Workfare scheme for loan parents of children as young as 3, as of next month.

[WaterLoadaCack]

kept that quiet didnt they

Not necessarily TA's. Anything that needs doing. Gardening. Playtime supervisor. Cleaning. Helping in the kitchen. Creating displays of kids work. The list is endless of genuinely useful things you could do within a school environment for 3 hours a day.

Former babe... Also work 'fair' (fare?)

• or alternatively gets someone into a job that they would hope to do anyway.

Work in school's? Replacing people's jobs with free labour. Brilliant plan.

What if you already do voluntary work? Anybody know where id stand with that?

Yes I can see flaws in it usual

Giving all single mums a job as a TA is completely impractical.

Making up more public sector jobs does not save the treasury money.

It's a step away from workhouses.

What will happen is this.

Young woman gets pregnant, signs on and asks for help with housing. She will be placed on Workfare and into a centre for lone parents..where the workfare work experience will be in situ or at another venue...she'll be expected to work for her accommodation instead of paying rent...and will be given what's left...that will be her benefits.

green I think than an excellent idea.

Like I said, Im not in this position but I do have a 3 year old and do want to work. If someone offered me a job in my DC's school doing anything at all, Id bite their hand off.

former I know its lone, I cant believe I got that wrong!

Woowoo working in a work place of the persons choice is how they get work experience

And presumably anyone who is actively looking and finds work in a place of their choice won't have to do this. Maybe it'll get more people thinking about work earlier?

Maybe - dare I say this - it will end the current system where people keep having kids to not be made to work? This is something I come across regularly in my line of work, I'm not just quoting the Daily Mail!

Depends if the voluntary work was working towards something longer term harder, I would think. You would have a good case if it was.

Chatty I take the loan/lone thing.

But read the link. Its 'fare'.

My childrens school is fantastic. Really. It's a lovely environment, lots of opportunities etc etc.

STILL though there are things I can thing of that someone 'extra' (or a few extras) could easily potter around and do without taking work from the teachers or TA's.

Ah, this'll be why we've lost all our salaried TAs recently...

Although the main beneficiaries will, as always, be Poundland et al.

green Ive just seen you meant it as unpaid again.

In which case, no. I dont think its an excellent idea after all!

I'm studying for a law degree and volunteer as witness support in a magistrates court. Id be pissed off if i had to give that up to work in Tesco :(

That's the difference of opinion I suppose though.

If you're already getting X a week in benefits, doing 3 hours of work a day in your childs school isn't 'unpaid' IMO. You're giving back to a system that is sustaining you.

You can opt out at any time by getting a job.

So at the moment the state pays benefits to single mum to sit on arse.

New plan, mum gets same benefits but has to work for them. Oh and the taxpayer will pay her employer to take her on. And the taxpayer will also pay for her holiday childcare and additional wrap around care. And someone will lose a job because tesco gets paid for each workfare person.

And this saves tax payers money how?

Harder you wont have to. You dont receive income support during a degree.

Crap idea! It will cost the state more to have these women in forced labour than it will save them to be on income support.

I would rather that the govement re introduced subsidies for college courses. The nature of workfare is that only unskilled jobs are available. Even if workfare gives someone a long term job, it just traps them in povety. (Ie. stacking shelves in Poundland for the minimum wage)

We need a skilled workforce. Surely it would be better for these mums to be encouraged instead of penalised for going to college to better themselves. For example better IT skills might result in someone actually wanting to employ the person.

As ItsAll wrote

"Where are all these three hour per day jobs that are exactly aligned with childcare slots going to come from?

Where are all these additional childcare places going to come from?

Where is the money for holiday time childcare going to come from?

And obviously if someone is going to.be working you must pay min wage"

Plus what happens to travel and waiting time? Does the child get kicked out of the door to wait on the doorstep? Or the mum has to stump up money hence her ending up paying for the privilege of working for free in a job that won't help her get another actual paid job?!

I'm a lone parent with a preschooler who works part time and doesn't receive benefits or tax credits - so not partisan in any way, except in knowing how hard it is to be a single working mum (plus I'm disabled so it's even harder for me!)

CRB checks, anyone? Add that to the taxpayer cost for all these lovely fluffy display putter-uppers.

NOT practical. NOT going to save anyone a penny.