Polly - ESP Teacher |
|
I was a supply teacher for my first year of teaching and I now have a permanent job at a school I regularly covered at as a supply teacher.
My training and teaching experience background is…
I trained to teach with the Exeter Consortium in partnership with Exeter University and specialised in Early Years. Prior to teaching I had worked in Learning and Development with adults which transferred really well to working with children. Since qualifying as a teacher, I became a supply teacher with ESP and worked at a range of schools across Exeter and other parts of Devon. I covered classes from Nursery to Year 3 and completed regular supply teaching at my main placement school. I got to know one school really well and really enjoyed working there on supply and have now secured a permanent role there.
I chose to become a supply teacher because….
I wanted the opportunity to experience a range of different settings and gain experience in different year groups. I also liked the flexibility of supply teaching. I wanted to gain confidence as a teacher, and I felt supply would really allow me to do that. When I qualified, I had only worked in 2 different schools and 2 year groups and I felt that I wanted more experience in different schools and years to see what suited me best.
My experience of supply teaching has been…
I really enjoyed supply teaching and found being a supply teacher so beneficial to my practice. Before I started, I lacked confidence and didn’t feel ready to have a permanent teaching job, but I found doing supply teaching gave me so much confidence and really helped me to gain experience in a variety of different settings. I was initially quite nervous about going to lots of different schools and I worried that it would be difficult to manage a class when I didn’t know them well. While this was sometimes a challenge, I found that I quickly got to know the children and was able to form really good relationships with them and I really enjoyed visiting a variety of schools and getting to know lots of different children. I also found that the course that ESP provided on behaviour management for supply teachers was really useful. I found doing supply teaching really helped me look for schools that I would like to work in long term as well as giving me lots of experience across a range of age groups. I learnt to adapt and think on my feet as well as working to different planning. I often found that I would get called back to schools regularly which meant I got to know those schools and the children there really well. When I got my current job, I was given feedback that I seemed more experienced than an NQT and I feel that this was definitely because I had the opportunity to be a supply teacher. Being a Supply teacher definitely helped me to become a pro at learning names quickly as well!!
Everyone at ESP was so kind and supportive and ESP allowed you to be really flexible and also choose which schools/age groups suited you. I managed to get enough work and they were really good about sharing out work at quieter times. I would definitely recommend being a supply teacher to anyone no matter what stage of your teaching career you were at.
I chose to work with ESP because…
I was recommended ESP by the leaders of my teaching course and by my placement school who said they were the best for both teachers and schools. When I went into speak to them, they were so friendly and welcoming and really cared about the teachers they worked with. I felt as though I could go to them if I ever had a problem and they were also really supportive when I got my job. They also paid really well and worked with lots of schools so there was usually work. You could choose how far you were willing to travel, and they were always so grateful if you went to a school that was further away or went at the last minute. The online booking system was really easy to use, and I always knew where I needed to be when. They were also really accommodating if you had a particular school that you enjoyed working at. I cannot recommend them enough.
My go to back-up resources if there is no planning available are….
I taught Early Years and Key Stage One, so I always made sure I had a good selection of stories to read. The children loved choosing them from my bag. I also kept in mind some simple circle games to play such as the “taking the keys from the dragon game” or “Kim’s game” which I used if there were 5 minutes to spare. I also made sure I knew lots of Nursery rhymes and songs to sing. Any working memory games were also a great filler. I usually found teachers provided lots of planning to follow but if I did need ideas of activities to do, I always went on Pinterest and joined lots of EYFS social media groups to get ideas of nice things to do with the children.
3 benefits I think there are to supply teaching/ working with ESP are …
1. The brilliant staff at ESP who really are amazing and so supportive of all their teachers.
2. The confidence and experience that supply teaching gives you.
3. The fact that ESP covers so many schools so there is lots of work and you get to experience lots of different school, but also that they allow you to be flexible with your availability, the schools and age groups you want to work in and the distance you are willing to travel.
