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The staffroom

Whether you're a permanent teacher, supply teacher or student teacher, you'll find others in the same situation on our Staffroom forum.

Original poster

How much trouble would you be in at your school

21 replies

Puffinsareblackandwhite · 16/05/2017 20:32

If you hadn't realised you were supposed to cover a lesson and had to be tracked down during your free because two TA's found a class loitering around without a teacher?

OP posts:
AlexanderHamilton · 16/05/2017 20:33

Happens all the time at ds's school!

Wolfiefan · 16/05/2017 20:33

None at all. Not if you really didn't realise. (Disclaimer I haven't taught for two or three years!)

MooPointCowsOpinion · 16/05/2017 20:34

None at all, they'd be very sympathetic as no one would do that on purpose.

Original poster
Puffinsareblackandwhite · 16/05/2017 20:36

At my school there's a cover list on the notice board and any cover shows up on Sims. Next question: how much should you grovel to the colleague who volunteered to take the class in their free?

OP posts:
MsAwesomeDragon · 16/05/2017 20:42

We always get an email reminding us of we've got cover to do. So we'd be in quite a bit of trouble as you'd have to have avoided looking at email, Sims, AND the cover sheet for the day. We don't have to do cover very often though, maybe once a term or so at the minute. That might change next year as funding cuts hit, and we have fewer staff around.

I'd be grovelling a lot of I'd forgotten. Probably give a small token of appreciation too, a bar of chocolate or something.

tissuesosoft · 16/05/2017 20:44

Happens about once a week at my school with SIMs, emails and cover sheets. The general grovel is offer to do their detention duty (we have whole school detentions) or lunch duty.

teacher54321 · 16/05/2017 20:47

None, unless it was a frequent occurrence. Our cover is put up on the board in a quite shambolic way, last year I didn't realise that I was supposed to be invigilating a geography exam for the headteacher and he himself had to come and find me and ask where I was Blush I was embarrassed, but apologised and went and did the invigilation PDQ!

tinytemper66 · 16/05/2017 20:51

It happens. Just apologise to the person who organises cover and the person who covered for them.
Nothing should happen if, as other PPs have said, it isn`t a frequent occurrence.

YoniFucker · 16/05/2017 20:53

I wouldn't be in trouble, but I'd be grovelling a lot to whoever took my place. Cake at least...

AdmiralSirArchibald · 16/05/2017 20:53

I'd have found you quicker and made sure you did it 😂 (SLT in charge of cover when not on maternity leave) Genuinely not a big deal. Mistakes happen

OhWhatFuckeryIsThisNow · 16/05/2017 20:59

It happens. As long as it doesn't happen repeatedly the only person in trouble might be the poor cover manager who hadn't told you (despite the cover list and SIMS-yep, that's me). Is that an automated email system? (Cos I wouldn't have time to email everyone on the list)

Original poster
Puffinsareblackandwhite · 16/05/2017 21:00

Thanks for your replies! I was the person who stepped in, but the person who was supposed to do the cover only said "sorry about earlier" in passing, which I was a bit miffed about. The person in charge of cover also seemed Majorly Pissed Off, which I was a bit surprised about.

OP posts:
youarenotkiddingme · 16/05/2017 21:00

I forgot a duty I do every fecking week once! Just totally for disoriented about the days!

So 20 minibuses were guiding themselves around outside Blush

I went and started grovelling and I'd forgotten until loads of staff came up after and asked where I was.

The DHT actually said she'd have thought one of them would have had the sense to find me when they realised I was missing rather than wait!

Imo good managers will realise people are human!

Astro55 · 16/05/2017 21:01

Try cake - everyone is forgiving with cake Grin

YoniFucker · 16/05/2017 21:07

Oooh... a reverse in the staffroom. Is that a a first?

Like you, I'd have stepped in willingly, but I'd have expected some serious grovelling afterwards.

LockedOutOfMN · 16/05/2017 21:08

We get a personalised email and it appears on our calendar for the day in our SIMS-equivalent software that we have open every lesson for register, etc.

We get told off if we are late and told off a lot if we forget (I've never forgotten) and I know of one staff member who received a written warning as she missed three in one term.

We have to do at least one cover per week; the cover rota keeps the school on its feet! At the moment we have 3 staff on maternity leave and no replacements for them so that's 90 covers a week before anyone's sick or on a trip or a course, etc.

Original poster
Puffinsareblackandwhite · 16/05/2017 21:12

It wasn't a reverse! It was a carefully ambiguously worded OPGrin

OP posts:
teacher54321 · 17/05/2017 05:52

I'd be pissed off if I'd done a whole lesson of cover for someone else who just hadn't turned up and they didn't even offer to cover a duty or something like that...

OhWhatFuckeryIsThisNow · 17/05/2017 06:25

Hmm, I'm thinking if thr cover manager is Majorly Pissed, they have form. I have one of them, she is totally SIMS blind.won't do cover and "forgetting" is her protest.
I wonder if the email is one of the great mysteries of sims that has passed me by? I'm investigating.

RedScissors · 17/05/2017 18:06

Would depend on how the person was- if they were obviously flustered and crapping themselves, then I'd be quite forgiving.

cansu · 17/05/2017 19:21

I would just apologise. Whoever organises cover though should try and pay you back. How is it you are still covering? It is quite rare where I work now.

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