I’ve got to admit it - I really like doing supply work. It’s such a rich learning experience every day - for me and the students. I’ve been doing supply for about 7 weeks now, deliberately sticking to day-to-day cover type work rather than my original discipline of geography. I’ve re-learned much of the ks3 biology that had completely vanished from my brain. After a while I got the hang of simultaneous equations again. In a previous life I would have hated teaching drama but now I love it. I even know what a fronted adverbial is.
Staff absence is really high at the moment and many schools are struggling to find good staff to cover all the teachers not in. I read recently that half of all teachers had COVID last term which is a mad statistic. Students need to have the best teachers in front of them if they are going to catch up on lost learning. Having good quality supply teachers is good for the students, good for the school and good for the teachers the students see next, as they will be calmer and in a better state in which to learn.
So from the first day I approached it as though I wanted to be really good at it and learn as much as possible about how good and bad schools are run. I’ve learned first hand that nothing says more about a school than how they treat supply staff and how they approach setting supply work.
My experience so far makes me wonder whether locum teaching is the future. I guess not, but it certainly seems front and centre. I worked in a challenging school for years and I have seen the devastating effect that supply after supply can have on children’s education. It’s nice to be part of the solution.
Here’s some of my top tips for being a supply teacher that will slot straight into any classroom.
1. Make the mundane, more
Every lesson can be broken down into essential questions that bring the learning alive by making it pertinent and relevant. Construct a strong narrative by using the classic storytelling structure of set-up -> conflict -> resolution and the five essential questions below. This applies to all learning at both the micro and the macro. It’s a great rule for supply teaching that can transfer straight into ‘regular teaching’.
WHAT will they be learning? Make it clear and explicit and remind them throughout.
WHY will they learn it? Find a link and repeat it often. Aim for awe and wonder but accept functionality – just don’t ever say ‘because its in your exam / because that’s the cover work set’
WHO does it effect? Find a relatable conflict. This gives the learning personal meaning that is highly motivating.
HOW will they learn it? The how should not be a surprise – students want to be led and chaos breeds poor behaviour. ‘Read the sheet and answer the questions’ cover work is not inspiring but always make sure you do this out-loud and as a class. Funny accents to be encouraged:- I’ve really worked on my generic American, Brummie and Australian accents.
WHAT have they learned? A quick plenary at the end. Having a few plenary games up your sleeve that only require a whiteboard are invaluable.
2. Build rapport from the start as if you will be staying
It is possible and desirable to build rapport deliberately, quickly and sustainably with new students by using what I call the Student Rapport Circle. Roughly speaking, all student’s behaviour fits within this circle, showing either the positive of negative traits of each. You can adapt your language suit the behaviour at hand. But that’s probably best for another post. I also use the HEAR principle to build rapport rapidly:
Honesty - communicate authentically and be honest:-“I’m going to be really honest with you..”
Empathy - It’s so powerful and so easy to do:- “It seems like you are really frustrated”
(Curated) Autonomy - people just want to feel like they’re in control:- “can you make a choice between sitting down and being sent out please?”
Reflect back - people also just want to feel heard. Try repeating back what a student says to you and you’ll be very pleased with the results.
3. Have some decent plenary games and props up your sleeve
Everyone likes games. Hangman is basic but a classic. I like Pictionary, charades and splat and head’s up and 20 questions. I’ve invented a couple including Cobra Kai - fingers on the buzzer but with karate moves. These are all great ways to synthesise knowledge but are best used as gateways to good follow up questions. I always carry a ball for questioning and debates but I only use it for certain classes. My greatest prop is a £15 noise machine from Amazon that I use all the time: noises for correct answers, good answers, great answers, wrong answers, good jokes, bad jokes, sarcasm, annoying behaviour etc. Give this ago in your class, you will be surprised at the age to which this remains stimulating, motivating and rewarding.
4. Let it go
Kids say unkind things, especially to supply teachers they’ve just met. They always have and they always will. Sometimes they even say the most unkind thing that they can think of. Even then, they don’t mean it, its not personal. Let it go. It’s just a bid for attention so outbid theirs with a gesture of universal positive regard, of love and good humour. You will never know the weight in a student’s rucksack. You can only control your reaction - and that’s not to say let poor behaviour go unchallenged. Relaxed vigilance. Correct, follow up and forgive. The student who hated you on day 1 will love you by day 5 and then you will both laugh about it.
5. Recognise good behaviour
Good behaviour in cover lessons is the exception not the rule in many schools and should be cultivated, recognised and rewarded if it is to be repeated. A recognition board is the perfect way to do this: choose a behaviour you wish to reward and mark names on the board when they do it – try and catch everyone behaving well. It’s hard work but worth it and you’ll learn names quicker.
Things to avoid: sarcasm, over-familiarity and being pedantic
I reckon there’s much more that I will add in later posts but they are all things that can be applied to any classroom, supply or not. I hope they are helpful to someone, please leave a comment, like, retweet or DM me if they did.
If you wan to work together or get me in for supply please get in touch with me and check out my website, fractallearning.co.uk which is still a work in progress. Go well.
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