Supply Teaching

SUPPLY TEACHING – A HELLISH TASK OR A REWARDING JOB?

Sheila Caffrey (Bristol NUT)

The Labour Party proudly boast that there has been an increase of 36,000 teaching posts in England since 1997, but neglect to mention the thousands of teaching graduates every year who are unable to find jobs and who are forced to either give up their chosen career or try to navigate the increasingly tricky world of supply teaching.

Some teachers choose to leave full-time positions to take up supply work, either due to a change of circumstances in their school or to take advantage of the flexibility that supply work can give. As one of the NQTs who have been forced into supply, I fail to appreciate this flexibility.

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Only 1/5 of supply teachers actually get their entitlement of PPA time

hat I face is uncertainty of hours, long holidays with no work and no pay, the struggle of dealing with inappropriate behaviour with little or no support from schools, lack of respect from all angles as I am “only supply” and a wage that does not assist me to graduate from my student overdraft.

Increasingly, schools are using agencies for their supply cover, yet these do not have to adhere to the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document and can pay teachers whatever they choose. This is another avenue that the private sector is taking to attempt to invade our education system and make money from both schools and teachers. This money should be available for training and resources instead.

Supply teachers are generally recommended to be paid for a 6.5 hour day. Most supply teachers regularly work 8 hours plus, allowing for the preparation and marking of work. This work should be fully paid as well as an entitlement to at least one break in the day away from the classroom.

There is also obviously no possibility of sick pay or maternity pay, which can make supply financially a very risky business. There is an allowance for holiday pay, however for an NQT who works an average of a 4 day week throughout term time, this works out as a princely sum of about £90 a week through the holidays. Unfortunately, landlords don’t give discounts for low paid months!

Recent research conducted by the General Teaching Council for England found 52% of supply teachers do not feel that their CPD needs have been met. This is especially important for NQTs who are desperately trying to find a full-time position. It should be the responsibility of the Government and councils to provide free training to all teachers, whether supply or not, both during term time and holidays so it is possible for everyone to access it. This training should cover a wide array of subjects from behaviour management to training for changes to legislation and strategies taught in schools.

The introduction of PPA time has eased some of the burden on teachers, however this rarely applies to supply teachers. The GTC believes only 1/5 of supply teachers actually get their entitlement of PPA time, which is grossly unfair. The unpredictable nature of supply teaching means this time is needed to ensure teachers are fully prepared with work for all classes so pupils do not miss out on their education, yet at the moment the majority of supply teachers are expected to do this work unpaid.

Supply teaching can be extremely rewarding and whether a deliberate choice or whether a teacher does it due to other factors, the job should be covered by the same rights and protection that full-time permanent teachers have.

If teachers new to the profession are increasingly to be forced through an induction of supply before being able to find a permanent post, the utmost should be done to ensure they stay in the profession. Otherwise, in a few years Britain is going to face a crisis with fewer and fewer people entering the profession.

The NUT should mount a campaign to recruit more supply teachers, listening to their concerns and then working together with other teachers to put pressure on the government to ensure the retainment of new young teachers in the profession.