Leaving a good impression of yourself at the school is the key to getting repeat bookings. You may be asked to teach a variety of subjects throughout the day, occasionally this may get a little frustrating, as understandably you want to teach your specialist subject, however showing flexibility and willingness to get involved with anything the school throws at you is a good place to start to getting asked back.
As an agency we hear horror stories about supply teachers finding their class, giving out some worksheets and sitting down with their feet up and reading a good book. Whilst this sounds like a nice pleasant day, this is not teaching and not something you should ever do as a teacher. Although you may not be covering a subject you know much about, you should still try your best to deliver any work set. Ensure you are up and walking around the classroom, checking work and assisting your pupils where you can.
Don’t forget to be prepared with some work of your own. As a daily supply teacher, 90% of the time you will find that the school has work prepared, ready for you to deliver. However, on the odd occasion, you may find you will need to fill some time whilst the department is gathering some resources for you, therefore having some work to fall back on is always recommended.
Leave feedback. I am sure you have been in the situation before where you have been off, come back, and have no idea what went on the previous day. Frustrating to say the least. Leaving feedback for the class teacher goes a long way to leaving a good impression of yourself. Make notes on what work you delivered, what you didn’t, and which areas the teacher needs to recap. Any information is helpful information and we strongly suggest leaving as many notes as you can.
As with any situation, making friends always makes your life easier, being in school is no different – don’t be afraid to have a chat with other teachers in the staff room, get to know the reception team but most importantly, make friends with the cover manager. The cover manager will be the one booking supply teachers, if he/she remembers you for the right reasons, the more chance you have for a call back.
Leave the classroom tidy. No teacher wants to come back to work to find a messy classroom. Leaving it in a mess will only reflect badly on you, and won’t help in getting a call back. It will take 5 minutes at the end of the day, so don’t overlook it.
Lastly, before leaving at the end of the day, it’s always worth asking if there is anything else you can do to help. There probably won’t be, but it shows you are happy to go the extra mile.
If being a Supply Teacher sounds like you or you are looking for new work, register today. We can help and you’ll make a difference:
