Nearly a third of Scots believe occasional sufferers of depression should not work as primary teachers, according to a new survey.

The research findings triggered warnings that there was a long way to go in changing public attitudes, while one teacher who has been affected by depression said that schools failed to offer enough support.

Some 29 per cent of the people questioned said they felt that someone who “experiences depression from time to time” is unsuited to primary teaching, according to the newly published report Scottish Social Attitudes 2015: attitudes to discrimination and positive action.

The figure actually represents a big drop on 2006 (51 per cent) and 2010 (41 per cent), suggesting that attitudes are slowly altering. Calum Irving, director of the See Me organisation, which tackles stigma around mental health, said the trend was “very welcome” but stressed that there was still “a lot of work to be done”.

“No one should be judged as unsuitable to teach just because they have been unwell - it is wrong and contravenes their right to employment and work opportunities,” he added.

‘Huge hypocrisy’

One teacher told TESS that working while suffering from depression had opened his eyes to “huge hypocrisy”: schools attempted to help pupils struggling with mental health difficulties but failed to show the same support to staff facing similar problems.

He said too many teachers were still “hiding their own demons”, adding: “If the profession and their employers cannot cope, how can we expect the general public to believe that those with mental illness can teach their children?”

The research also shows that the Scottish public is much more open to people from diverse backgrounds becoming teachers than it was a decade ago. Some 13 per cent considered gay men and lesbians to be unsuitable as primary teachers, for example, down from 21 per cent in 2006.

Anti-gay ‘prejudice’

But Aberdeen-based teacher and LGBTI activist John Naples-Campbell was far from reassured by the findings, arguing that there would be an “outcry” if 13 per cent believed black and minority ethnic people should not become teachers.

“We have LGBTI students self-harming, attempting suicide and staying off school and, although the government are saying this is not acceptable, we are not seeing any change to stop it,” he said.

Meanwhile, 20 per cent of respondents did not think people who had undergone gender reassignment should be primary teachers, down from 31 per cent in 2010. James Morton, manager of the Scottish Transgender Alliance, found it “heartening to see much more positive views among younger people”.

The group that most people believed was unsuitable for primary teaching was Gypsy/Travellers, although the 34 per cent against them teaching in primary represented a drop from 48 per cent in 2006.

University of Strathclyde academic Daniela Sime, an expert on Gypsy/Travellers and social inequality, welcomed the “good news overall” while cautioning that only about 1 per cent of Scotland’s primary teachers came from ethnic minorities. 

@Henry_Hepburn