How was your day?
Get it off your chest.
Teachers, early childhood educators, aides, counsellors, leaders and relief staff. Put down what you're carrying before you go home.
Which best describes you?
This changes a few questions and which support lines come first. You can change it any time.
Everything you enter stays on this phone. Nothing is sent to your employer, your manager or anyone else. Unladen Class is a prototype. It is not a medical or emergency service and is not connected to any school, school system or government agency. · Give feedback
Take a moment.
Step out of the room if it's safe and someone can cover. Tell a colleague you need a few minutes. That's allowed.
Breathe with this
What you might be feeling
- Shaky, sick, or a racing heart
- Numb, or oddly calm
- Tearful, angry, or both
- Going over what you could have done differently
These are normal reactions. They usually settle over hours or days.
If someone hurt or threatened you
It isn't part of teaching and it isn't your fault. Tell your supervisor or principal and report it through your school's incident system. Get checked if you were hurt.
Ground yourself
Look around. Name them, out loud or in your head.
Call someone now
Add your supervisor, a colleague or your EAP in so they're here when you need them.
Not sure who to tell?
If you don't feel safe telling your supervisor or principal, there are other people you can go to. Or write down what happened, just for you, while it's fresh.
What helps after
Handover to yourself
A few minutes after the bell. Notice what you're carrying, then leave what you can at the school gate.
Please talk to someone now
You said you've had thoughts of harming yourself or not wanting to be here. Please call one of these now. If you're in immediate danger, call 000.
Light load
This phone isn't letting the page save. Your result shows here but won't be kept.
About the violence or aggression
Report it through your school's incident system, even if it seems minor. Reports are how behaviour support plans get reviewed and extra support gets funded. Staff hurt at work can make a workers compensation claim.
Your safety
You said you didn't feel fully safe. That matters. Tell your manager or supervisor, and report it through your incident system. Ask for a risk assessment or behaviour support plan for students who are a risk.
Getting home safely
You said you've got very little energy left. If you're driving, a 15 to 20 minute nap before you leave can help, or get a lift. Text someone when you're home.
What might help
People you can call
This isn't a medical assessment. It's a way to notice how you're going over time.
How it's been going
Last 14 days
Handovers
This phone isn't letting the page save, so handovers won't be kept.
Privacy & your data
Add a PIN, download what you've entered, or delete everything from this phone.
Teaching takes something out of you
What to watch for, and what helps. Tap a heading to open it.
Violence and aggression from students
Being hit, kicked, threatened or spat on is not part of teaching, even when the student is struggling.
Today
- Get help and make sure other students are safe.
- Report it through your school's incident system, even if it seems minor.
- Get checked if you were hurt.
Over the next days
- Ask for the student's behaviour support plan to be reviewed.
- Staff hurt at work can make a workers compensation claim.
- Your union can support you.
Abuse from parents and carers
- You can end a meeting or call that becomes abusive.
- Ask for another staff member to be with you for difficult meetings.
- Report it to your principal. Schools can limit how a parent contacts staff.
- It's usually worry or fear for their child. It still isn't OK.
When a child discloses abuse
- Listen, stay calm, and don't promise to keep it a secret.
- Teachers in NSW are mandatory reporters. Follow your school's procedure and report to the Child Protection Helpline on 132 111.
- Write down what the child said, in their words, while it's fresh.
- Hearing it is heavy. Debrief with your school counsellor or wellbeing team.
When a student talks about self-harm or suicide
- Stay with them if they're at risk. Call 000 if they're in immediate danger.
- Tell the school counsellor or wellbeing team and your principal straight away.
- Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800) supports young people aged 5 to 25, 24/7.
- Afterwards, look after yourself too. Talk to someone.
When a student or colleague dies
- You may be supporting students while you're grieving yourself. That's a lot.
- Accept help from school recovery or wellbeing teams.
- If it was a suicide, StandBy (1300 727 247) supports anyone affected, including school communities.
- It's OK to take time off.
When behaviour gets on top of you
- A class you can't settle doesn't make you a bad teacher.
- Ask for support: a mentor, a behaviour specialist, a learning support colleague.
- You're one person with a whole room. Notice the small wins.
Workload, marking and admin
- Notice if marking and planning have taken over every evening and weekend.
- Too much work is a recognised work health and safety hazard. Your union can help you raise it.
- Protect at least one full day a week.
Online abuse and being filmed
- Don't engage. Screenshot it and report it to your principal.
- The eSafety Commissioner takes reports of serious online abuse.
- If there are threats, contact police.
Bullying, harassment or conflict
You don't have to put up with it, and you don't have to sort it out alone.
- Write down what happened, with dates, while it's fresh.
