when teachers are off sick or injured. If approximately 66% of teachers each take 8.3 sick days, that’s about one teacher missing from every classroom for more than a week each year. However, the real impact goes far beyond the statistics.

Here are some key points to help you understand absence:

• Short-term versus long-term absence: Short-term absence usually means a few days or weeks off. Long-term absence is anything over 4 weeks and often requires extra support, such as occupational health and a phased return to work.
• Physical versus mental health-related absence: Physical health issues, such as the flu or an injury, usually cause short-term absences. Mental health challenges (such as stress, anxiety, or burnout) last longer and come back more often.
• Education-specific context: In UK schools, mental health absences are rising faster than those from physical illness. This shows just how much pressure and emotional strain staff are under.

OpenUp psychologist Britt Slief explains: “It’s in the transition from short-term to long-term absence that critical intervention moments exist to prevent further deterioration.”

It helps to know why staff are off, but the actual numbers reveal the scale of the problem.

The figures: teacher absence rates in UK schools (2018-2024)

In the 2023/24 academic year, 66% of teachers in England took sickness absence, averaging 8.3 days per teacher, according to the UK Department of Education. This translates to approximately 14,000 teachers off sick daily, with over 2.5 million school days lost in 2022/23 alone.

Since in-person learning resumed post-pandemic, a total of 8.5 million school days have been lost due to teacher illness. Compared with the 2018/19 academic year (pre-pandemic), an additional 717,00 teaching days were lost last year due to staff illness.

Mental health remains a critical factor: Research from Education Support, shows that 78% of teachers feel stressed at work and 38% say their organisations do not support their mental well-being challenges well. 

Source: DfE School Workforce Statistics, 2024

The real issue isn’t just about statistics. When a teacher is away, others have to cover or the school brings in supply staff, which can overload the team and lead to even more absences. With mental health absences on the rise, this is clearly not just a short-term problem.

Schools are now spending £1.3 billion each year on supply staff, which can’t continue in the long run. To tackle high absence rates, it’s important to understand what’s driving them.

Why is teacher absence so high in UK schools?

Staff absence is high for a few main reasons: too few teachers, heavy workloads without time to recover, and mental health pressures. Of these, mental health is the leading cause of long-term absence.

As Britt explains: “Absence in education is rarely the result of a single factor. It’s usually the cumulative effect of structural pressure and sustained mental strain.”

1) Teacher recruitment crisis amplifies absence effects

Recruiting and keeping teachers is a real challenge in the UK. In 2023/2024, 41,200 teachers left state schools in England, about one in eleven. When someone is off sick, others have to cover, which adds to their workload and can lead to more absences.

Attracting and retaining teachers isn’t easy. Providing strong benefits, especially mental health support, helps make your school a place where staff want to work and stay.

2) Workload without recovery periods

The school year is packed from beginning to end, with hardly any quiet spells. Stress is highest during reports, assessments, and parents’ evenings, and these dates are fixed. Full-time teachers work about 51 hours a week, while school leaders put in around 58.

Many teachers still come to work when they’re unwell because they don’t want to let their colleagues down. This can lead to guilt and increases the risk of long-term absence. Teaching is a marathon without real breaks, so prevention is key.

3) Mental health pressures: the primary cause of long-term absence

Mental health issues are a major reason for absence, but they are often overlooked. According to recent research, 78% of school teachers say they feel stressed, and many experience anxiety, depression, or burnout (Education Support, 2024). Teachers have an average score of 43.90 on the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale, which is much lower than the national average of 51.40 and falls into the high-risk category for psychological distress and depression.

Teachers carry emotionally heavy loads:

• Managing student mental health crises (increased since COVID-19)
• Escalating conversations with parents (43% of teachers report an increase in vexatious complaints)
• Behavioural challenges in the classroom with limited support (82% say this negatively affects their mental health)

Teachers often end up as the safety net for wider social problems, usually without enough tools or time to manage the load. These challenges aren’t personal failings, they show that the workload and emotional demands are simply too much.

As Britt notes: “Think of a teacher who stands before their class with care every day, even as concerns pile up. Who notices when students aren’t coping well, has conversations with parents, all while trying to maintain an overview. For a long time, this worked. Not because it’s easy, but because continuing feels natural. Until the moment when the body or mind says stop.”

This mental strain affects schools emotionally and financially.

Tackling staff absence in schools: two practical scenarios

Having worked with over 100 education organisations on staff absence, we usually see two main situations:

• Scenario 1: Your absence is high and unsustainable – you need immediate help
• Scenario 2: You want to prevent absence from rising further

Scenario 1: Getting urgent absence under control immediately

Step 1: Provide immediate support (within 1 working day)

You can get outside help fast. With OpenUp, support can start in just one working day. Our team gets you set up quickly so teachers can speak to a psychologist right away. This means urgent mental health needs are dealt with straight away.

