Category Archives: Featured Articles

The Perfect Food for Supply Teachers? Supply Teacher Tips

My top supply teacher tips #1

Dark chocolate.

The darker the better.

Take a bar, snap it into tiny little pieces. Pop all the tiny little pieces into a Tupperware snap-lock container. A small one. Put the container into your supply teaching bag.

Take one or two pieces as and when necessary during the school day.

Top tip: dark chocolate sticks to teeth like crazy. Also a good idea to carry a compact mirror in your bag to check!

Dark Chocolate - The Ultimate Food for Supply Teachers?

Few noises are more satisfying than the snap of a good chocolate. Pre-snapped, you can carry it in your school bag for the ultimate break-time secret snack!

Do you have a secret stash? What’s the essential, edible component in your supply teacher’s tool kit? I hope you’re not on of those savoury people like my partner! He carries chunks of cheese round for emergency situations!

Where next? There’s a great quick read here on the snail and the whale. Check out our resources area here too.

Top tips for leaving a dog at home while you work

Having to leave your dog at home alone at short notice is a fact of life when you’re a supply teacher. Give a dog-loving neighbour a key, and have their number stored on your mobile so you can give them a quick ring while you’re sat on the bus on the way to school… That’s my first tip of many:

Ensure, as always, that your dog has access to fresh water
Climate control – can you vent a couple of rooms?
If it’s not an early morning call that you get, walk your pooch before you leave
If you’re expecting to get early morning calls, make the main walk of the day in the evening, and go for a quick walk in the morning before your supply teacher agency opens for business.
Walk your furbaby as soon as you get back
Another walk before bed time
Ask around for a local dog walker to take them out at lunchtime
Ask a friend to pop in once a day to give your dog some love
Ask an unlikely source – a local publican! I used to drive my pup to a pub in the next town to enjoy some lovely walks with the manager who started work as I finished – perfect! My pup did get a little tubby though, despite the long walks, as she would rest in the beer garden and flash those lovely big brown eyes at all the customers, getting pork scratchings and crisps in return!
Don’t feel guilty. The next time you have to spend a day in the house, just watch your dog – they will sleep for a good proportion of the time.
Leaving the door to your bedroom open will send your dog into seventh heaven. They’ll be there to love you unequivocally upon your return, but boy, while you’re gone, they’ll be having the best curl up on your duvet they’ve ever had!

Have you left your pet while you went to work? Please share your top tips for leaving pampered pooches

alone for the day below!

Where next? There’s a great quick read here on Top Tips for Technology. Check out our resources area here too.

Working without transport

Can you be a supply teacher with no car?

The answer to this is probably dependent on your location, location, location!

Working without transport may be your only option.

Me? No. I couldn't. I could use my bike to get to one school. The next closest school is not within cycling distance for me. The first bus through the village is after 10am. Taxi? Maybe, but it would cost around a third of my day rate to get to the third closest school. I live in a rural area, and schools are not only few and far between, but also have a relatively small intake. Small intakes mean low staff numbers, means barely any supply work on offer.

Is supply work possible without you own car?

Consider what transport is available to you, and make a list of the schools you could access (in good time!) via a) Shanks's pony, b) bicycle, c) public transport and d) private hire transport. Whatever the number of schools however, you must also consider the likelihood of getting work with them. Just one friendly school that puts you to the top of their supply list may be able to provide you with enough work, 23 schools that already have regular supply teachers may not.

Do you do supply work without a car? Are you able to access the Cycle to Work tax-free bikes scheme?

Where next? There's a great quick read here on holding an appropriate teaching qualification on supply.
Check out our resources area here too.

Survival tips for working when your family is young

My supply teaching tips #2

Preparation – take 15 minutes each evening to prepare for the next day. Check your timetable, make any packed lunches, put a load in the washer, stack the dishwasher, lay out clothes and pack bags for the next day.

Allocate a day to each household task – Monday, focus on your online shopping order for the next week; Tuesday, deal with any letters to and from your children’s school / nursery; Wednesday, love your kitchen; Thursday, love yourself, etc. Do make sure one of these days is about you, it will give you strength to manage the rest of the week!

