Teachers calling counselling helpline being answered by US operators

TEACHERS calling a helpline for counselling on professional and personal problems are being answered by operators in the United States.

The Employee Assistance Service was set up last October for the country’s 55,000 primary and second-level teachers. It can also be accessed by their spouses, partners and children over 16. They can talk over the phone or arrange a face-to-face session, to discuss work problems or personal issues such as bereavement, depression or addiction.

In its first three months, the service received 285 queries. But while the phone lines are open 24 hours a day every day of the year, callers outside certain hours are diverted to a call centre in the US.