More primary school principals are dealing with high levels of stress, with some now showing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Results from this year's Health and Wellbeing Survey - carried out by the NZ Educational Institute and Australian Catholic University - so far show up to 37 per cent (32 principals or senior school leaders) of participants answered questions that had led to a red flag.
Under the system, answering questions that led to red flags being raised means a teacher or principal is displaying a significant degree of distress.
Read more: $5.5m cash injection into Hawke's Bay schools
Committee between rock and a hard place over Napier school's alcohol request
The red flags are generated in three ways - either a high combined score across the survey categories, a series of quality of life indicators that are concerning or a teacher has indicated they are thinking of self-harming.