Getting the family to help

Cherish the weekend – don’t let it become your housework time, let it be your family’s time. Even if you have to work every night after the children have gone to bed (leaving one night a week free for spending time with your partner), weekends are precious.

Communicate with your children’s carers – while you are at work, your children may be at school, or with a child minder, at nursery, with their other parent or grandparents. Whomever they are with, you need to be able to communicate effectively with them. You need to trust that you can get hold of them whenever you need to, and that your child will be safe with them. You also need to have plans in place for if you are detained at work. Make sure you have all contact details not only stored on your mobile device, but also on paper.

Rope them in – from as young as 18 months my son was helping with the laundry! As long as its fun, it can be done. Don’t start off with extrinsic rewards such as sticker charts, the rewards may end up getting larger as your child grows. Make it a game, a competition, a race, and let the children know that you really appreciate them helping you with a big kiss, a high five, and a cuddle at the end.

Raising a young family? Had a flurry of last minute calls recently? Share your top tips on how to manage the household and the job!

Where next? There’s a great quick read here on taking turns. Check out our resources area here too.

Relief Teachers

Relief teachers from as far away as Singapore and Australia enjoy reading the information collected here for supply teachers.

Information and Resources for Relief Teachers

Welcome to you all, and please be assured that I will be adding more relevant information for relief teachers in the coming months! In the mean time, you may enjoy reading about teaching in the UK, or mentally substitute the word ‘supply’ for ‘relief’ every time you read it in our article about making a good first impression.

Have a great read while you are here, say hello in the forum, ‘Like’ us on Facebook, ‘Follow’ me on Twitter, and I hope that through this website you find the information, resources and support for relief teachers that you are looking for!

Are you a relief teacher? How do things differ in your country?

Where next? There’s a great quick read here on Remembering children’s’ names. Check out our resources area here too.

Substitute Teachers

Substitute teachers visit this site from all over the world!

I always enjoy looking at the Google Analytics for the page to see where my visitors come from, so if you’re visiting the site from America, or anywhere else where supply teachers are known as ‘subs’ or substitute teachers, then welcome!

Substitute Teachers Information and Resources

Information and Resources for Substitute Teachers

I initially wrote the content of this site with British supply teachers in mind, but looking at the analytics, I need to address some issues! Supply teachers the world over are finding information, support and resources here and I aim in the coming months to add information for you. For example, unless you are thinking of doing substitute teaching in England, then you will not find my links to supply agencies very useful. I will add agencies from the USA very soon. Have a great time looking round the site now, say hello on the forum, ‘Like’ us on Facebook, ‘Follow’ me on Twitter, and in time, I will tailor pages specifically for all you substitute teachers out there!

Much of the information for supply teachers will apply to substitute teachers as well. For instance, take a look at my top tips on learning children’s names, and you should find that the ideas cross the big pond / any other ocean as readily as a yacht.

Are you a substitute teacher? What are your experiences? I’m betting subbing (is that the right turn of phrase?!) is the same the world over!

Where next? There’s a great quick read here on sun safe activities. Check out our resources area here too.

Protocol Education

Protocol Education - Education Recruitment Agecny

Why choose Protocol Education?

At Protocol Education we understand the needs of Teachers, Support Staff and schools, putting every effort into matching our candidates to their ideal jobs. We work hard to ensure that our registered candidates enjoy working in the Nurseries, Primary, Secondary and Special Schools we look after. We listen to our staff and understand the importance of feedback, in order to maintain the high standards of service we offer.

We are currently looking for:

Primary Teachers
Secondary Teachers
SEN Teachers
Support Workers
SEN Support Workers
Nursery Staff
Newly Qualified Teachers

We are happy for you to register online, or pop into your local branch for a chat about the work we can offer you.

Where to find us:

With branches all over England, there will most likely be a Protocol branch covering the area you would like to work. Several of our branches are in London, so if you want to work in the capital, Protocol Education is the agency to choose! We are all about keeping up contact, and are happy to help in any way we can.

