Many of the supply teachers we work with are normally delighted with the registration process from making initial contact through to their first assignment and beyond. Many primary and secondary supply teachers that register with 4myschools have been referred by a colleague or by a school which typically means most new candidates have some idea of what the process is and the expectations to complete the registration process.
The registration process can be painless and quick this depends on key documents and the speed with which the referees you provide respond to the request for a reference.
There is a general view that it is the DBS that takes the time – with the update service being available and shortening delays in DBS clearance it is typically the reference responses that are the least predictable in determining how quickly one can be cleared to work in schools.
Making initial contact with an agency is really quick and easy; normally one can register interest through the agency web site (here’s a link to our registration page, or you can use the form at the end of this post) typically this requires your name, email and mobile number and it makes sense to include your most recent CV. With this information being sent directly to the recruitment consultant for your area they should be in touch with you by return.
Our view is if you’ve sent an interest connection then if we respond to you quickly you are more likely to be receptive to an informal chat to go over your initial expectations. We describe this aspect of the registration process as the “Pre Vet” – it gives you a chance to explore any questions or concerns you have with the process or indeed can cover high level aspects such as: What is it like to be a supply teacher? How much work will I get as a primary supply teacher? What will I be paid as a secondary supply teacher? It also gives us a chance to get a view as to if we can work successfully with you. If you and we are both content to continue we will propose a time and place to meet for the face-to-face interview.
A number of new supply teachers are uncertain as to the purpose of the face-to-face interview and would prefer to simply register over the phone. This isn’t an option – all our primary, secondary supply teachers and teaching support staff are interviewed face-to-face by the recruitment consultant that represents them; there is no way around this and rightly so.
As part of the initial pre vet conversation all the documents you require to bring with you will be discussed and a follow up email will be sent to you confirm precisely what was discussed. This is a tremendous way to avoid uncertainty and gives you a further chance to ask questions before the meeting.
Once the face-to-face interview has been successfully completed and all the required original documents seen and copied by the consultant, the appropriate checks undertaken we will be able to tell you where we are on the references. As mentioned above the references can take some time to come back especially in the summer holidays when many schools completely close.
If you are thinking of becoming a supply teacher for work in September you may want to consider the timing of your registration, we suggest it is well before July for the reason above.
Our average registration time excluding DBS clearance from initial enquiry through to cleared able to work in schools is: 82% of candidates are cleared within 14 days we are naturally trying to improve on this so everybody benefits.
The supply teacher and teaching support staff registration process is really easy, we do the work on your behalf. Simply send us your contact details and we will invest time in registering you in a considerate and professional manner from beginning to end as quickly as we can.
Start the registration process today:
