Quitting part time teaching job to do supply - madness?

[Somethingvague]

Hi,

I started at a new school (primary) in September on a 0.5 contract, after a year out on maternity leave. On paper it sounds great - 2 and a half days a week, small, well behaved class. However, I don't feel happy. I'm taking home more work than I used to when I worked full time, due to a lack of existing planning and always being reliant on the teacher doing the start of the week. For a few other reasons also it just doesn't fit my expertise.

I have two young children and am seriously considering taking time out to do supply. I want to be able to leave earlier and pick up my children before half 5. I don't want to spend multiple evenings getting lessons ready. Am I crazy? Should I just make the most of what I have?

Thanks.

I would say supply is very difficult when you have small children.
You will have to pay for childcare whether you are working that day or not which makes no sense.

It is also difficult to walk into a school you don't know, with timings you don't know, dc you don't know, behavioural policies you don't know, teaching "fashions" you don't know, marking policies you don't know, you don't know where the resources are or what happens at lunch time or playtime or if you need support etc etc etc. Also, you lose one of the really lovely things about Primary school teaching - the relationship with your class.

Surely by next year, you will have got the planning sorted, as you will have worked through a year, and so have a starting point for the next class?

I suspect you either need to do 2 days or 3.. you never really get 'half' a day at work!

The biggest problem with supply is the pay. It may change given the shortage of supply teachers but the pay really is awful. It works out at around £100 a day. Then you obviously can’t work holidays. Plus no pension contributions, sick pay, maternity pay (I get this may not apply to you!) and so on - you’d be taking home less than £10000 a year even if you worked two and a half days for all 39 weeks, which is probably unlikely.

Having done both I would say no to Supply because while it is handy it is unreliable badly paid but flexible....and do either three days or five and keep yourself crawling up the payscale.

Sorry about my terrible post...I am knackered.

Definitely stick to part time but try to get 3 days 0.6 fte with some PPA time off included.

the cons are the pay and the fact it is unreliable. However, there is a lot you can do to help yourself - sign up with lots of agencies because they are all chasing the same work. Some schools work exclusively with one agency for a given time period. Do the simple stuff like picking up paper off the floor at the end of the day, tidying up generally, putting chairs under desks. Make sure marking is done if you're in primary. Leave a note for the teacher about where you got up to with work, any problems with individual students, anything you think they might need to know for the next day. Lots of schools will have a member of SLT drop in on you at some point - be positive if they do. Talk to the receptionist on the way in and way out - tell them you enjoyed the day and would love to come back if possible. If you spend time in the staffroom, dont' be negative about any child or anything at all to do with how the school is running generally. Try and find something positive to comment on with staff if at all possible. If there is nothing positive and you can't wait to get out of there, say nothing - teaching is a small community and people know people who know people.

I did a couple of years on supply both day to day and longer term contracts. It was eye-opening and really improved my teaching as the thinking on my feet thing was really honed by the end of it. I constantly hear of supply teachers only getting one day a week but that was never my experience. However, I did frequently see other supply teachers fly out of the door before the kids had even left the premises and a general 'not my job, not my problem' attitude. I was always asked back and when doing day to day, would be in a handful of schools all the time. All I did was the stuff I mention.

That is rather exhausting though, @Sowhatifiam, when the aim of supply is to reduce your workload!

I do supply. Its fine and it suits me. There is a lot of work out there at the moment. I am quite happy going into different schools but even with supply, you tend to take on a few longer term contracts that involve planning and preparing, its not all covering for sickness, so you'd be back where you were but without the permanent contract. There is no sick pay, no pension and no pay in the holidays. September is also a very slow month, which is difficult after a summer with no pay.
A permanent part time contract on the other hand is like gold dust. I wouldn't give that up lightly. Most schools only employ permanent part timers who have returned from maternity leave. It won't be easy to get back.

I have shared classes with another teacher in different year groups for 15 years now. It has always been essential to have consistent communication in person and by regular emails to each other to make things run smoothly. When I worked Thurs/Fri, I completed plans for maths and English that she had sent the week before and taught them. I focussed on problem solving maths on Fri mornings which I planned for independently.
We divided other subjects up so that everything was covered and taught on our own days in class. Guided reading was after lunch every day. We had a half termly plan to read with groups on the same day each week - we changed each half term so that we both read with all the chr.
There is always some work to do at home, but my advice would be to minimise reliance on your class partner’s planning as much as poss, then you can organise your time to suit you.

I think you should get on an agency's books whilst you are still in your current job and do a day or two, before making your decision.
Although I have been told that day-to-day supply staff are now in short supply and I could name my price, my rate of pay for supply is less than it was twenty years ago and some schools are so stretched budget-wise that they will only pay cover supervisor rates.
Add to that slow periods and lulls, petrol and wear-and-tear, flexibility and childcare...I only do the odd supply job now and even then, it is usually to keep my hand in/stay on the agency books and to compare other schools with my own (part-time role) as I then appreciate my school more.
Supply is essentially quite a lonely, demanding double-act: establishing yourself within five minutes and trying to get the kids on board when you might have been left completely out to dry. It is akin to doing stand-up for a living and is also financially precarious.
Upside - you can do your own blacklists, vote with your feet and you are out on time with no paperwork. But it isn't for the fainthearted.
I am secondary though. Hopefully, someone who does primary might be able to give their insight.
Given how many TAs and heads step up though, I am not sure of how many pre-bookings or day-to-day will be available, rather than longer term (which brings admin again). I only did a few days primary back in the day, and did not always get resources like I usually do for secondary cover.