Scottish teachers will soon have access to a 24-hour helpline to help them cope with stress. Teacherline has operated the service in England for about a year with funding from the Teachers' Benevolent Fund. The idea of providing such a service, staffed by trained counsellors, was conceived in response to an official survey in 1993 which found that teachers had "greater levels of stress manifested than doctors, dentists or nurses".

The principal educational psychologist at Glasgow City Council, Alan MacLean, told the Scotsman the situation for most teachers has worsened since then. "Teacher morale is at the lowest level I have known it in 25 years. The cause of stress is a lack of professional autonomy. All these top-down initiatives, continuous assessment, league tables, all the narrowly defined aims leave teachers feeling out of control."