Secondary teachers, do you do cover?

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Just wondering what's normal these days. If you're not taking part in any union action, roughly how much cover do you expect to do in an academic year?

I've done 3 this academic year but I know that's low.

We don't do any unless our timetable is light and then it is a timetabled cover lesson.

On average we do cover once every two weeks

I've done 1 but I'm on leadership payspine so can be asked to do it.
Leadership aside, teachers don't do it at our school.

We only do it if our timetable is under allocation but it's as a last resort.

If it's gained time after exam groups leave then we can be used once a week unless you've got more than 1 exam class and then it's more. We only get taken if cover hits a lesson we would have taught. They don't move PPA around.

Only get taken if it's gained time, and then rarely. On the other hand PPA is the absolute minimum they can get away with, so that's probably why.

Thanks for your responses. I'm asking so I can judge whether there's something unusual going on at my school; I think there is.

Not often. Maybe once a term, twice at most. I believe the office gives us 'credit' when we do one with a view to making it fair across the board. I do departmental cover (MFL) for exam classes if free as a matter of course because I believe that's best for the kids and I aim to be a team player. This limits the time I spend in subjects where I'm clueless!

I have cover about once every fortnight and I am not under timetable but the general number of hours in my school is lower than other school I think. As HoD in a core subject, I teach 70% of the timetable.

I've done 1 in the last 2 years and that was because of an emergency and I was on a free. We do help each other out during gained time i.e. if a colleague needs to run a revision session prior to an exam.

We each have two timetabled lessons for cover included in our total time - if not used then they are free. Hardly ever have supply teachers in our school for that reason. I have rarely had to do both cover lessons in a week.

We only ever do cover of it's an unusual lesson and normal timetable has been suspended. So when the y11 leavers assembly was on the Friday before half term, any teachers who would normally teach y11 covered the y11 form tutors so they could be at the assembly.

Occasionally we are asked to cover during gained time in the summer. I did one this morning, but I'm sure that will be the only one I'm asked to do.

We do two or three covers per week. I have 5 frees and one of those is a meeting so in a good week I get 2 proper frees and in a bad one I get 1. I hate hate hate cover. I also hate invigilating which I have to do whenever I used to teach y11 or y13 (they're now on study leave).

Though locked If you get 5 frees a week as a standard teacher you are getting more than your PPA.

In our school if you have additional frees you get used.

Most have 4 frees (out of 35) and I have 5 as I'm head of year.

Is 1/7 "ppa" time over the minimum? I never knew that. What's the minimum?

10% of your regular teaching hours.
So 2.5 hours is the minimum but every school I've been in its 3 a week if you don't have a TLR.

So take off TLR time and then it's 10% of regular lessons.

It's why people who teach under allocation get used for cover but those of us at capacity for our role don't unless it's gained time.

Ah ok. I teach 30 lessons of my own subject plus 2 or 3 cover lessons so a total of 32 or 33 out of 35.

I've done 2 this week, but then my school is a train wreck.

Approx 2 a week...

OP what's going on at your school?

Only ever in gained time ie from now until end of summer term, or during mocks weeks earlier in the year.
Grumping about having to do one next week when i have gained nearly 25 hrs/fortnight !

I've done a couple in gained time to cover for people doing Year 11 revision. People who are under-timetabled can be used for cover for the number of periods per week that they are under-timetabled by. People like me who are fully timetabled don't get asked unless there's an urgent reason (like someone having to leave school immediately and no cover staff being available).