Army of ‘civilian’ staff needed to make sure children wash hands, warns union

AN army of ‘civilian’ staff will need to be hired to help children wash their hands, a teaching union warned last night.

The Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association called for large numbers of non-teacher recruits to help schools to reopen safely.

General secretary Seamus Searson said: ‘There will be a lot of people looking for work and teachers will have enough to do without making sure children wash their hands.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘In reopening Scotland’s schools, our overriding priority is ensuring the health and well-being of our pupils and staff.

‘We will implement physical distancing, increased hand hygiene, enhanced cleaning regimes and a range of other measures, including PPE [personal protective equipment] and training for staff.’

However, the spokesman added: ‘There will not be a “one size fits all” approach to implementation, given the different contexts in which individual local authorities and schools operate. Within clear national guidelines, councils are currently preparing local phasing delivery plans to look at these issues.

‘Innovative use will be made of existing teachers and staff and, where necessary, local authorities will consider, in collaboration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland, the role former teachers can play in returning to the classroom, or teaching virtually to support in-home learning.’