Teachers under strain…
Our view on the case of Peter Harvey
A teacher who struck a pupil with a dumbbell has been acquitted of attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent the BBC has reported. Peter Harvey, 50, hit the 14-year-old with a 3kg (6.6lb) weight at All Saints’ Roman Catholic School, Mansfield, in July 2009.
Thankfully, the judge and jury saw sense and acquitted him. Harvey had returned to work after being signed off with Stress and Depression. It was clear that he was still not ready to return to work and/or needed additional support to ease him back into teaching.
It can be difficult for employers to know what to do to best support employees when they present mental ill health conditions. I believe some simple awareness training of what to expect from Peter and some coaching for his line manager on how to construct a dialogue about his return to work would have been beneficial.
All too often because there are still a lot of myths surrounding what mental ill health is, managers are reluctant to even talk about it with their teams. This is often because of their own anxieties or prejudice about the subject. Reducing stigma by becoming more aware of how to support employees, knowing how to notice and monitor key signs and symptoms and getting your own prejudices re-examined could really help.
