Jan Howell retired in 1996, due to ill-health

Mrs Howell retired from Maindee Primary School and teaching in 1996, due to ill-health, and has not been able to work effectively since leaving the profession.

With the backing of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), she began legal action in 1998, claiming she had not been suitably supported.

Newport County Borough Council - formerly Gwent County Council - admitted liability for her situation in January.

The complaint led to a local education authority investigation of the school's management team, after which the head and deputy head teachers were removed.

'Career loss'

The NASUWT believes the settlement is the highest ever awarded to a teacher for stress.

But the union's general secretary, Nigel de Gruchy, said that while the pay-out was a considerable sum, it was "in scant compensation for the ill health and loss of career" Mrs Howell had to suffer.

"Hopefully, the government and employers will learn the lesson that cries for help are genuine and not just the whingeings of disgruntled teachers," he said.

We are fully aware of the importance of dealing with stress in the workplace and a stress management policy agreed with trade unions is in place

Newport Council

The government should stop putting schools under pressure to take children with special needs into mainstream classes, he added.

Mrs Howell's first breakdown came about when her support teacher for English as a second language (for refugee children) was ill and not replaced.

After a prolonged period of sickness, she provided medical evidence of severe stress levels.

But instead of receiving extra support, her nursery nurse - who helped assess youngsters with special needs - was taken away from the class.

Mrs Howell's second breakdown occurred when the seriously disturbed boy in her class absconded from school and was seen walking beside dangerous mudflats on the tidal part of a river.

Mrs Howell had asked the school to tell her if the boy's mother contacted them to say he was safe, but the then head teacher - whose name has not been revealed - did not do so.

Serious problem

Speaking at a news conference in London, Mrs Howell appealed to local authorities and the government to take the issue of classroom stress to heart.

Nigel de Gruchy wants less pressure on schools to take special needs pupils in mainstream class

"If you have stressed teachers you have teachers who are not performing at their best, and if they are not performing at their best then how can the education they provide be the best?

"We must support our teaching staff, people must listen and I do hope that this particular case will highlight that."

She had been taking anti-depressant medication for a while, she said, and still had days when all she could do was either stare at the wall or watch "mindless television".

"I'm not going to Barbados with my �250,000 - it will be compensation for loss of future earnings, and it will be very carefully invested and hopefully will support myself and my three children," she added.

School's 'positive ethos'

In a statement, Newport Council said the situation had arisen while the school was under a different management team and before its local education authority existed.

The school was now efficiently run and was offering a good education for its pupils, a spokeswoman said.

A recent inspection report found that a "sense of order and purpose pervades the school", she said.

"The school has a positive ethos. Staff work hard to provide a positive learning environment, and all contribute to fostering very good relationships across the school."