Bouncers hired for class control

Bouncers and former military personnel are being hired by schools as "crowd control" to cover classes for teachers.

In one case, a state secondary school in the Midlands approached an agency which employed bouncers to take two doormen on to their staff. They were given full-time jobs as "cover supervisors" - standing in for teachers who are sick, on maternity leave or on courses.

Teachers at the National Union of Teachers' annual conference in Cardiff said yesterday that too many heads were using untrained staff to take lessons. They voted to demand that every class have a qualified teacher.

Andrew Baisley, a maths teacher from Camden, north London, said: "The idea is more about crowd control ... than education. If you're stern and loud, that's all that's necessary."

He said neither bouncer had been offered any training before taking on their "teaching" jobs. One has since left after a disciplinary offence against a member of staff. Both bouncers were subjected to criminal records checks.

One recruitment agency in the West Midlands has urged former Marines, firemen, athletes and actors to sign up to work as "hard-core cover" in schools. Aspire People said the positions would appeal to "someone who thinks they can get involved in a school environment and control the kids", offering up to 70 ($176) a day.

Delegates called for teachers to be allowed the equivalent of one day a week off from the classroom to reduce their workload. Figures show the suicide rate among teachers is higher than the average for the country - 14.2 per 100,000 compared to 10.25.

Meanwhile, a Government inquiry will recommend this week that pupils who misbehave should be sent to "sin-bin" support units until they calm down.

- INDEPENDENT