What you can expect once you register with us:

Work local to you
Great rates of pay
New opportunities
Variety of work
Friendly consultants
Regular contact and support

Don’t just take our word for it!

To get an insight of what it’s really like to work through Protocol Education you can read our blog, where each entry is written by a Teacher or Support Worker registered with Protocol Education. From teaching resources to amusing classroom stories, you can get a real understanding of why education professionals choose Protocol Education!

It’s not just about supply!

Supply teaching can open the door to many other opportunities, as when a school gets to know you they may consider you for a long-term or permanent role in the future. As well as these opportunities, we are also recruiting experienced career professionals into permanent teaching roles. If you are currently in a permanent teaching job but are looking to move to the next step in your career, we can help to put you forward for long-term and permanent positions in the schools we look after.

So, register for supply work with Protocol Education and we’ll be in contact soon!

To find out more about working with Protocol Education, call our registration team on 020 3219 7760 or find us on Facebook and Twitter, where we share news from the company as well as education articles and stories.

Our Contact Details:

Website www.protocol-education.com

Email info@protocol-education.com

Phone 020 3219 7700

Where next? There’s a great quick read here on PSED activities. Check out our resources area here too.

Arrive Homes – Finding Accommodation for Supply Teachers

Arrive Homes

Arrive Homes was started in 2009 by two teachers with a passion for property after realising there was an opportunity to provide a good standard of accommodation at affordable rates in desirable locations within London. Looking for a place to stay in London?

Arrive Homes is successful because they listen to potential and existing clients and respond quickly and efficiently to client needs. Focusing on helping teachers and other professionals find accommodation in house shares in London. These are set up and managed by Arrive Homes.

Typically, the houses accommodate between 4 & 6 people. All bills are included in the rent – electricity, heating, water, internet, tv and tv licence.

Contracts are flexible in length. All properties managed by Arrive Homes are close to the ‘tube’/London Underground and mainline stations.

In residing with Arrive Homes, many friendships have been made. Particularly, as teachers have holidays at the same time. Many have travelled together and provided an excellent support network.

Contact details:

Phone – Phil Tierney +44 7989 436162
Email: Contact@arrivehomes.co.uk
Website: arrivehomes.com
Skype: arrivehomes

Where next? There’s a great quick read here on Surviving the day.Check out our resources area here too.

Protected: Cover

About Us

by Sharon Wood aka NuttySupplier

I taught full-time in KS2 for a number of years in the south of England before relocating back to the north. After taking my own class, implementing initiative after initiative, moving classrooms and year groups 85% of academic years and running an average 6 clubs a week, I’d had enough! I took a few years out of teaching completely, explaining to friends and family that at the tender age of £$%* that I’d retired.

I had done a little supply in the south, as part of a return to work programme after a period of illness. However, this was undertaken in schools known to me, where the children still saw me as a teacher at their school. It was nothing like the world I was thrown into when I agreed to help out a local school for a few days during a particularly bad viral attack on their teaching staff after a couple of years back north!

Despite my initial reluctance at stepping back into a classroom, I ended a job contract in business facilitation in favour of doing more supply, and terminated contracts with various clients along with my self-employment status in favour of doing even more. It was a great work/life balance, and just what I needed as I had bought a house to renovate. For many years, I juggled contracts with schools in the area, from day-long to year-long, all temporary, all part-time, just how I like them!

I don’t do any teaching now due to a compromised immune system, but I am now a very proud mummy, and I also own TheSupplyTeacher.com.

www.SupplyBag.co.uk

SupplyBag.co.uk was borne out of the forum within this site. NuttySupplier set up the Supply Teacher Forum on 19th November 2005 which enjoys many visits from friends old and new, daily. SupplyBag.co.uk is an attempt to formalise and categorise the vast amount of information contained within the forum, and present it in a way which makes it more easily accessible to the new visitor.

Advertisements placed on SupplyBag.co.uk are not endorsements by myself or SupplyBag.co.uk.

Supplybag

The essential resource for supply teachers