Exhausted, stressed and assaulted Queensland teachers are taking leave from classrooms at alarming rates with a 30 per cent jump in psychological WorkCover claims over 10 years, a figure that is underreported according to the teachers union. During the 2010-11 financial year, the Education Department accepted 102 psychological WorkCover claims, which jumped by 30 per cent by 2019-20 to 133 accepted claims. However, about half the lodged applications were rejected in both time periods, which Kevin Bates, from the Queensland Teachers Union, said demonstrated the reason teachers were less likely to report psychological claims. Physical claims have also jumped, from 1414 in 2010-11 to 1495 in 2019-20 (up about 6 per cent).