Work Cover claims show many Victorian teachers are feeling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More teachers have had WorkCover claims approved for mental injury and other conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic than any other profession in Victoria.

Even health professionals who have actually contracted COVID-19 have had fewer claims approved than teachers who have not contracted the virus.

As of July 30, WorkCover had accepted 33 claims by people who had contracted COVID-19, 24 of which were from people working in health care and social assistance.

A total of 78 claims have been accepted based on other impacts, such as mental injury, related to the COVID-19 pandemic, 26 of which were for workers in education and training.

“There are some teachers, support staff and principals who have reported considerable stress and anxiety, particularly in recent times, where they have had to attend onsite,” said Australian Education Union Victorian deputy president Justin Mullaly.

A teachers’ clinical psychologist, Andrew Fuller, says teachers could be on the cusp of an even more stressful period.

August often sees motivation slip the most for year 12 students, he says, and the difficulties of the pandemic are likely to make this worse.

“The tensions [about] who can motivate these kids, whether it's parents or teachers, becomes more fraught,” he said.

“There has been a bit of pointing the finger about who is responsible.

“It's been an almost relentless period of time without any break whatsoever, so they're working incredibly hard to meet the needs of their students, which is heroic really.”