You can disable the passcode so all they’d have to do is press the home button twice to wake it up and use it.
Which does not solve your home button issue....i have no experience with the accessibility functions but maybe one of those could help in your situation.
AssistiveTouch helps you use iPad if you have difficulty touching the screen or pressing the buttons. You can use AssistiveTouch without any accessory to perform gestures that are difficult for you. You also can use a compatible adaptive accessory (such as a joystick) together with AssistiveTouch to control iPad. To configure the AssistiveTouch menu, go to Settings > General > Accessibility > AssistiveTouch.
AssistiveTouch lets you perform the following actions and more just by tapping (or the equivalent on your accessory):
- Open the AssistiveTouch menu
- Go to the Home screen
- Double-tap
- Perform multifinger gestures
- Summon Siri
- Access Control Center, notifications, Lock screen, or App Switcher
- Adjust volume on iPad
- Shake iPad
- Take a screenshot
- Use Apple Pay (on models that support Apple Pay)
- Speak screen
- Control Analytics
- Restart iPad
Turn on AssistiveTouch. Tell Siri “turn on AssistiveTouch,” go to Settings > General > Accessibility > AssistiveTouch, or use Accessibility Shortcut. When AssistiveTouch is on, the floating menu button appears on the screen.
Add more actions to the AssistiveTouch menu. Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > AssistiveTouch > Customize Top Level Menu. The menu can have up to eight actions.
Show or hide the AssistiveTouch menu. Tap the floating menu button, or click the secondary button on your accessory.
Show the Home screen. Tap the menu button, then tap Home.
Lock or rotate the screen, adjust iPad volume, or simulate shaking iPad. Tap the menu button, then tap Device.
Perform a swipe or drag that uses 2, 3, 4, or 5 fingers. Tap the menu button, tap Device > More > Gestures, then tap the number of digits needed for the gesture. When the corresponding circles appear on the screen, swipe or drag in the direction required by the gesture. When you finish, tap the menu button.
Perform a pinch gesture. Tap the menu button, tap Custom, then tap Pinch. When the pinch circles appear, touch anywhere on the screen to move the pinch circles, then drag them in or out to perform a pinch gesture. When you finish, tap the menu button.
Create your own gesture. You can add your own favorite gestures to the control menu (for example, touch and hold or two-finger rotation). Tap the menu button, tap Custom, then tap an empty gesture placeholder. Or go to Settings > General > Accessibility > AssistiveTouch > Create New Gesture.
Example 1:To create the rotation gesture, go to Settings > General > Accessibility > AssistiveTouch > Create New Gesture. On the gesture recording screen that asks you to touch to create a gesture, rotate two fingers on the iPad screen around a point between them. (You can do this with a single finger or stylus—just create each arc separately, one after the other.) If it doesn’t turn out quite right, tap Cancel, then try again. When it looks right, tap Save, then give the gesture a name—maybe “Rotate 90.” Then, to rotate the view in Maps, for example, open Maps, tap the AssistiveTouch menu button, and choose Rotate 90 from Custom. When the blue circles representing the starting finger positions appear, drag them to the point around which you want to rotate the map, then release. You might want to create several gestures with different degrees of rotation.
Example 2:Let’s create the touch-and-hold gesture that you use to start rearranging icons on your Home screen. This time, on the gesture recording screen, touch and hold your finger in one spot until the recording progress bar reaches halfway, then lift your finger. Be careful not to move your finger while recording, or the gesture will be recorded as a drag. Tap Save, then name the gesture. To use the gesture, tap the AssistiveTouch menu button, then choose your gesture from Custom. When the blue circle representing your touch appears, drag it over a Home screen icon and release.
If you record a sequence of taps or drags, they’re all played back at the same time. For example, using one finger or a stylus to record four separate, sequential taps at four locations on the screen creates a simultaneous four-finger tap.
Exit a menu without performing a gesture. Tap anywhere outside the menu. To return to the previous menu, tap the arrow in the middle of the menu.
Assign custom actions to the menu button. By default, a single tap on the menu button opens the menu. To assign other actions to the menu button, go to Settings > General > Accessibility > AssistiveTouch. Below Custom Actions, you can assign different actions to a single tap, double tap, or long press.
Reduce the visibility of the menu button when not in use. Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > AssistiveTouch > Idle Opacity, then drag the slider.
Move the menu button. Drag it anywhere along the edge of the screen.
I have no idea if there are any but you could also look for kiosk apps, see if there are any out there that can enable you to set timers or on/off times.
worst case scenario, can someone adapt those cases to open up the home button or power button (which is another way to turn it on/off), then have the staff toggle it off at the end of the day and wake it up in the am?
