A BRIGHT blue bus stands in the playground of Etone community school and technology college in Nuneaton.
It is somewhere for pupils to chill out with its comfy chairs, televisions, DVD player, video recorder and music system.
The bus is paid for by the Government’s pound;4 million Pathfinder project, which aims to cut teacher workload.
Jodi Davis, one of the two youth workers who staff it, said: “The bus is proving quite a success with the kids. We are on their wavelength. They see us as someone they can relate to.”
Some teachers at the 758-pupil school felt they were becoming social workers and head Peter Kingham said: “They do not have time to be solving children’s problems week in week out.”
The youth workers run a Christian Union and computer game and homework clubs and organise all school trips.
Etone has been given pound;283,699 to trial ways of cutting workload. Every teacher has been given a laptop and alongside the youth workers, three classroom assistants and a dedicated exam officer have been appointed.
The school has until August next year before it reports on the trial, but Mr Kingham is in no doubt about the importance of the project.
“It is an opportunity for the school to give something back to education.”
