To tell teachers that supply is possibly the best job in the world.

[Eebahgum]

I left my full time job before half term. I'm now doing supply. I LOVE it! It's everything that's great about teaching and nothing that's bad. There's a big call for supply teachers at the moment. The down side is obviously financial security and budgeting to cover non work periods but if you have lost the love for the job and think you could manage the finances do it!

There are some poor supply teachers out there bunbaker. I have worked alongside them in the past and pride myself on doing a far better job than some of the others out there. The question is not whether we should have supply teachers or not though - they are invaluable to cover teacher absence. Hopefully, with education in the mess it is, more good quality teachers will be choosing supply as a genuine career choice and the children will be better off.

Goblinchild 2 out of 5 teachers leave within the first 5 years. That's almost half! It's very much a young persons profession now, not a job for life. I certainly think it's incompatible with being a parent.

That's how you end up on a school's list of preferred teachers, you do a good job and they want you back and ask for you by name.
The freedom and the rediscovered joy in the job is such a high!

I know, Eebahgum, with almost 30 years classroom experience, I've outlasted entire generations of teachers! I've also mentored NQTs and watched them come to terms with the realities when they enter their second or third year and the endless pressure starts really biting deep.

Of course from a parent's view a supply teacher can't provide the knowledge and continuity the in-post teacher has built up over a school year, but it's not like schools buy in supply cover for the fun of it or plan periods of it randomly because they think it's beneficial to the kids. It's not easy to pick up a completely unfamiliar bunch of children in an unfamiliar school, wing the routine, manage the children as you work out names and work from someone else's lesson plan, never mind ensure that the children learn something new (you won't know what they know or what they've covered in detail) or ensure useful individualised learning. In an emergency it's a better alternative to standing the class down for the day and the kids not getting any teaching at all, which is what would happen without access to supply teaching.

It's not like you can ban teachers from being ill/having accidents/needing operations/attending funerals/needing training etc. What would be a better, viable option?

I did a lot of primary supply and loved it too. I had a lot of regular gigs covering NQT time and PPA so there was rarely a time that I didn't know what I was doing that day.

I was incredibly lucky in that I was asked to take a group of 12 Year 6s on a part-time basis to teach separately from their class in order to raise their levels. It was like a teaching utopia - 12 lovely, interested children, planning led by class teachers with input from me, all data passed on to class teachers so I had to do no paperwork apart from marking, wonderful school. I was able to give real help to each child in every lesson and plan activities that I could never do with 30. Unfortunately I was pregnant when I took it on and after my ML we had to move for DH's job so I only did it for 5 months but it was really great.

I don't have to care about the long-term issues. I focus on ensuring that the children learn something in the lesson and the day that I am responsible for.

I am so stealing the word Goveshit :)

I expect you are talking from the position of having a regular wage earner in the house and no childcare issues. I was a single parent and had to pay for childcare every day whether I needed it or not so that I was available for work. I had to take every job that was offered and it was stressful not knowing whether I would get enough work. If I was offered a few weeks due to a sick leave then I had to take it even if it was a difficult school and then there was planning and marking. Actually, I have read here that people don't plan and mark, but you are more likely to be asked back if you do those jobs. I did make ends meet but I wouldn't if doing it now because hltas are doing a lot of the work.

I expect you are talking from the position of having a regular wage earner in the house and no childcare issues. I was a single parent and had to pay for childcare every day whether I needed it or not so that I was available for work. I had to take every job that was offered and it was stressful not knowing whether I would get enough work. If I was offered a few weeks due to a sick leave then I had to take it even if it was a difficult school and then there was planning and marking. Actually, I have read here that people don't plan and mark, but you are more likely to be asked back if you do those jobs. I did make ends meet but I wouldn't if doing it now because hltas are doing a lot of the work.

Bunbaker my DD is also in yr10 and she says exactly the same thing. The normal teacher doesn't just leave the lesson plan that they were going to do, they set different work. Usually this is a couple of questions from the text book or watching a video. So nothing really beneficial to their education. It's great for the kids when they have a supply because it's an easy lesson but not so great in the long term.

Sounds like you've had some rough experiences Kim.
'If you can afford the pay'

That's the only down side for me, but I'm budgeting very hard and as my children are adults, I don't have to factor in child care.

'If you can take the fact that some teachers and TAs treat you as the lowest of the low, don't tell you anything and assume you know everything that goes on in a school.'

Other people's attitudes don't rattle me if I'm not trapped in a situation, I will be gone by the end of the day or the week. I come s a self-contained unit, a mobile classroom, resources often included. I also expect the children to know a lot of the daily routine if the staff aren't helpful.

'If you can take agencies who don't care about you and only look out for themselves.'

Many schools are like that, and agencies are a business. I expect them to do their job efficiently, not to be my friend or have my best interests at heart.

A number of years ago I was teaching in a fairly bog standard comp, tbh I wasn't really doing a good job of classroom management and I was very miserable.

I made the decision to teach overseas, and have loved it ever since, definitely the best move I have made. I love my students, I love my current country, I am given huge amounts of freedom to teach in the way I want to, there is very little box ticking. And I have just broken up for the summer about a month ahead of English schools! (We do have pretty much the same number of teaching days, so I can't shout too loudly about that)

I was on the verge of leaving the profession, I am so glad I didn't.

(I did a bit of supply, it wasn't for me. Glad you are happy OP, schools need happy teachers)

I am about to do it. I have to arrange childcare which is going to be tricky. My child is 5 I am on my own with him. Has anybody who has doen supply and had to organise childcare got any tips?

I'd love to try supply but the lack of financial security wouldn't work for me as I love alone so have to have regular income to meet bills.
At my current school we stick to four or five regular supplies and they're brilliant! Very experienced and knowledgeable. As opposed to the vile old man who turned up at my old school with his breakfast down his top, whacked my TA with his walking stick to get her attention and called her "missy" all day, then tried to sneak off at ten to three as "it looked like she had it all under control!"

I am doing this at the moment and love it. I can leave at the end of the school day and not have to mark or plan any lessons, great.I do need to keep an arsenal or lessons up my sleeve for when nothing has been left.

I could definitely fancy bypassing the Goveshit.

Supply was my secret 'parachute' option if FT had got too much after dc3; I was confident of being booked lots by my current school.

In fact, my first HOD ended up doing just that for nearly a year - she'd resigned her post in order to emigrate & then there was a series of house selling/partner's visa issues which delayed her plans. She was a changed woman: you'd see her skipping about, laughing with the kids. Still in touch with her on FB & she still maintains it was the best year she's ever spent in teaching.

BUT we've gone all Cover Supervisor now, & only use Supply for long-term illnesses or the odd day when a whole Dept. is out on a trip or something. I'm a bit sceptical as to whether it'd provide a reliable stream of work tbh.

I did supply for a term when I first qualified.
I wrote to every primary school with in a 20 minute drive and said I was available.
I ended up with work every day. It was great, but finically unstable. One thing I had going for me though was that I was willing to cover every year group from nursery to year 6.

Not in Scotland unfortunately where a teacher like me with 20 years experience takes home about £50 a day on supply instead of the £100 my colleagues will take home.

It sounds like bank nursing. All of the money without any of the responsibility

All depends on your area. I'm still annoyed at paying out for two days childcare every week for 9 months and getting TEN days work in all that time, three years ago.