Teacher absence/cover - what to expect?

[paddleboarding]

DC is in Primary 1. (We are in Scotland, this is the first year of primary school.) Teacher has been off sick for approaching 4 weeks. The class has been taught by various staff in that time, never the same one two days running and often a different person at pick-up than it was at drop-off. Some of them I recognise as nursery teachers/pupil support assistants/teachers from elsewhere in the school, most I don’t know and haven't seen twice.

Reading books haven’t been changed in a month (used to be changed twice a week), DC hasn’t brought home any of the worksheets they used to do and says they haven’t done any in school. It might well be the teachers are just doing something else though, it’s hard to tell when your only source is a 5 year old!

I appreciate the school is in a hard position and can’t just magic the teacher well again. But I’m wondering what is reasonable to expect of them, both in terms of what cover they’re providing for the children and what they’re communicating to parents?

THis isn’t great. Presumably the teacher is off with more than a cold or sickness bug, so the school should really be putting a supply teacher in there to give some consistency. What you describe is common for short unplanned absences, but for a more long term one they do need to get someone in. I guarantee it comes down to cost 🙁 worth going in and expressing your concerns politely regarding reading books etc, it’s possible whoever is in charge hasn’t realised just how chaotic it’s all been and is assuming a TA or year group lead or someone is doing certain jobs when they’re not.

It may not be the school's choice - the LA allocates the supply teachers iirc. But they should be communicating better with you, if only to allay parents' legitimate concerns.

I’ve never heard of the LA allocating supply teachers in any school I’ve worked in, think this must have been something that happened long ago. Most LAs barely exist now, the academy bill made them kinda pointless! When i did supply 8 years ago LAs had stopped having lists of supply teachers. In every school I’ve worked in, the office manager has contacted a supply agency who find a teacher.

No Academies in Scotland (other than historic names of the schools)

Oh, sorry missed that the OP was in Scotland! No idea how supply works there. Still think it’s worth going in and asking the school what’s going on.

All state schools still funded by LAs up here (there is one single exception, a historical anomaly, that is funded direct by the Scottish Government).

At primary school level, I'm pretty sure it's done centrally - they certainly get allocated any vacancies centrally, unless it is a promoted post. I think secondary schools have more autonomy.