TEACHERS in the region are highly stressed and overworked, a report says.

Paperwork, administrative duties, a preoccupation with targets and disruptive behaviour by pupils all add to teachers' stress.

This has created a negative culture, the study found, which is hindering their ability to best respond and support young people.

North-East teachers are now calling for more support and changes to their working environment, according to the report.

It also said teachers wanted more time to teach and more chances inside and outside the curriculum to get to know their pupils to guide and support them better.

Lynn Dobbs, one of the report's authors, said: "Teachers in the North-East are strongly committed to improving young people's attainment and their educational experience, and they recognise they play a critical role in shaping young people's attitudes to education and employment.

"The teachers involved in the study have worked closely with the research team to help map out the strengths and weaknesses of the way in which they currently support young people and to identify ways to make improvements."

The report also found teachers' knowledge of vocational options needed to be improved and that many appeared to have poor understanding of vocational qualifications, with many advising youngsters to take an academic route when it was not always appropriate.

The report said teachers believed they needed more contact with young people and their parents to improve their influence on pupils and help boost education standards.

The study was commissioned by the North-East Assembly, with support from the Government Office for the North-East and Aimhigher: Partnerships for Progression North-East.