As another school year draws to a close in London, Ont., teachers are looking back on months marked by rising classroom pressures, shifting expectations and widening gaps in student needs. From staffing shortages and crowded classrooms to the lingering academic and emotional fallout of the pandemic, educators say the challenges facing Ontario’s public education system are more complex and entrenched than ever. In conversations with CBC, teachers describe a profession under strain-one where they are asked to do more with less, while trying to support students who are increasingly anxious, disengaged or struggling to keep up. Their reflections offer a ground-level view of what’s working, what’s breaking down, and what they believe must change if classrooms are to remain places of stability, opportunity and hope.
Funding gaps and overcrowded classrooms shape daily reality for London educators
In staff rooms across the city, educators describe a juggling act that has become impossible to sustain. With budgets stretched thin, teachers say they are forced to choose between essential supports: a literacy intervention program or updated science equipment, an educational assistant or a mental health counsellor. Many describe buying classroom supplies out of pocket, from basic art materials to winter clothing for students who arrive underdressed. Administrators, meanwhile, are quietly cutting back on field trips, library hours and extracurriculars to keep the lights on. The result, teachers warn, is a school day stripped to its bare bones at precisely the moment students need more support, not less.
Inside the classroom, the impact is immediate and visible. Classes that routinely top 30 students leave little room for one-on-one attention, especially for children with complex learning needs or limited English. Teachers say they are managing not only lessons, but escalating behavior, trauma and anxiety with dwindling specialist support. One Grade 4 teacher in east London described her day as “constant triage,” shifting her focus from one urgent need to the next while trying to preserve a semblance of routine. Educators point to a growing list of consequences:
- Less individual feedback on assignments and assessments
- Reduced support for students with special education needs
- Fewer enrichment opportunities for high-achieving learners
- Increased burnout among teachers and support staff
| School Level | Average Class Size | Key Pressure Point |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | 28-32 students | Early literacy and behaviour support |
| Junior/Intermediate | 30-34 students | Special education and mental health |
| Secondary | 30+ students | Course offerings and graduation pathways |
Mental health pressures on students and staff demand stronger in school supports
Across London’s classrooms,educators describe a school year marked by rising anxiety,burnout and behaviour issues among both learners and those who teach them. Guidance counsellors and social workers report longer waitlists, while teachers say they are acting as first responders to crises that stretch far beyond academics. Many schools are experimenting with layered supports – from quiet rooms and peer-mentoring to regular check-ins with trusted adults – but staff insist these efforts are patchwork, not system-wide solutions. The call is growing for embedded mental health teams that are as routine as attendance sheets, notably in communities where families face economic uncertainty and unstable housing.
- Students arriving to class after sleepless nights, juggling caregiving or part-time jobs
- Teachers managing trauma disclosures between math lessons and report cards
- Principals redirecting scarce funds from enrichment to crisis response
- Support staff trying to bridge gaps when specialist services are unavailable
| Need Identified in Schools | Current Response |
|---|---|
| On-site mental health professionals | Shared counsellor across multiple schools |
| Regular staff debriefing and support | Occasional wellness workshops |
| Consistent small-group spaces for students | Ad hoc access to empty classrooms |
| Family outreach around stress and coping | Facts sent home during crises only |
Educators warn that without more robust, predictable supports, the system will continue to lean on individual goodwill rather than coordinated care. They argue that mental health must be treated as core infrastructure – like heating or internet access – built into school budgets, staffing models and timetables, not left to fundraising drives or pilot projects that disappear when the grant money runs out.
Newcomer and special needs students expose cracks in inclusion and resource allocation
In classrooms from Finchley to Croydon, teachers describe a fragile balancing act as waves of newcomer pupils arrive mid-term, often with interrupted schooling and limited English, alongside classmates who have complex learning or medical needs. Staff say the promise of inclusion is frequently undermined by the reality of one teacher and a revolving door of support staff trying to meet sharply different needs at once. The result,they argue,is a quiet triage system: children most pleasant in English wait while urgent pastoral or behavioural crises absorb attention. Educators point to growing pockets of “invisible exclusion”, where students sit in the room but slip through the cracks of meaningful participation.
Inside staff rooms, the same themes surface again and again:
- Insufficient specialist staff to support language acquisition and complex disabilities.
- Lengthy waits for assessments, leaving pupils without formal support plans.
- Patchy training on trauma, autism and culturally responsive teaching.
- Short-term funding pots that make long-term planning nearly impossible.
| Support Area | Need Reported by Teachers | Current Reality |
|---|---|---|
| ESL / EAL provision | Daily small-group sessions | Weekly pull-out, if space allows |
| SEN classroom support | 1:1 or 1:2 for high needs | Shared assistant across 3-4 pupils |
| Educational psychology | Assessment within one term | Waiting lists over a year |
| Staff training | Regular, funded CPD | Ad hoc twilight sessions |
Teachers call for smaller classes better training and stable funding to rebuild trust in public education
Across the city, educators say the path to restoring confidence in neighbourhood schools starts inside the classroom door. Many describe teaching rooms packed wall to wall, where one person is expected to meet the needs of up to three dozen students with vastly different learning profiles.Smaller groups, they argue, would mean more time for one-on-one support, fewer behaviour flare-ups, and room to rebuild the relationships that keep students engaged.Teachers also want ongoing, high-quality training that goes beyond one-off workshops – sessions rooted in real classroom scenarios, led by experienced peers, and focused on current realities such as trauma-informed practise and inclusive strategies.
- Class size caps that reflect student needs, not just budget targets
- Mentorship programs linking new teachers with veteran colleagues
- Dedicated funding streams protected from year-to-year cuts
| Priority | What Teachers Say They Need |
|---|---|
| Learning Conditions | Fewer students per room to allow meaningful support |
| Professional Growth | Regular, job-embedded training tied to classroom reality |
| Funding Stability | Multi-year commitments to programs, staff and resources |
Underlying each demand is a push for predictable, long-term investment that doesn’t evaporate with the next budget cycle. Teachers say the constant uncertainty around grants and staffing levels erodes public confidence, fuels turnover and forces schools into a reactive posture, always bracing for the next cut. With stable funding and a modern approach to training, they argue, schools could plan years ahead, build evidence-based programs and show families that public education is not just surviving, but capable of adapting and improving in a sustained, transparent way.
to sum up
As London’s classrooms empty for the summer, the questions raised by teachers this year will linger far beyond the final bell. Their concerns about staffing, student mental health, funding gaps and rising classroom complexity point to an education system under mounting pressure – but also to a profession still deeply committed to finding solutions.
Whether the next school year brings meaningful change will depend on decisions made in board offices and at Queen’s Park, and also on how seriously the wider community takes these warnings from the front lines.For now, educators are closing their doors on a difficult year, hoping that when they reopen in September, they’ll be better equipped to teach, support and inspire the students waiting on the other side.
