Teachers have responded with anger after unskilled call handlers were drafted in to answer schools’ questions on coronavirus safety following children’s return to the classroom.
While calls were initially answered by skilled teams reporting to Public Health England, responsibility for the bulk of queries was transferred within weeks of the September reopening to call-centre workers hired by outsourcing giant Serco to read answers from scripts.
One insider said it appeared the PHE system had been “overwhelmed” and helpline responses now seemed to be drawn from published guidance which headteachers will almost certainly already have read.
A school leaders’ union said that in many cases, call handlers do not have the knowledge or expertise needed to give helpful advice.
Headteachers have been left waiting for days for public health advice in cases where helpline staff are unable to answer their questions and pass them on to more senior officials, said the NAHT union.
Labour called on education secretary Gavin Williamson to “come clean” about how schools were being advised.
And the National Education Union said it was “the final insult” for the government to ask teachers to seek advice from an unqualified call handler.
It is understood that the Department for Education (DFE) Covid helpline now divides calls between those reporting a confirmed case of coronavirus and those seeking other advice on the pandemic.
Reports of positive cases are diverted to staff of the NHS Business Services Authority who have been trained by PHE to explain to procedures for self-isolation of the infected child and close contacts – or whole year groups in some cases.
But others are passed through to a DFE helpline manned by Serco advisers.
These call handlers are trained to direct callers towards official guidance relating to their queries. Any questions which are not covered in the published guidance have to be referred to DFE officials.
James Bowen, the director of policy at NAHT, which represents more than 33,000 school leaders in the UK, said: “The current system that is supposed to give leaders advice on what to do when there is a case of coronavirus in their school is still not working anywhere near as well as it should be.
“We are still hearing of too many cases where the initial call handlers simply do not have the knowledge or expertise to give helpful advice. In the worst examples, school leaders have been told by advisors on the helpline that they ‘are unable to offer advice’ which rather begs the question what the advice line is for.
“When cases are escalated, school leaders are still waiting for days to get a response. The government must make sure that schools get quick access to expert public health advice as soon as there is a reported case in their school.”
Shadow education secretary Kate Green said: “It is deeply concerning that schools dealing with coronavirus are being sent to Serco instead of experts who can give them the tailored advice that they need.
“Keeping schools open throughout this pandemic must be a national priority, but it seems that the government cannot even give schools the best advice they need to manage cases and ensure that pupils can stay in school safely.
“The department must urgently come clean about who provides this advice to school, if this has changed, and how they can ensure that the advice is good enough for schools.”
And NEU joint general secretary Mary Bousted said: “This government is failing schools in myriad ways, but to have at the end of a helpline someone totally unqualified to advise is perhaps the final insult.
“It is typical of ministers who will exhaust every opportunity for outsourcing before harnessing the talent and skill of people who are actually equipped to do the job.”
Dr Patrick Roach, the general secretary of teaching union NASUWT, said: “There is evidence of widespread confusion and conflicting advice being given to schools about what they should do when they have a confirmed Covid-19 case.
“In an area of life or death, there can be no short-cuts to assuring public health. The government must ensure that all advice given to schools is competent and also accurate.
“Schools and parents would need to be concerned if the government’s aim is to ensure school safety on the cheap.”
A DFE spokesperson said:“We want all schools, colleges and early years providers to have access to public health advice to support them to take the right action to respond to a positive case of coronavirus in their setting.
“Trained advisors are responsible for referring more complex cases to the PHE regional health protection team, as necessary, following a triage of the caller’s circumstances.”
