Teach-Primary-Issue-19.2

The writer is a supply teacher in England. VO I C E S A late call leads to a late arrival. And a late arrival means a cursory orientation and a hasty walk up to the classroom where I’ll be covering for the day. I have a positive mental attitude. I’m ready for it. But I’m absolutely clueless. I’ve been given some planning for the day ahead, but to be quite honest, curriculum content and pedagogy are the least of my worries – those are the bits I do know. As the day goes by, the questions pile up. Not questions from the children, but those in my own mind: what time is break? What do I do when a child misbehaves? What’s this assembly the kids keep mentioning? And they keep coming: where’s the staffroom? Where’s the staff toilet? What time does school finish? Like I said: clueless. The security of knowing all the logistical information that you have when you work full time in a school is non-existent when you’re a supply teacher, and you’re at the absolute mercy of the children to tell you everything (unless you’re lucky enough to be teaching a class with a TA – the dream). What if the children don’t know the answers to your questions? I was given three separate times for the end of lunchtime during one supply stint. Or what if they’re trying to pull the wool over your eyes? “I’m always allowed to go on the laptop whenever I want...”. Or what if their perception doesn’t quite match reality? It’s hard to tell, and as a supply teacher, you can be left to make things up as you go along, which inevitably leads to the children telling you you’re doing it wrong. Not a great look. But it doesn’t have to be like this. Supply teachers needn’t be turning up to a school they’ve never been to before and then spending the day in the dark with regards to how things work. Schools could, and I’m sure many do, provide all of this information quite easily. And it should be mandatory, in my opinion. An information pack – it mustn’t contain too much, so as not to be overwhelming – giving an overview of the essential information would mean supply teachers could enter the classroom well-prepared for the day ahead. It should contain: ● Timings of the day: break time, lunchtime, the end of the day, as well as lesson timings (crucial in secondary, and valuable in primary, where children are creatures of habit) ● Class profiles: SEND information, behaviour information, seating plans – anything that helps a teacher coming in cold to get to know the class as quickly as possible ● Whole-school behaviour management strategies – a quick-reference guide that can be used in the event of behaviour issues rather than a whole policy, which the cover teacher will inevitably not have time to wade through ● School routines – an overview of anything done regularly that will allow a supply teacher to be consistent with everyday approaches. ● A map of the school, including where staff toilets and the staffroom are – anything that makes the supply teacher that little bit more comfortable and able to teach well (nobody wants to be trying their best to get through someone else’s lesson plan while desperately running through a mental map of what little of the school they’ve already seen, scanning for the toilets). Armed with this information, I’d have been a lot less clueless and far better prepared to make a success of the day. Oh, and if whoever books a supply teacher could let the agency know what the parking arrangements are before the cover arrives, that would be most appreciated, too. I ended up parking illegally while I worked out how to get through the gates and into the car park... TP “The security of logistical information is non-existent when you’re a supply teacher, and you’re at the mercy of the children” Being a supply teacher can be intimidating at the best of times, let alone if we don’t even know where the toilets are... Our anonymous educator gets something off their chest www.teachwire.net | 19