NON-CONTACT TIME FOR SUPPLY TEACHERS
Author: N A Hodder BFA PGCE
Flesch Kincaid Grade Level Editor: Angela Calder MA
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| My Sandon School English Department tribute (MAT LEAVE COVER) |
“ON” AND “OFF” SUPPLY:
A common myth
is that supply teaching agencies can wave a magic wand and place you perfectly
once you’ve joined them. Many agencies promise a truly simple passage into a
dream job from Day One but you need
to make it to Day Two. Admittedly, a consultant can secure a great assignment
but the job is, of course, yours to secure.
The pressure is
definitely on at the busiest times on
Supply but a different type of pressure looms large when business is quiet.
Having served in around 120 schools, both as a Subject Teacher of Art and
Design and as a Supply teacher (in all Sectors), I’d like to offer, in this
post, a few golden nuggets of advice about time “between contracts”.
If the phone line is silent early morning and your APP (if you have one) hasn't notified you about any work is it time for TV? In my books, this would not be the way forward - unless it was viewing which might make me a “super-hero” candidate (an episode of Channel Four’s “Educating Essex” for example). I believe that making the most of time outside bookings is part of good supply teaching practice. I'm going to be brief for I do not wish to preach to the converted, but here are a few activities which have proven, year on year, to be really beneficial to me during quiet times such as September:
NON-CONTACT TIME (NCT) ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS (GOLDEN NUGGETS):
1) My own fantastic agents, who have helped me climb so many academic mountains, need my file to be up to date in order to give me my next set of coordinates. If your consultancy hasn't requested any file update material recently (a current Safeguarding Course pass for example) it is worth double checking. Agencies might need a referee, a photo or a CV for example. Even seasoned supplies should have an up to the minute CV at the ready. If your agency provides an in-house CV template USE IT!
2) If you have done a large number of school visits could you recall much about when you last attended a specific site if you were asked? It is well worth keeping notes about bookings with dates and details just in case you are questioned. You will then have the data power to pin point exactly what you have been doing and, perhaps, move trade along. I started in a Collins planner and now I regularly compute this data in non-contact time (NCT).
3) If you do not have ring binders which archive your paper work it may be time to start a collection. During NCT this archive can be maintained, analysed etc. As tiresome as this might sound it may be hard to read an email booking from 2010!
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| A paper archive is an asset |
4) Depending on your consultant, you might send more than just your CV to WOW him or her. I was thrilled, for example, with the warm response I received from one of my Senior Business managers when I shared with her my digital teaching portfolio online. She assured me the file would be a great talking point. Needless to say the document was the product of NCT: many, many, many hours of it.
5) If your agency insists on evaluations of assignments NCT is a terrific slot to sit down and crystallise an experience in words. Writing an unsent draft or simple diary entry can be just as therapeutic and productive.
6) My "reach" as a sub is enviable (2 hour return radius) and my navigation is pleasing, I'm informed by my main consultant. In order to avoid tripping up though, on short notice call outs, I use NCT to raise my map game. It’s worth it as you never know when you'll need to jump into the car and travel 50 miles through torrential rain to teach from the sub-floor within the hour.
7) Professional Development Portfolios, I wholeheartedly believe, are an absolute must for interviews. A folder of your educational plateaus can swing it at interview or at least put the meat onto the bones of certain talking points: many Head teacher’s welcome Target Tracker dashboards, Teaching Award Certificates and photo-opportunities (perhaps avoid showing Looked After children in snaps).
NCT (GOLDEN NUGGETS) CHECKLIST:
ü Are
your agents equipped with all the information needed to maintain your file?
ü Do
you keep a detailed overview of your activities as a sub teacher?
ü Is
your paper archive an accessible paper asset?
ü Can
you go beyond the CV, jump on your PC, and create a self-selling masterpiece?
ü Is
NCT a good opportunity to craft some role evaluations with a genuine feel good
factor?
ü Could
you cope without a “sat nav” because you have developed a better nose for
routes in NCT?
ü Do you possess an assignment winning professional development portfolio which showcases who you really are as an educator?
Be lucky (!) ✋
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| A time capsule of genuine "Teacher treats" - great performance indicators! |
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| Umbrella Co. Teacake gratitude |
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| Blog collaborator: Angela "I particularly love your positive attitude to the unpredictable nature of supply. Making the most of a ‘free’ day when you don’t get the call" |
