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Supply teaching: how to get booked
Your first job as supply teacher is to forge a good relationship with your agency. Here are the agents’ tips
Be honest at interview
An agency will want to meet you face-to-face and this meeting should be treated as a proper job interview. Be honest about your abilities and preferences, it’ll help you get a better match. If an agency takes a shine to you, it may offer you guaranteed work over a period in reward for signing up with them exclusively.
Be ready
The teacher who is up, dressed and has downed their first cup of tea by 7.30 will definitely get the job over the teacher who is still under the duvet. Even more impressive - and bookable - is the teacher who calls the agency from a major rail terminus at 7.30am. They are ready to go anywhere and able to be at any school in the region for an 8.30 am start.
Have your documents to hand
Have your Criminal Records Bureau report up to date and to hand. Your agency will need to authorise this but you will pay the £36 cost. Some agencies - but not all - share these documents; you may have to have a separate CRB per agency. Take it with you if it’s your first teaching assignment at a school. At some schools it is policy not to let you beyond the supervisor’s office unless it’s been checked.
Be flexible
About location, salary, subject taught - about everything, in fact. Subject specialists are as likely to be called upon to teach drama, PE lesson and supervise lessons across a range of humanity subjects as their own subject. Similarly, if you’re offered ten days’ work at £110 a day but your normal rate is £115, recognise that it’s a good deal and accept. Niggling about dropping your rate by a fraction in return for steady work isn’t good business sense. `
Check phone messages over lunch
Lunchtime is when a lot of booking is done by agencies and many assignments are dished out on a first come, first served basis. It’s not uncommon for agencies to leave messages about one post with 10 different supply teachers: the person who checks their voicemail after school finishes at 4.00pm will miss out.
And, if you’re sick …
Always call and let an agency know by 7.30am if you’re too ill to carry out a booking. Phoning in and cancelling at 8.20am is a cardinal sin, as, in your line of business, you know the slog that goes into getting a good supply teacher.
With thanks to:
Lynis Basset, owner, LB Education agency, Gloucestershire
Vanessa Folley, regional manager, Protocol, West Midlands
Lorna Harvey,senior education consultant, Select Education
Rachael Tunnard. senior education consultant, Select Education
Need more advice? Visit Supply teaching
Comment (8)
Ten days work at £110 a day is NEVER a good deal if you can get more money by registering with and working for a local authority as a supply teacher. FAIR PAY FOR SUPPLY TEACHERS!
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16:57
8 July, 2009
johnboy123
As a supply teacher i can say that consultant use teachers, when you are needed their will scrach your back and pay more but when the job is done then your nothing. I would say to sign up to as many companies as you can, take whatever comes first, always pay if the pay isn
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0:34
9 July, 2009
kaz786_2000
Why do we have to give air play to this coorporate exploitive nonsense.The issues are:1. Reuced pay compared to authority work.2. Inability to contribute to teachers
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10:24
10 July, 2009
PDMORONEY
pension scheme, needs to be added
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22:36
11 July, 2009
PDMORONEY
Quite right PDMORONEY. Interesting how many supply teachers I've come across who are registered with an agency , who had no idea that they could get their fair pay entitlement and pension by working as a Local Authority Supply.
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12:18
13 July, 2009
johnboy123
Been reading the comments and what some of you fail to realise is that not all Local Authority has a supply list. Ours stopped providing schools with supply teachers many years ago. I telephoned my LEA just half an hour ago as I am now without a job and their advice was to join an agency, don't bother contacting the schools direct or look in the newspaper for a teaching job - huh - there are no teaching jobs south of Bristol. I asked about how it affects my pension and it seems that is not their concern. So, what is the point, what is the future for teachers, I am depressed, no job, no pay, what a waste of training, what a waste of my life, I may as well get a job in Aldi.
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15:23
17 July, 2009
debratheowl
debratheowl, I must offer my sincere sympathies in your very difficult position. I do realise the situation is some parts of the country is very different, with no possibility of registering with a local authority. Sadly, i believe this is due to agencies who have taken advantage of the situation for their own profit. I would be very happy if a group of teachers (i.e. what about the unions?) getting together and guranteeing that s. teacher get paid their proper pay scale entitlement. What do we pay our union subs for?
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17:23
18 July, 2009
johnboy123
I too approached some local schools to ask if they might add me to their supply list. All responses were the same - we only use a particular supply agency!! Seems I am living in the wrong LEA area! A teacher trying to return to teaching MFL.
-PS Part-time seems very limited in the UK - when are we going to catch up with the rest of the EU and improve our work-life balance?
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22:51
25 September, 2009
Julielfrance