The Bermuda Union of Teachers (Image supplied)
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.
The Bermuda Union of Teachers said in a statement on Sunday that Bermuda “schools are under resourced for the needs we are being asked to meet”.
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.
The Ministry of Education yesterday issued a response acknowledging the concerns raised by educators but insisting that the Government was taking informed action.
The BUT spokesman said: “Every 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.
“This is not speculation or exaggeration — it is the consistent testimony of professionals with decades of experience.
“Teachers with 20, 30, even 40 years in the system are saying the same thing, without hesitation — the students in front of us today are different.
“They 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.
“These 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.
“Still, the expectation remains that schools will manage all of this with the same, or in some cases, fewer resources …
“Supporting 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.”
The spokesman said that schools cannot be expected to function as “the front line of the mental health system” without the required staff and structures in place. He said teachers are being asked to meet “clinical-level needs without clinical-level support”.
“That is not sustainable, it is not safe and it is not fair, to students or to staff,” he said. “We need more people in our schools, not in theory, not in long-term plans, but in real, immediate, tangible ways.
“We need more paraprofessionals to support students whose needs require consistent, individualised attention.
“We need more psychologists so that assessments and interventions happen when they are needed, not months or years later.
“We need more counsellors, educational therapists and social workers embedded within our schools so that students can access support before they reach a crisis point.
“We need occupational and physical therapists to address the developmental and sensory challenges that are increasingly present in our classrooms.”
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 “in survival mode”.
It said they are managing behaviours without the capacity to put in place preventive structures.
The BUT said that there was a “growing disconnect” between what the Department of Education is saying publicly about education and what is being experienced in the classrooms.
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.
The Ministry of Education posted a video clip on its Instagram 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: “Absolutely. We need more people to be full-time teachers — people who are dedicated to educating our young people.”
Responding to the BUT’s comments, a spokeswoman for the ministry said: “Over the past year, the ministry has advanced targeted measures to strengthen support for students, including expanding access to school-based services and programmes designed to address complex and diverse needs. We are also improving coordination across education, health and social services to ensure students receive more timely, consistent and integrated support.
“The 2026-27 Budget reflects this priority, with expanded funding to strengthen system-wide capacity. This includes increased investment in support staff and essential services, alongside significant capital funding to modernise and improve school infrastructure. These investments are intended to ensure that our schools are equipped to deliver high-quality, safe and sustainable teaching and learning environments.”
The spokeswoman added that the immediate focus is on execution, ensuring that the necessary resources are deployed efficiently and without delay.
She said: “Ongoing public service hiring reforms are a critical part of this effort, aimed at enabling schools to access the personnel and supports they require in a timely manner.
“We remain committed to meaningful engagement with educators, including the BUT, as well as with parents and the wider community. Their perspectives are essential as we continue to strengthen the system.”
Mr Burt recently met with the Youth Advisory Board along with senior members of his Cabinet last month to discuss efforts to reduce stigma and improve mental health outcomes for adolescents.
A survey in 2023 involving 76 per cent of middle and high school students on the island found that 31 per cent of adolescents surveyed showed “moderate to severe” symptoms of depression or anxiety.
The BUT spokesman added: “Educators in the Bermuda public school system are not raising these concerns lightly. They are raising them because they are witnessing, every single day, the gap between what students need and what the system is currently able to provide.
“They are doing everything they can within that gap but goodwill and dedication are not substitutes for staffing, resources and time.
“The message is consistent and it is urgent.
“We need more staff. We need more support. We need more time.
“Anything less is a failure to meet the moment and a failure to meet the needs of the students we are all responsible for serving.”