ABSTRACT
In recent years there has been an increasing use of the word ‘stress’ because of the extra demands and pressures put on schools, departments and individual teachers. Much of this has arisen from legislation introduced since the mid-1970s, in particular the National Curriculum and its assessment processes and OFSTED inspections. The situation has been further exacerbated by the changes in attitude of the government and society towards schools and teachers. Schools have become increasingly competitive, requiring staff to respond to these external challenges at a time when there are greater expectations, from all quarters, and less resources available to meet the challenges.
