Anyone use supply teachers anymore?

[Imsosorryalan75]

I'm thinking of joining an agency as I need to get back into teaching (for financial reasons) as I'm currently working as a TA. I wondered if schools use supply anymore though due to budget cuts. We only use hlta's.
I don't really want to approach my sch to ask to work 4 days only to find I don't get any work!

Two of the schools I worked at now does super cover lessons- cover supervisor overseeing two full classes which can be different years and subjects

So they don’t have to use supplies as much

Our school does use supply staff - teachers and TAs. The 3 main supply teachers we use are well known to the school and we speak with them direct. Likewise here is one supply TA we call direct. Very occasionally we may need to use an agency but this is not that often.

We use supply for mid-long term sickness and for some short term sicknesses - on day 2 for teachers, on day 4 for TAs. We also use them for covering some planned courses and training sessions. As much as possible though, and for PPA cover, we use in-house staff.

I work day to day supply and work a reasonable amount. I could work more if prepared to travel (I'm quite rural)
I live 10 mins from a large school and quite often get half days there. It suits me as it's so close, I'm fortunate to be in the position to take it or leave it.
I do know supply teachers who need to work at least four days a week and they struggle at times, and end up taking jobs they don't want or accepting TA pay scales

Secondary in the south east - we have two internal cover teachers but very loaded timetables so we probably have a couple of supply teachers in every week too to cover absences. I think there’s work, particularly if you’re not precious about subject.

I’m primary in the SE and usually work 4/5 days a week. Except September, when everyone is far too healthy! I travel up to 20 miles, teach 4-11, often get work on the day and have a set of schools that ask for me first. But nothing is guaranteed.

I'm secondary supply and have never not had work on a day I wanted work.

I’m in secondary and we have supply in all the time. We’ve only got 2 cover supervisors. Union rules say teachers should only do emergency type cover, which my sch adheres to. Think I’ve done about 3 cover lessons this year. Do sometimes have to cover during gain time, but not often. If the absence is planned and can’t be covered by the 2 cover supervisors sch use supply. They have to really.

So TAs in England are expected to teach classes by themselves?

Are you not in danger of getting to the point where schools do away with qualified teachers altogether?

My ds’s school seems to use supply teachers for about 25% of lessons...

In my school a teacher went off sick of a term and the class was covered by 2 TA's. All sickness long or short term is covered by teaching staff (their PPA) or LSA's.

*for a, not of a!

We have a supply teacher in maybe once every 3 weeks.

We generally cover in house, as teachers have a maximum of 0.8 teaching time.

A few years ago, I returned to teaching from a sabbatical year. I signed up with several high profile agencies. The first call I got about daily supply was late November. I was did have 2 block supplies in that first term, followed by a permanent employment from January, so I was never out of work.

Coastal secondary here. Huge recruitment and retention problems. Our (core) department has 3 long term supplies at the moment.

What a depressing thread to read and what a shame for the poor children.
In many schools nursery's are now covered by hltas. In my experience, and many of my friends, standards are not there because as fantastic as they are, they are not teachers, nor have had the training

We can usually cover from within, so maybe part-timers will do extra days and so forth. We have a couple of local ex- members of staff who can be called upon if necessary, but I cannot remember the last time an agency teacher was called in. Years and years ago, probably.