TEACHERS are being asked to reveal how school closures and the return to full-time education has impacted on their mental wellbeing.
The INTO union is also asking classroom staff their views on how ready their schools are for children's learning to resume.
Pupils have been back for less than two weeks and already some schools have had to send young people home due to positive Covid-19 cases.
Drumragh Integrated College in Omagh is among the latest affected.
The INTO is surveying its members "in light of many changes to employment practices for teachers" caused by the pandemic.
Members will be sent the surveys over the coming days with a view to both publishing the results and "to use the responses to inform conversations with employers".
The union's northern secretary Gerry Murphy said the responses would be vital in properly representing members’ views.
"INTO needs, not only a properly informed understanding of the difficulties faced throughout the school closure but now that schools have reopened everyone in education urgently needs to know what works and what doesn't," Mr Murphy said.
"The survey will cover a swath of areas and judging by the number of Covid-19 related queries to the northern office, we need to know exactly how the reopening of schools is impacting our members' health and wellbeing.
"Of course, many teachers are naturally nervous and anxious about their return and INTO needs to know how this is being monitored and managed. On a practical level, we need information about the difficulties faced by teachers regarding the availability of Covid-19 specific hygiene facilities and equipment coupled with the obstacles and hurdles faced by principals as they attempted to acquire these essentials."
Unions have voiced frustration at guidance issued by the Department of Education and the Education Authority on the return to school.
"Teachers being not only teachers but parents, instinctively do not limit their anxiety to themselves and so INTO is also looking closely at the support and the readiness of schools for the pupil return," Mr Murphy added.
"The different guidance from EA and DE, as the roadmap for teachers and school leaders is key to a successful and safe reopening and hopefully the survey will help to provide DE with the requisite information needed to fill the gaps in the guidance.
"This will provide all shades of education with a picture how, not only INTO members, but all teachers and pupils have been affected by Covid."
