BOUNCERS, EX-SOLDIERS and former police officers are being employed by schools in England to provide “crowd control” and cover absent teachers’ lessons, a teacher has revealed.
One school, thought to be in London, employed two permanent cover teachers through an agency for professional doormen, the National Union of Teachers (NUT) conference in Cardiff heard yesterday.
Bouncers, who more usually work nights providing security for pubs and clubs, are being brought into schools because they are “stern and loud”, said Andrew Baisley, a teacher at Haverstock school in Camden, north London.
“I know of bouncers being employed specifically because they are bouncers to cover lessons,” he told the conference.
Recruitment agencies have separately advertised for people with marine, prison, security, police or firefighting backgrounds to become cover supervisors. Applicants do not need to have teaching qualifications to temporarily fill in for teachers.
It comes as ministers prepare the final instalment of a review into children’s behaviour this week, which will call on governors, headteachers and parents to support teachers to discipline pupils.
Mr Baisley said some schools seemed to believe the job of supervising a lesson was about “crowd control and childminding. If you’re stern and loud, that’s what’s necessary to do the job,” he said.
“If someone is away, you don’t want any teacher, you want a teacher from that particular subject so they can help the children with their work, so that the whole hour isn’t a complete waste of time.” The school that Mr Baisley knew of, which he refused to name, had recruited two bouncers last year. He said one was subsequently dismissed over “disciplinary offences”, but the other was still in the post.
One recruitment agency, Aspire People, is advertising online for “hardcore cover supervisors” to fill posts in Birmingham. The advert, dated March 10th, says: “You might be an ex-marine, prison officer, bouncer, policeman, fireman, sportsman, actor or you might be an overseas teacher looking to get some experience in the classroom.
“We need someone who thinks they can get involved in a school environment and control the kids in schools.” Government guidance dictates that anyone can cover a lesson after passing security checks. Schools commonly ask other teachers to cover classes, use teaching assistants who have classroom training, or employ dedicated cover supervisors who do not necessarily have training.
Where untrained staff are used, a senior member of the department would normally set the lesson up and leave the supervisor to oversee it. But from September, new rules will limit the amount of cover teachers can provide for one another, possibly meaning a heavier reliance on non-qualified staff, the NUT said.
The union yesterday voted to oppose the use of unqualified staff to cover lessons. A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: “Heads should ensure that the people they employ have the relevant experience and training. Our guidance is clear that cover supervision should only be used as a short-term solution, to provide continuity when the regular teacher is unavailable.”
On Wednesday the schools secretary, Ed Balls, will launch the final instalment in a year-long inquiry into behaviour in schools by the government's behavioural expert, Sir Alan Steer. It will call on heads, governors and parents to support teachers in regaining discipline in the classroom. The report will insist that teachers have all the powers they need for discipline, and that bad behaviour is a problem in a small minority of schools. – ( Guardianservice)