Step 2: Identify the biggest pressure points (weeks 2-4)

Find out where the main problems are. Ask questions such as: Where is the workload highest? Which teams are struggling most? Use anonymous tools like OpenUp’s Vitality Check to gain insights while protecting staff privacy.

Step 3: Implement emergency measures (week 4+)

• Temporary workload redistribution: reallocate tasks where possible.
• Redistribute administrative work to lighten the teacher’s load.
• Consider temporary external staff.
• Begin return-to-work conversations with long-term absent staff.

Scenario 2: Preventing absence before it escalates

Prevention is sustainable, benefits your team, and saves money. According to Deloitte, every £1 invested in mental health brings about £5 in value.

Here are five evidence-based strategies that make a real difference:

Tip 1: Monitor well and intervene early

Track absence weekly for each team and step in early. Monitor key metrics, separate short-term from long-term absence, and start supportive conversations as soon as you spot patterns.

Tip 2: Reduce workload, especially “invisible” administrative burden

Remove tasks that don’t add value, use standard templates, and make sure teachers have enough time to prepare. Try cutting meetings and paperwork by 20% and use that time for lesson planning. Centralise behaviour support so teachers aren’t left to manage it alone.

Tip 3: Make mental health support quick and accessible

Research shows that workplace psychological support reduces sickness absence. The principle is simple: early help prevents long-term absence.

Why is this important? About 78% of school staff in the UK report feeling stressed. If support isn’t easy to access, teachers often keep going until they can’t, which can mean being off work for months.

What this means in practice:

• Fast access to support: available within days, not weeks.
• Low threshold: no complicated procedures or long waiting lists.
• Normalise help-seeking: train leaders to speak openly about mental well-being.
• Guarantee confidentiality: complete privacy is essential.

Platforms like OpenUp offer 24/7 access to psychologists, no waiting lists, and complete confidentiality, with 84% of users feeling better equipped to handle future challenges.

Tip 4: Regular check-ins and early warning signals

Don’t wait until someone calls in sick to talk about well-being. Use anonymous tools like OpenUp’s Vitality Check to catch problems early. Train leaders to spot signs of stress in their teams.

Tip 5: Make returning to work easy

Use phased returns, temporary task adjustments, and lighter schedules when needed. Flexible working and clear time-off processes help prevent relapse. Research from the Department for Work and Pensions shows that 70% of employees return to work faster when they can do so gradually, highlighting the value of good return-to-work support.

What are your legal obligations as an employer? (absence policy and legal framework)

As an employer in UK education, you have clear legal obligations around staff absence. A good absence policy not only ensures compliance but also prevents unnecessary absence.

Key legal requirements:

• Statutory Sick Pay (SSP): Provide SSP for eligible staff (currently £118.75 per week for up to 28 weeks).
• Occupational health: Engage occupational health services for assessment and support.
• Reasonable adjustments: Make reasonable adjustments for staff with disabilities or long-term conditions.
• Return-to-work support: Implement structured return-to-work processes, including phased returns where appropriate.
• Record keeping: Maintain accurate absence records for HR and health & safety purposes.

For detailed guidance, see GOV.UK: Taking sick leave and ACAS: Absence from work.

A good absence policy should go beyond legal requirements. Use it to address workload, support mental health, and improve job satisfaction. Involve your staff in shaping the policy, as they often know what works best.

As Britt notes: “Absence policy only truly works when staff feel heard, not just monitored.”

How OpenUp helps schools reduce staff absence

More than 100 education organisations, including Eindhoven University of Technology, Curio, Landstede, and DKP Education Group, use OpenUp to reduce staff absenteeism.

What OpenUp provides:

• Immediate support for urgent absence situations: Our team can start within 1 working day, so organisations facing acute absence crises get direct access to psychological support.
• Preventing escalation: Early access to help, so problems don’t lead to long-term absence.
• Available when teachers have time: Evening and weekend sessions, no waiting lists.
• 100% confidential: Completely anonymous, which reduces barriers and stigma.
• For everyone, at all locations: Teachers, teaching assistants, support staff, and school leaders.
• Strengthening leaders: Helps leaders recognise stress signals and support their teams.
• ISO 27001 & NEN 7510 certified: Meets healthcare data standards.

What you will receive:

• 1-to-1 sessions with psychologists (including support for difficult parent interactions).
• Leadership coaching for school leaders.
• On-demand workshops and webinars that fit busy schedules.
• 24/7 available self-guided learning resources.
• HR dashboard with anonymous well-being insights.

Discover how OpenUp can support your school