Schools in Wales opt for teaching online a week to deal with rising energy costs

The Powys Councillor, Beverley Baynaham recently raised the issue of considering all the possible options for savings in the schools of Powys, Wales in the UK. The council said it is focussing on the issue of cutting costs and saving energy and looking for solutions in this direction. The ideas were raised at the council meeting which was held to brief the head teachers and chair of governors at Powys.
The officers suggested the council shift to online teaching once a week to deal with the rising energy costs. They suggested that some schools in Wales can choose to conduct weekly online classes to achieve potential savings.
Councillor Pete Roberts, the minister responsible for education said that blended weeks of learning can also be considered in extreme cases. Furthermore, it was suggested to have a four-day week with the fifth day being taught virtually at home. However, no clear directive would be given to the schools to do this.l according to the council cabinet member. A financial toolkit has also been prepared and shared with schools to help headteachers and school governors to tackle financial issues. Roberts further informed that the council has been helping the schools by carrying out finance surgeries and scrutinising the budgets for looking at spending patterns and giving suggestions for potential solutions.
Besides online classes, the officers suggested that the vacant positions for the school's teachers in Powys should be filled and shifted temporarily to the existing staff members. The other suggestions included finding volunteers to work in schools. The decision to implement either of these suggestions or not will solely rest upon the headteacher and their chair of governors. Roberts said that there cannot be a single solution for the schools so they will decide which option is most viable for their school budget.