Could they get furloughed workers to help in schools?

[BlackWhitePurple]

We keep hearing that one problem with reopening schools is that there aren't enough staff to cover split classes.

Would it be feasible to ask now for some furloughed workers to help out in September? I'm thinking the likes of hairdressers, sports coaches etc who are unlikely to be back to work any time soon. If the government are still going to be paying furloughed wages (which presumably they'll have to, if the industries can't open), they could offer to pay 80% instead of 60% or whatever it is, do background checks now, and put some training in place to allow them to at least supervise groups of primary-school children. Also offer to pay SAHP the same amount if they help.

I'm thinking the school could then move, say, the older age groups (from primary) into, say, a village/scout/church/community hall, and spread the younger classes out over the remaining classes and assembly hall.

The teacher could then do the actual teaching, and then leave the class with the TA to complete work, and then go into the other classroom to teach there. An extra person in each class would help with supervision.

It's not ideal, obviously, but it would allow all pupils (in primary at least) back to school with social distancing in place. It would need money to be spent (to boost the furloughed workers' pay, add some SAHPs, hire halls etc), but they've already found billions, and it wouldn't be prohibitively expensive in comparison (plus it would allow taxpayers to return to work).

Obviously it wouldn't work for every school, but it would be a start for some.

It's not likely to go on forever (if everyone goes back to work then we either go back to normal, or Corona spikes again and we go back to lockdown).

Anyone have any other ideas for how things could work?

Why should furloughed workers have to do this, op?

that is the future unless this is eradicated or a vaccine found.

You make it sound like eradicating the spread is implausible

actually quite the opposite, I said this is the future until the virus is eradicated, it is quite possible that it will be, it may take a while, but no reason why not. If track and trace is done efficiently everywhere, then we can eradicate it. But that is porbbaly not going to happen before September, so we need to get on with life.

@WowLucky sitting down and looking into the actual numbers is trying.

I really recommend you do that yourself. If you believe in this as an idea then what’s stopping you? Maybe you can find a solution.

At the moment all you’re doing is blindly backing an idea. You can do better than that.

I'm not sure about the number of other buildings that could be used, not in my large village. There are three primary schools, one library, one leisure centre, two football huts, one social club, four churches, one community hall. I'm sure there are other spaces but if one two-form entry primary needs an extra 7 rooms (if we go on whole classes in other buildings). So that's 21 extra rooms large enough for a class, with enough desks and chairs, just for our village, yet there are probably no more than a dozen spaces large enough.

Definitely tricky logistically!

You are joking aren't you? What about safeguarding! What about ability to do the job? What about the furloughed workers kids? How do you see it working?

Hairdressers reopen 4th July and furloughed people aren't allowed to work. It takes 3 months for a DBS check to come back and some people are furloughed because they don't have childcare.

Would it be feasible to ask now for some furloughed workers to help out in September?

Apart from the checks that would need to be done, it depends on the furloughed persons contract of employment. Nobody where I work has been, but if I had, my contract says that I cannot do any other work (paid or otherwise) with in contracted hours.

Terms of furlough did specifically state people can do other paid work, many won't be suitable, but that in itself need not be a barrier.

Community halls? How could safeguarding possibly be managed in a community hall where members of the public can just walk in off the street?

Terms of furlough did specifically state people can do other paid work, many won't be suitable, but that in itself need not be a barrier.

Our solicitors at work did say that wasn't completely the case.

Anyhow, getting furloughed workers with no education experience working in a school with pupils isn't a great idea.

tiredanddangerous, I'd guess you'd put some sort of arrangement in whereby they camt walk in off the street, maybe some sort or door locking mechanism, much the same as you have at school

You should get a job with the DfE, this is the kind of bonkers stuff they come up with!

I get your point @WowLucky we do have to think outside the box, we do have to find a way forward. But we also have to be realistic.

and so much if this stuff is aimed at primarys. I am not sure why. Do people think secondary aged kids can work on-line better?

My teens are desparately missing their friends and for one her metal health is really suffering. But make her sit in a hall 2m apart isn't going to hit the mark either.

I've said what I would do. I haven't dismissed the idea without coming up with another.

I work in a school (not teaching but I work with the children) and I'm still on furlough.
It's not so simple as you seem to think.....

Btw where’s all the budget coming from to pay for all of this?

In one school I taught at we had an open break out learning space that could fit two classes - so sixty students. We were short staffed and so I as one of the most senior and experienced teachers in the department led classes in my specialist subject with support from an NQT and a GTP student (showing my age here I suspect). We decided that the top two sets would be easiest to manage as I had taught them all previously so had a good relationship with them and there had been absolutely no behaviour issues with either class either with me or with their other teachers.

For the most part it was an absolute shitshow.

I wouldn't wish that on any experienced teacher let alone a less experienced one, a fresh PGCE graduate, a TA or even some poor furloughed worker coming in to "help out".

OP you've clearly never worked in a school have you...

tiredanddangerous, I'd guess you'd put some sort of arrangement in whereby they camt walk in off the street, maybe some sort or door locking mechanism, much the same as you have at school grin

Do you have any idea how much that costs? Who’s paying for it?

My sister is furloughed through no choice of her own. She has no desire to work in a school and even less to vastly increase her exposure to the virus when she's paid her taxes since she started working. There's a certain arrogance in the suggestion furloughed people should be 'put to work'

*and where are all the staff coming from to complete and process all the checks? What's that.. Furloughed? ;)

@womanvsfood

This is demeaning to teachers and TA’s who are highly trained professionals. You can’t just ask a hairdresser to take over in the same way I wouldn’t ask an untrained hairdresser to cut my hair because it would look shit.

Consultants in other specialties were expecting to act down as respiratory junior doctors, or even ICU nurses, as part of the Covid response. Any of those parties might have had an issue with this, but they were prepared to do it.

I don't understand the comparison Womanvsfood. The medical staff "acting down" would already have training in the other role, even if it was some time ago. The hairdresser or sports coach will have had training in an entirely different field. A better comparison would be if university lecturers in education, education department management, and Ofsted inspectors were asked to go and help out in primary schools. Which I think is a smashing idea.

I like the fact that you have clicked that if we have halved the class sizes we need double the staff. However, working in a classroom isn't an easy option, I am not talking about qualifications etc, but there are plenty of furloughed parents out there struggling with supporting one/two children and they are unlikely to be able to support 15 of them!

tiredanddangerous, I'm going to guess most community centres already have a lock on the door.

I think the mention of fuloughed staff is probably a bit of a red herring. I think a better question is whether recruitment, screening and training of volunteers with capacity to work in schools to support teachers in September is either feasible or useful. No-one is saying it is ideal. But nothing is - certainly not carrying on as we are or with very part time contact hours. We do need to look seriously at other models of education delivery seriously, even if they are discounted.

They're not just sitting on their arses waiting for the government to use them as cheap labour

Maybe you should tell the government that given their push to get furloughed workers out picking on the farms.