Covid in Scotland: Teachers asked to work in Glasgow care homes as staff hit by Omicron

Neither are carers.
Our job is to support people to keep the skills the have, and hopefully build on them.

Secondary-trained teachers aren't trained to be babysitters., neither are primary teachers.

Casdon

This is about Scotland growstuff, so the English system is not relevant. The Government website says that ‘DBS adult first is a service available to organisations who can request a check of the DBS adults' barred list. Depending on the result, a person can be permitted to start work, under supervision, with vulnerable adults before a DBS certificate has been obtained.’ So that wouldn’t be an issue.
Of course it’s far from ideal that the care system is so on its uppers that asking Local Authority staff to work in their holidays is necessary, but it’s optional, and I think the sympathies of all of us should lie with the staff who are in care services who must be working horrendously long hours with little support.

I admit I don't know how the system works in Scotland and, to be fair, there might have been changes in England over the last few years. However, part of my role some years ago was the administration of DBSs and I know that a teacher's DBS wouldn't cover any other role. The "barred list" is something else. Apart from that, teachers aren't trained to work with vulnerable adults.

Josieann

Primary school teachers have to think on their feet and literally "muck in" when required to do so. I've cleaned bums and vomit, patched up wounds, stabilised broken bones and used an epi pen. I've administered medication at lunchtimes and also cut up food.
I'm sure with their quick thinking abilities and organisational skills many teachers could do the actual caring type jobs standing on their heads if they wanted to. It remains to be seen, however, whether many would rush to do this given the current circumstances.

Secondary-trained teachers aren't trained to be babysitters.

Kalu

Your Country Needs You!
Resulted in many putting the needs of others before themselves, doing whatever they could to ease the suffering of those worse off than themselves.

As a former nursing sister, I knew what I was signing up for in my chosen career
If part of the remit for teachers is to be qualified to care for others in their chosen career, it makes sense, asking those who can, would they come forward. Even if half of those being asked if they can assist come forward, it is better than no assistance from that quarter.

Errrmm, no! Teachers are paid to teach. Hopefully, they're caring, but care work is something else.

DD1 now caught covid from her 8 year old who caught it in school last week of term. She is a teacher and there are lots of her colleagues now affected - she is self isolating till after new year now!

Your Country Needs You!
Resulted in many putting the needs of others before themselves, doing whatever they could to ease the suffering of those worse off than themselves.

As a former nursing sister, I knew what I was signing up for in my chosen career
If part of the remit for teachers is to be qualified to care for others in their chosen career, it makes sense, asking those who can, would they come forward. Even if half of those being asked if they can assist come forward, it is better than no assistance from that quarter.

I think the sympathies of all of us should lie with the staff who are in care services who must be working horrendously long hours with little support.
I agree Casdon that teachers especially will have some empathy with those working in care services. The two jobs centre around welfare and are probably two of the very few jobs in which workers spend time worrying about themselves, mainly because they have very needy people relying on them.

Primary school teachers have to think on their feet and literally "muck in" when required to do so. I've cleaned bums and vomit, patched up wounds, stabilised broken bones and used an epi pen. I've administered medication at lunchtimes and also cut up food.
I'm sure with their quick thinking abilities and organisational skills many teachers could do the actual caring type jobs standing on their heads if they wanted to. It remains to be seen, however, whether many would rush to do this given the current circumstances.

This is about Scotland growstuff, so the English system is not relevant. The Government website says that ‘DBS adult first is a service available to organisations who can request a check of the DBS adults' barred list. Depending on the result, a person can be permitted to start work, under supervision, with vulnerable adults before a DBS certificate has been obtained.’ So that wouldn’t be an issue.
Of course it’s far from ideal that the care system is so on its uppers that asking Local Authority staff to work in their holidays is necessary, but it’s optional, and I think the sympathies of all of us should lie with the staff who are in care services who must be working horrendously long hours with little support.

It doesn't in Scotland either. I had and still have an enhanced PVG for another role.

The teachers' DBS in England does not cover teachers to work with vulnerable adults. There is an additional box on the application form that needs to be ticked and verified. You can obviously add it at a later date.

growstuff, I was a primary teacher, with many roles, occasionally helping out in our feeder high school.

Summerlove's comment -Children already have a very short straw here, let’s burn out their teachers even more- hits a nail on the head. The young have been sacrificed to the old more than enough.

That's good enough for a career in care.

Calistemon

Why can't they draft in the Forces?

That's what usually happens Iin a crisis; they're trained to respond to emergencies and are adaptable.

I think teachers need a couple of weeks' break and need time for planning for next term too.

So do I. If I were still teaching, I wouldn't volunteer. I would need a break after a horrendous term before planning for next term, I wouldn't be able to guarantee that I would be Covid-free and I wouldn't have a clue what to do.

Marydoll

*growstuff*, sometimes, there is nothing else for it!
I worked in an area of extremely high deprivation, in an LA where inclusive education was the norm. On many occasions, we were stretched to the limit and no way, would I leave a child in their own mess.

Were you a primary school teacher?

MissAdventure

Well you can see by the date that mine is very recent.

Yes, and it states "carer". In England that would not cover you to work in a school and the equivalent to work in a school as a teacher wouldn't cover you as a carer.

growstuff, sometimes, there is nothing else for it!
I worked in an area of extremely high deprivation, in an LA where inclusive education was the norm. On many occasions, we were stretched to the limit and no way, would I leave a child in their own mess.

Marydoll

The equivalent in Scotland is a PVG, issued by Disclosure Scotland. There are three categories:
Working with children
Working with vulnerable adults
Working with both.

I am checked for both. However, the law is changing in January, but I am not quite up to speed yet about the changes.

Ah! Thanks for the explanation.

Well you can see by the date that mine is very recent.

Why can't they draft in the Forces?

That's what usually happens Iin a crisis; they're trained to respond to emergencies and are adaptable.

I think teachers need a couple of weeks' break and need time for planning for next term too.

Casdon

There’s more of a crossover than dragging Joe Bloggs in off the street growstuff, that’s the material point. People who are already Local Authority employees are part of the system, known and checked. The care home sector are obviously in extremis or they wouldn’t be suggesting this.

I'm really not sure there is more crossover. I would be absolutely useless in a care home. I'm secondary trained and have never in my life helped a pupil with personal care. The staff would need to spend time they could spend looking after people telling me what to do. I appreciate that teachers in Scotland are employed by LAs, but in England most aren't, so they haven't been checked and aren't "known".

The equivalent in Scotland is a PVG, issued by Disclosure Scotland. There are three categories:
Working with children
Working with vulnerable adults
Working with both.

I am checked for both. However, the law is changing in January, but I am not quite up to speed yet about the changes.

Marydoll

In my role as a teacher, I have been known to clean a few bums and clean vomit, when no-one else was available. I could never have left a child in that situation.

I read somewhere else, that staff would be used as back up, for example collecting medication and shopping for housebound, that would free up regular, trained staff for other duties.

I have never cleaned bums or vomit as a teacher.