- If your manager is involved, talk to someone outside your reporting line.
- The Fair Work Commission can make orders to stop bullying at work.
- For sexual harassment, 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) is there 24/7.
Signs you're carrying too much
- Dreading Monday from Saturday
- Feeling numb, or short with students
- Marking and planning every night
- Sleep changes, or replaying the day
- Pulling back from people
This is burnout, and it's very common in teaching. It comes from the job, not from you being weak.
Early career and relief teachers
If you're new or casual, it can feel risky to ask for help. You have the same right to support and a safe workplace as everyone else. Find a mentor.
When to get more help
If your load has been heavy for two weeks or more, you dread going in, or it's affecting sleep or home life, talk to your GP or EAP. A GP can set up a Mental Health Treatment Plan for Medicare-subsidised sessions with a psychologist.
People to call
Save the ones that apply to you. They stay on this phone and show up on the Help now screen.
Support lines
You don't have to go through your principal
Sometimes the person you'd normally tell is part of the problem, or it just doesn't feel safe. Here are other ways to get support. You choose what to do, and when.
From your organisation
Your school or department can add its own EAP, wellbeing and support numbers here.
Someone outside your reporting line
- Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Free, confidential counselling. Your manager isn't told that you called. Every school system has one.
- A colleague or mentor at another school. Someone outside your reporting line.
- Your union. The NSW Teachers Federation (1300 654 369) covers public school and TAFE teachers. The IEU NSW/ACT (1800 467 943) covers Catholic and independent schools.
- Your work health and safety representative. For violence, workload and bullying.
- Your GP. Outside work altogether, and can refer you on.
Text or chat instead of calling
For when talking out loud isn't possible, or feels like too much.
For particular situations
Teachers in NSW are mandatory reporters. If you think a child is at risk of significant harm, call the Child Protection Helpline on 132 111.
Spiritual and religious support
Some people find strength in prayer, ritual or their faith or cultural community after a hard day. Others find it in nature, music, exercise or quiet. Whatever gives you meaning counts.
If your workplace has a chaplain or wellbeing officer, they support people of any faith or none. Their role is to listen, not to persuade.
Words to start with
The first sentence is often the hardest. You could say:
"I'm not ready to make a complaint. I just need to talk this through."
"Can this stay between us? Is there anything you'd have to pass on?"
"Something a student told me is weighing on me."
"I'm not coping with my workload."
What happens if I tell someone?
- Counsellors, peer supporters and helplines keep what you say private. The main exception is if someone is at serious risk of harm. If you're unsure, ask at the start.
- A union can give you confidential advice before you decide anything.
- A child at risk of significant harm has to be reported. Your own wellbeing is yours to decide about.
- Your private record in this app stays on your phone unless you choose to share it.
Not ready to tell anyone?
That's OK. You can write down what happened, just for yourself, and decide later.
Numbers and services are for New South Wales and Australia-wide. Check with your organisation for its own services.
Write down what happened
It stays on this phone. It isn't a report, and nothing is sent anywhere. If you later decide to raise something, notes written at the time are easier to rely on than memory.
My entries
Entries can't be edited, so each one shows when it was written. To add something, write a new entry.
No entries yet.
If you decide to share it, you can download it or send it to yourself.
Your phone, your data
PIN lock
Ask for a PIN when the app opens, and after it has been in the background for a minute.
PIN is on.
The PIN stops someone else opening the app on your phone. It doesn't encrypt what's stored, so keep your phone locked too. If you forget it, you can delete everything and start again.
Hide the screen
Tap the eye button at the top of any screen to cover the app straight away, for example in the staffroom or on the way home. Tap to come back, or enter your PIN if you've set one.
Download my data
Download everything you've entered (handovers, private record and contacts) as a text file. You could keep a copy, or show it to your GP or counsellor.
Delete everything
Deletes your handovers, private record, role, contacts and PIN from this phone.
Delete everything from this phone? This can't be undone.
About Unladen Class
Unladen™ Class is a prototype made by Co-Synthesist Pty Ltd, Newcastle NSW. Unladen™ is a trade mark of Co-Synthesist Pty Ltd. It isn't a medical or emergency service, and it isn't connected to any school, school system or government agency. The questions haven't been clinically validated yet.
What's stored: your role, handovers, private record, saved contacts and settings, only in this phone's browser. Nothing is sent to anyone. There are no accounts, analytics or trackers.
Feedback: the feedback form is the only part of Unladen Class that sends anything, and only when you press Send. It doesn't include anything else from the app.
Keep in mind: if you clear your browser data or remove the app, what you've entered goes too. Download a copy first if you want to keep it.
Version 0.1 prototype · September 2026