If this was to be put in place then you may as well bring schools back to full capacity and restart wrap around care.
Part of my job before lockdown was wrap around care, morning and afternoon. I’ve lost my income from that as at my school it counts as overtime rather than contracted pay. Why should I and others like me who are qualified, trained and experienced now do our job for free?
I get the concept. And before people pounce on me, I’m no stranger to volunteering. I’m a Brownie leader and have been a Rainbow leader. I volunteer at a camp for children 3 weeks each summer and have done for 14 years. I’m not someone unwilling, but this idea, whilst it has its heart in the right place, won’t work and one reason is that it takes the paid work from the qualified and gives it to volunteers, leaving more people still furloughed or with their childcare businesses going down the pan. And as mentioned, if the children are going to school then mixing with volunteers and other children, they may as well just be back in school and clubs and child minders. That will mean yet more people earning money again.
Plus sadly many parents will be willing to plonk their children with random people they don’t know in a strange environment. And they’ll take the piss and use up more volunteer time than they should because it’s free childcare and people take advantage of paid child care enough sadly.
Safeguarding is the biggest thing though IMO. Part of the training is recognising suspicious behaviour in other staff and how to report. A DBS only goes so far. Let’s say a volunteer was using their phone in front of the children, taking photos, using their social media.
Now in my previous And current settings my manager has the right to check my phone if they are suspicious of me and they need to be out of sight in the classroom. At the nursery they were locked away in the office. Would another volunteer have the guts to confront the other volunteer taking photos for example? Would a volunteer feel courageous enough to prevent a parent collecting their child if they appeared drunk/had no car seat/ appeared high/were a parent who was banned from seeing their child but turned up anyway?
I know thousands of people volunteer with children and follow these procedures. But they’re not left alone with only another volunteer who is also brand new, they are working with experienced people. This would not be safe.