So, is Cover supervisor the worst job in the world then?

lol at wasps
phse is fab how cna you not iek it?
no start after easter

But do they do 2B pencils, as I swear my classes eat these (or sharpen them too enthusiastically to 2cm long...)

Completely off the track here, I once bought an electric pencil sharpner.........NEVER AGAIN.....

Fizzbuzz, go to Tescos, they have some packs of 50 HB pencils for £1, and 20 pens for £1!

Yes, my feet never touch the floor either.

You will have to:

Referee petty squabbles in Year 7, this often takes a lot of the lesson

Bully them into action in Year 9

Confiscate a shops worth of expensive electrical items

Remove eyelash curlers

Seperate lazy/silly kids

Chase out wasps which cause mayhem. Ditto farts.

Hassle about uniform (never ending)

Deal with tears/tantrums

Stop repeat offenders fronm trying everything to get out of the classroom

Fend of requests for rulers and pens etc, as in fact you are just a walking branch of WH Smiths.

Deal with odd requests, such as do you have any bells/ping pong balls/ fairy wings (all of which I have been asked for at sometime)

Sometimes you even get to deliver a lesson as well!

I spent a fair bit of last year doing supply work at a school that was Ofsted rated 'outstanding' in all categories. The school had about six cover supervisors, and I was basically the only supply teacher.

I will start out by saying that I had immense respect for the cover supervisors. They (the ones that stuck it out) did a wonderful job, if a bit battle weary by the summer term. Three of the six had teaching qualifications but unable to find their first job.

As a supply teacher, I would say that I had more confidence to adapt the instructions left by the class teacher. The cover supervisors were not really allowed to do this. I also had had a lot of training in classroom management (in my PGCE year, all of my classes were supervised, right up to the July). Cover supervisors had the advantage of being on staff, being known to the students, and being in the loop with disciplinary procedures.

Schools will generally share the good vs bad classes around their teachers, cover supervisors and supply teachers. However, much of the experience could be poor. A lot depends on how well you are able to dust off poor classes and look forward to the next.

The best CS that I came across were those who had ambitions to move on to the next step. They pretty much only had plans to do the job for one year, and then either teach or go onto teacher training. They basically used their CS year to build up their classroom management portfolio, much as I did as a supply teacher.

MaureenMLove - 95% of lessons I don't sit down at all: it's just not that sort of school. There's always someone poking someone else, or getting their mobile out, or chewing, or passing notes, or whatever! Or someone who genuinely needs some help or inspiration. When I'm "not doing anything" I usually stand at the back or side of the class and surreptitiously lurk.

The only time I sit down are the very rare classes when I really do expect they will get on and work exceptionally well with 0 input from me; or to prove a point for 5 mins and pretend I'm not watching them and to give them the impression I expect them to get on with their work without me breathing down their necks!

What do you have to deliver in PHSE?

Our CS do 25 hours per week, all cover. This is on a 25 period timetable. They also do registrations as well.

I think that is quite tough tbh AND they are employed until 4.30 to help out with clubs etc.

However, out of 4, 2 have stayed long term and one of them is training to be a teacher, so it can't be that bad!! I will point out that the ones who stuck are the more ..ahem...mature ones.

I love CS's. As they teach all of the kids they are great for moaning with, as they know all the difficult kids!!

Good luck....as for what do you do in lessons when you have started them off....tee hee I used to think this before I started teaching.....You will find LOTS to keep you occupied.....

Wahey Cod - way to go
Hope it goes fantastically.
Is it starting now - Monday?

Have you got your timetable, Schemes of Work, etc? What age are you teaching phse? (I hate phse!)

you soudsn a great asset to the school r

you read grazia
arf
have got a job rosiin! oh yes 0.5 geo and phse till july

one summer hoiday IN the bag

I have a generally high level of education, and the school is 11-16 and low-achieving. Work left for cover is usually things that students should be able to complete with minimal assistance. So I hardly ever have get asked something I can't answer. When I do, I'm quite honest as I think the students respect that more than bluffing.

(Actually more often than not knowing I sometimes pretend I can't help, if students are prevaricating and making out they are unable to start the work themselves, which is usually complete rubbish and just a time-wasting exercise. Sometimes you get a very needy class, and have ten hands up at once. So I just say I haven't been in your last three lessons: you have. I know you've done some work with Miss XXX on [persuasive writing]. She tells me you should all be able to complete this work by the end of the lesson. If you really struggle with a question, read it through again carefully; and if you still can't do it then skip it and go on to the next one. I monitor the students as they're working, and if there's something everyone is finding difficult I will do some 'teaching' from the front if I'm confident - it's easier in some subjects than others - but also I will pass that back to the class teacher in feedback. Another thing I do with a class like this is to say, right hands down. I'm not going to answer any questions for ten minutes. I want everybody to have a go at this themselves and give it their best try. In ten minutes we'll check again to see how everyone's getting on, and go through the first 20 questions - or whatever.)

MaureenMLove - but what makes a cover supervisor able to teach, or are they not supposed to 'teach' - merely to read out set work left by a teacher ??

Quick Hijack - Cod, what are you doing workwise? Are you starting something soon? Medium-term supply?

Is that 25 hrs cover? Or 25 hrs they are paying you for?

I was sure I had no chance at my interview (far less experience than you), so I was super-relaxed and got the job. Hope it goes well!

I do literacy intervention with yr7s. I also run two reading clubs; effectively one of these is in a lunch hour and one in my paid time. But I also spend time planning all of these in my paid time. I organise guest speakers occasionally, and have got an author in doing creative writing workshops next week.

I also do all the admin (letters, liaison with parents, collecting money etc.) for two MFL trips, and go on one of them each year.

In my school CS are linked to departments - I'm with English and MFL, and I do a variety of admin/support work for them when cover commitments allow.

is it that the school employs a permanent cover supervisor whereas supply teachers can be transient??

What's the difference (& I should know this but have never asked!) between a Cover Supervisor and a Supply Teacher ??

Sorry, that's all very negative.

Time off/hours etc are great! I'm paid 52 wks of the year (check you are), but work only 39. I don't work at all in the holidays, and work 8.30 - 3.30 daily. I occasionally bring something home, but that's 'choice' - it's not expected iyswim. And the other CS in our school largely don't.

Also we do a good job and I genuinely believe it's usually better for students to have cover from in-house staff rather than irregular supply. I am continually and repeatedly thanked by teachers because the students have completed the work set for them, when with supply teachers the instructions haven't been followed, and the pupils haven't done what was expected.