TEACHERS in Wales who feel stressed by work pressures now have a new helpline manned by trained counsellors to help them discuss their problems.

But Monmouthshire headteacher Marjorie Evans (pictured) said yesterday the reasons the Teacher Support Line Cymru was needed had to be looked at more closely.

The line will provide practical and emotional support to enable teachers to tackle their own professional problems. It was officially launched in Cardiff, yesterday, by Jane Davidson, Wales minister for education and lifelong learning.

At the launch Mrs Evans, head of St Mary's Junior School, Caldicot, who was convicted and then cleared on appeal of slapping a ten-year-old pupil said the independent service would be of "tremendous benefit" to teachers under stress.

She said: "A person who is not related to a school, local authority or union, someone who understands the Welsh perspective, can only be good. Had I not had support of colleagues and friends then I would have welcomed somebody to talk through my situation who could have given me a different perspective compared to the one I was thinking of then."

But she added that while it might help teachers facing problems she said: "It's sad they are so stressed and we need to be looking at how the problems of work load, bureaucracy, etc affect teachers' lives."

The £170,000 line is being part-funded by the Assembly with an £85,000 grant. The rest of the money is being provided by the Teacher Support Network formerly the Teachers' Benevolent Fund. The dedicated bi-lingual Welsh service follows the success of the system available in England and Wales since September 1999.

Ms Davidson said that the new service is specifically developed to meet the needs of teachers working in Wales.

She said: "I believe it is not there simply to assist teachers in crisis it's to deal with problems before they become so serious that a teacher's health is put at risk."

She added: "This line will provide support where teachers can have a sympathetic ear at the other end, where people understand what they are going through." The Teacher Support Line Cymru can be contacted on 0800 085 5088.