Move to supply.

[Storminamug]

Thinking of making the switch to supply. I want to work 3 days per week. My subject is secondary English. Has anyone done it? Pros / cons?

Yep. Loved it. Totally stress free.

The pros are not having to worry about progress. You just teach. You get to know schools very well, very quickly. The cons are there will be periods of waiting for work or where you can only get cover supervisor work which pays badly. If you are reliant on the income, you need to build relationships fast and make sure you are signed to at least 3 agencies (when I was doing day to day, I was signed with 6!). You don’t get paid holidays or if you’re ill or simply don’t have work which is tough over the summer. There are some agencies that are without scruples including doing stuff like sending your cvs to school without your permission, trying to get you to use umbrella companies for pay, telling you there is work when there is none (they all do that to an extent). Some staff can be rude - my friend on a three month contract was referred to as ‘the supply’ by the head of department for the duration of her contract, for example. You need to be quite proactive and sell yourself continually and schools will waste your time with interviews where they then appoint someone’s best friend’s brother ‘cos they kind of sort of k ow them but then not bother to let you know until the day your contract was due to start. The biggest pro is that you can walk away at any time but the con is then that you can be got rid of at a moment’s notice.

There are many Facebook groups so join a few and you will get a quick idea of what issues supply teachers face.

Thanks - this is really helpful!

You will lose out on pension contributions.

Be wary of contracts: once you're prepping and marking, you are a teacher without being paid to do it. And still no pensions contributions.

See where I'm going here?

Think on, as my dear dead dad used to say.

Currently there isn't much work about for supply, as many schools don't want random strangers in due to.covid, and will find cover in.house. (Though my school has a "well known to us" supply teacher in everyday to help cover absences alongside our 3 cover supervisors (secondary).

If you need your wage to pay the bills it's probably not a good move.

I was seriously considering moving to supply in January but now I’m thinking a permanent job might be better to ensure an income if we go into a second lock down.
I’ve joined some supply FB groups and some people haven’t worked all year!

I did this. Pros: literally felt like a holiday -so stress free after a stressful time (if you can handle behaviour). Enjoyed working in a range of schools. Rate of pay is not bad for the amount of work (I paid it all into one account and paid myself a monthly allowance to span it over 12 months). I got a new permanent job in part-time in a new subject in a nice school 5 minutes away (which cover the cons and why I took it).

Cons: negotiating pay - there is always someone who gets more than you and often they are unqualified but have the gift of the gab. Early morning calls - not compatible if you have children. Negotiating pay on long term. Other supply teachers can be very very odd. No pension. No security. Cannot plan financially eg building work, cars holidays etc.