Exam invigilator job

[Hopebridge]

Hi, does anyone else do this for a job? I have health issues which has meant I have had a break in employment. I was looking at working in education part time and this may be a first step. I have done some volunteer work when my health allows.

Has anyone done this as a job and any tips? I'm a bit nervous to apply having had such a long break (years) I have had lots of hospital stays and illness but finally turned a corner with good treatment and although would struggle full time feel I can cope with part time.

Thank you.

I don't do it but have several friends who are 60 plus who do it. They've been out of the job market too. Suits their schedule. I was actually thinking I might give it a go myself!

I did exam invigilating. The only things needed are a level head, being able to follow instructions and the ability to stand possibly for 3 hours or the length of the exam. Invigilators don't usually sit down during exams. Age is no real barrier.

Great thank you

I did it for one day. It's not hard but it's very boring. It's not stressful though and there are several of you. We could sit down if we wanted, although most of us tended to stand or walk about for most of the time. I was doing it as I'm registered with a supply teaching agency and was offered it on one occasion.

I did it years ago. It felt a bit like money for doing nothing at times, but you do have to stay alert.

It is indeed boring.

Years ago when teachers used to invigilate between us we built an entire tiny town out of blu tac on the gym windowsill. New buildings appeared every day. As did lots of turtles and cats.

It’s boring and you have to be 100% reliable -would your health issues mean you have to cancel at short notice?

You also need to be mobile -can’t just sit all the time.

I did it for a few years and enjoyed it a lot. It’s obviously not regular part time work - just mocks and summer exams. I ended up ‘specialising’ in invigilating additional needs students - having 30 kids in a room, doing up to 5 different exams of different lengths, with different access arrangements (toilet breaks, rest breaks, extra time etc) could be quite complicated and not boring like being in the main hall exams!

I did it this year for the first time. There was work available almost every month from about November onwards. You can choose what shifts you’d like to do but you do need some flexibility as you may think you’re just going for 2-3 hours and end up invigilating for 4+ .. though that wasn’t common.

It is very boring but the other invigilators are often very nice and helpful. It’s definitely a good part time / casual option if you’re not needing a good or set salary each month.

Don’t be nervous to apply! There is a huge need for invigilators and they won’t mind that you haven’t worked for a while. But you can’t really cancel at short notice so you do need to be confident that your health is not going to be a barrier to that.

As long as I know the dates so can book my treatments I would be ok. It's my understanding I would know the times/dates. Winter is the worst time for me (so wouldn't be needed) so hopefully would suit. I have completed half the form. One of the companies I worked for doesn't even exist now which isn't fantastic for references 🙈

My DC's school were advertising and DH looked into it, but they pretty much wanted a qualified teacher to do it.

Maybe it depends on the school.

Wear the comfiest non-squeaky shoes you can find. Test them on various floors!

I thought you needed to be a teacher or something to do with education? I guess the classroom teachers aren't even real teachers any more! It sounds quite good for someone wanting to get back into work who's had health issues.
I'd be interested in something like this. I need something very low stress where I don't really have to talk to people or do physical work. Standing for several hours would be a no, surely they'll supply a chair?
Does anyone know any agencies for it?

Ive been doing it for about 4 years now. You don't need to be a teacher, I've worked with invigilators from all sorts of backgrounds! I don't find it boring, I enjoy it. Just finished this year's exams, it was busy! Some days we had 8 or 9 exams on, lots of kids with access arrangements, and this year a lot of exam clashes. Lots of organisational challenges! You can be on your feet for a long time, I rarely get to sit down.

I know two people who do it. One is retired. One homes schooled her 6 kids who are now all adults. They love it. But it's very seasonal.

This

I've invigilated for 7+ years now and am a lead invigilator.

It's also great because providing you are willing to commit to the hours you say you can pretty much do as much or as little as you like.

Attention to detail is highly desirable especially if you fancy moving up to lead.

It's funny work as it's in some ways incredibly boring once the students are seated, attendance checked them a lull until toilet break permitted time starts then you have the end of the exam when things ramp up again.

Generally though once you have found your feet and are familiar with the quirks each exam board has or paper it's very easy too.

I work at an inner city school with a large population of pupil premium:free lunch kids and on the exterior they all coke across as too cool, ready to fight at the drop of a hat and kicking against authority. Once you get to know them however they are all amazing kids going often through some very Hard Shit out of school - the place is a haven't for them really. And with tue exception of a couple over the years I've been there they are polite and respectful. They pick boundaries on occasions but it's not malicious.

I love invigilating at this school, it's very rewarding (not financially though lol) and helps me keep an ear to the ground of being a young adult.

Years ago when teachers used to invigilate between us we built an entire tiny town out of blu tac on the gym windowsill. New buildings appeared every day. As did lots of turtles and cats.

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Love this

I tend to plan the following weeks meals or often consider my escape plan should a Zombie Apocalypse happen right now, right here

Exams are often held in smaller rooms for kids with special access requirements. Our invigilators who struggle to stand for too long often run those as they can sit down for the majority

Come across too cool, that should say

I do exam invigilation every summer. It's a massive school so there are loads of us, some with teaching-type background, most without. To begin with, as a 'body' in the big halls, you just need to be OK with standing for a long time and spotting hands going up. If you want to move on to lead a room, you might need a few more skills, but on the whole it's very easy to begin with.

I do it as a break from my freelance WFH job and really love helping kids at a stressful time and the team vibe in the invigilator room.

Just to add, all local schools are always desperate for more invigilators as - by the nature of the thing - people keep getting too old to carry on. So I'm pretty sure your application would be welcomed.

My best friend does it. She has chronic back problems and put that in her application. So she tends to do the smaller groups and 1-1 invigilation for students who have access arrangements so she can sit. I think she often does the reading or writing for the students that can't manage that as well.

She loves it. Her background is that she had to give up work when her older one became extremely unwell. She had a professional job before that and was out of work for a couple of years I think until her Ds stabilised. I did ask her if she found it really boring and she said surprisingly not. If she has to do the reading for the student or the writing then obviously the time passes- but she said she relishes the chance to just sit and be calm for a couple of hours.

If you live near further ed colleges or Universities they would need similar staff too.

I started invigilating this year after nearly 14 years out of the workplace. I do actually enjoy it, even though it can be quite boring at times. I think it's a good place to start to get yourself back into the workplace.
We have a mixture of retired teachers, young students, part time working mums and tutors who invigilate at our school.