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.

@ShanghaiDiva that sounds like something I could handle. The small room with a few students. Who knows though. I hope OP can find some work in this vein that's suitable.

My dad does it as a post retirement job. You need to be able to deal with teenagers' shenanigans without getting flustered but not much to it, quite boring but easy money really!

There are so many more students now with access arrangements, there is always a need for invigilators to work on a one to one basis or in small rooms. This year I did a lot of one to ones as a reader/scribe and with students who had 50% extra time.

I've invigilated a few years at a variety of schools. It can be boring but you can't 'switch off' and need common sense! A mistake can have serious consequences for a school and pupil. One school I work out has lead invigilator but the other doesn't so everyone in the team has to be able to do everything. Sometimes we're in a hall with 200 kids, sometimes in a room with 1. Lots of different access arrangements. Vital to be mobile etc. You couldn't possibly have an invigilator using a walker as someone suggested.

I disagree about the job being stress-free. I worked as an exam invigilator for a while and found it very stressful. Students will put their hand up and ask you a question you may not know the answer to, on one of the most important days of their academic lives. If you get the answer wrong, it could have serious consequences for the student. If you spend a while trying to work out what to do, or ask another invigilator to help, valuable time is lost.

I agree it can also be very boring, though I found that easier to cope with than the stress.

I also agree that it has moments of stress. If you scribe or read you have to be very sure you are doing it correctly and in a way that does not compromise the integrity of the exam. I don't scribe English literature or maths because I am not confident I can get it exactly right according to the rules.

Also, you have the students who are so nervous and if things go wrong then it can be as much of a crisis management situation as well. Last year we had a poor student who instead of saving her exam deleted it by accident and understandably had hysterics. Then you go through the process of recording everything that happened and providing reports as well as dealing with a distraught student (and later a very angry lashing out parent).

But I enjoy invigilating. I find the first exams the students look at us with such terror because they think we are the exam board, and then as time goes on (particularly with smaller cohorts) you get to know them and develop a nice interaction with them. We have a good team and we all consider one of our major tasks is to make the students feel as at ease and as comfortable as possible.

I have just completed my 3rd season and will sign up again next year. FWIW we are paid £14.03 an hour. I don't work all the season as I have other commitments but I tend to net around £1,000 and it all goes towards summer days out with my DCs.

@ManonDe £14.03 an hour?! I'm being taken for a mug! I get 11:40 an hour.

I know- I was surprised it was so high! Its for a small independent school, but I saw an advert for our local multi-academy trust and they pay £15 an hour. This is in a regional area in the South, not London which I would expect would be higher?

I invigilated in a college for several years. The exams were very varied from basic Maths and English to A level Business Studies via vocational exams. I did very few 'whole hall' exams, most of the time it was me and a few students, sometimes just one.
I didn't find it boring and. as PP have said, the way exams are run are prescribed; so as long as you can follow instructions it's all good.
Because I was in a college, I had all year round work.
I'd give it a go.

I get about £11.50 ph in the state school I work at and £14.50 ph at the private plus lunch at both if there long enough. Plus a bit of holiday pay. Leads at the state school get around £15 I think.

If you can stay reasonably alert whilst simultaneously being totally bored for a couple of hours then you will be fine. You could try asking at a local school rather than going through an agency. The school I was employed at was desperate and asking invigilators if they knew anyone else who might be interested. I soon realised it wasn't for me but lots of people seem to find it an enjoyable way to supplement their income so I would give it a go.

DP's school is so desperate for invigilators that the school business manager stood up in the middle of the pub and asked if anyone wanted some work. They are always having to drag support staff in as they just can't recruit enough. Local schools here are always advertising. Go for it and good luck.

It's an application direct with the trust. It doesn't appear to be with the agency. It's open for a few more days so we shall see. Unemployment is high in Devon so it's difficult to know how many will apply. Like many have said it isn't a job that would sustain a lot of people due to the hours. It would be a good supplementary income though.

Appreciate the responses :)

Gosh that really is desperate! Wonder if many responded 😅 Would have been better to ask in a parents newsletter or PTA meeting etc.

I actually saw this post advertised in my DD's school newsletter.

I work in the exams department at an FE college and our invigilators are often not from an education background. The JCQ information for conducting exams document has all rules and regs so worth a read especially if you have an interview.

@ManonDe and @MissyB1

I have done some stints invigilating and most recently it was NMW of £11.44...London.

£14.60!!!!

Loads of agency staff on more money. They got a proper break. But the employed invigilators didn't. A snatched cup of coffee if you were lucky. Exams officer didn't seem to know or care.

Do you do all the checking in and of exam papers?

I invigilate in a couple of schools as they have mocks at different times. So I work November, January and February then April through to early July.
I mainly do access rooms but support the lead invigilator in the hall. I like both....really get to know the quirks of some of the students and enjoy supporting them.
Access rooms can involve up to 4/5 different papers, different finishing times especially with rest breaks and extra time...so you have to be on the ball.

I've been doing it for just over a year. There's always something going on at our school. They test them very regularly. I do a mixture of lead and small rooms. Our pay is £11.60 and leads are paid £1 more. I've really enjoyed it.
You do need to be able to stand up for about 3 hours. Our school insist if a child arrives late they get the full exam time. So a 3 hour exam can become 4 hours.
We have a huge team of 40 and the jobs and rooms are shared out differently each day.

We have a designated invigilator who receives and signs for the exam papers then checks them and packages them up. The exams officer oversees the checking in as well as it happens in her office which is secured when that happens and no-one else can enter.

Oh yes- and the exams can take alot longer than the time. Some students might have 50% extra time and that added those who may have permitted rest breaks can extend the time considerably. My 'worst' was one where I scribed and it was over 4 hours. That was really exhausting.

@GogAndMagog I check the papers when they are opened, fill in the attendance sheets, and sort all the papers at the end then bag them up ready to go to the exam board. One day I sorted and bagged up 70 papers (from 3 different exams), on my own. I'm not counted as a "lead" and I'm in £11:40.