@mollypuss1
The reports I’ve read on this say it won’t be teachers facilitating this but community groups and volunteers.
The whole idea of extending days is nuts. Teachers won't do it. (Many can't). Unions will pitch a fit.
The idea of community groups and volunteers filling the gap is hilarious. It doesn't take a genuis to work out it obviously isn't going to help in the most depreived communities. Also there will be zero quality control over the level of support kids will be getting. These are not going to be teachers - they will not have the skills required. Given that the likes of Scouts, Cubs and Beavers simply can not get enough leaders for groups I'm not terribly hopeful that theres going to be a wave of sudden interest in volunteering for schools. Not to mention that if you run these groups you have to go through all kids of training - first aid, data protection, safeguarding training to name just a few - you can't just run a troop without them.
Imho its a safe guarding minefield and is purely for the concerned middle classes. Where you get additional classes with lots of kids from the communities which are most struggling, you are going to get a mirad of additional needs which make it more difficult than just teaching (think of it as a free dumping group for kids from parents who don't care about their kids and there being a host of behavioural issues to be thought of - kids who need specialistic support not just a bunch of unqualified volunteers, many of whom are liable to be out of their depth). There still are costs attatched to running of buildings and supplies too. All this talk of communities and volunteers misses this obvious question of how you run this scheme on thin air.
I say this as someone who spent the year before the pandemic volunteering at my sons school too. Its not something people can just do. Not forgetting who organises the volunteers and directs them to the needs of the children who need help most? Thats right its the teachers. This in itself is extra work for teachers.
On top of this you also have issues and logistics over where this will take place (who locks the school gates if its in schools? And when do the cleaners come in?).
If we are going to recruit thousands of people to do this, where are these people going to come from? Let me put it another way - who are these thousands of people who are going to be available between 3.30pm and 5pm who don't have jobs? Anyone who has kids and isn't working will either be keeping their own kids up to date (and therefore has no need of these classes and may indeed feel its not in the interests of their own kids to volunteer for a number of reasons) or if they are currently struggling with their own kids home learning, perhaps are not going to be the best people to be doing catch up classes. People who are inclined to volunteer already do so. How do you get free blood involved? From experience this is a question I'm yet to see a decent answer to - its always someone else's responsibility and you get the response 'I'm too busy', which makes people who DO volunteer laugh. The saying in our local community is that 'if you want something done, find a busy person', because no other fucker can be bothered to get off their arse and facilitate it and its damn near impossible to get new people involved.
Finally the silent point on this is probably that this will fall on being the responsibility of women who have lost their jobs to sort...
The whole idea is little more than a fucking farce that will quickly die a death. Probably after a blaze of publicity and glory for politicians who will launch the scheme. It has no practical use or way to achieve the goal it is apparently trying to. Its not been remotely thought through. But it sounds nice in principle and looks good for headlines.
I do wonder if the people who think this is a bright idea, play any active role in educating their children - or see them between the hours of 3.30pm and 5pm.