Tips/ advice I would you give to someone thinking about supply teaching or just starting out…
My training and teaching experience background is…
I trained to teach with the Exeter Consortium in partnership with Exeter University and specialised in Early Years. Prior to teaching I had worked in Learning and Development with adults which transferred really well to working with children. Since qualifying as a teacher, I became a supply teacher with ESP and worked at a range of schools across Exeter and other parts of Devon. I covered classes from Nursery to Year 3 and completed regular supply teaching at my main placement school. I got to know one school really well and really enjoyed working there on supply and have now secured a permanent role there.
I chose to become a supply teacher because….
I wanted the opportunity to experience a range of different settings and gain experience in different year groups. I also liked the flexibility of supply teaching. I wanted to gain confidence as a teacher, and I felt supply would really allow me to do that. When I qualified, I had only worked in 2 different schools and 2 year groups and I felt that I wanted more experience in different schools and years to see what suited me best.
My experience of supply teaching has been…
I really enjoyed supply teaching and found being a supply teacher so beneficial to my practice. Before I started, I lacked confidence and didn’t feel ready to have a permanent teaching job, but I found doing supply teaching gave me so much confidence and really helped me to gain experience in a variety of different settings. I was initially quite nervous about going to lots of different schools and I worried that it would be difficult to manage a class when I didn’t know them well. While this was sometimes a challenge, I found that I quickly got to know the children and was able to form really good relationships with them and I really enjoyed visiting a variety of schools and getting to know lots of different children. I also found that the course that ESP provided on behaviour management for supply teachers was really useful. I found doing supply teaching really helped me look for schools that I would like to work in long term as well as giving me lots of experience across a range of age groups. I learnt to adapt and think on my feet as well as working to different planning. I often found that I would get called back to schools regularly which meant I got to know those schools and the children there really well. When I got my current job, I was given feedback that I seemed more experienced than an NQT and I feel that this was definitely because I had the opportunity to be a supply teacher. Being a Supply teacher definitely helped me to become a pro at learning names quickly as well!!
Everyone at ESP was so kind and supportive and ESP allowed you to be really flexible and also choose which schools/age groups suited you. I managed to get enough work and they were really good about sharing out work at quieter times. I would definitely recommend being a supply teacher to anyone no matter what stage of your teaching career you were at.
I chose to work with ESP because…
I was recommended ESP by the leaders of my teaching course and by my placement school who said they were the best for both teachers and schools. When I went into speak to them, they were so friendly and welcoming and really cared about the teachers they worked with. I felt as though I could go to them if I ever had a problem and they were also really supportive when I got my job. They also paid really well and worked with lots of schools so there was usually work. You could choose how far you were willing to travel, and they were always so grateful if you went to a school that was further away or went at the last minute. The online booking system was really easy to use, and I always knew where I needed to be when. They were also really accommodating if you had a particular school that you enjoyed working at. I cannot recommend them enough.
My go to back-up resources if there is no planning available are….
I taught Early Years and Key Stage One, so I always made sure I had a good selection of stories to read. The children loved choosing them from my bag. I also kept in mind some simple circle games to play such as the “taking the keys from the dragon game” or “Kim’s game” which I used if there were 5 minutes to spare. I also made sure I knew lots of Nursery rhymes and songs to sing. Any working memory games were also a great filler. I usually found teachers provided lots of planning to follow but if I did need ideas of activities to do, I always went on Pinterest and joined lots of EYFS social media groups to get ideas of nice things to do with the children.
3 benefits I think there are to supply teaching/ working with ESP are …
1. The brilliant staff at ESP who really are amazing and so supportive of all their teachers.
2. The confidence and experience that supply teaching gives you.
3. The fact that ESP covers so many schools so there is lots of work and you get to experience lots of different school, but also that they allow you to be flexible with your availability, the schools and age groups you want to work in and the distance you are willing to travel.
Tips/ advice I would you give to someone thinking about supply teaching or just starting out…
- Have some tried and tested behaviour management strategies and find out as much information as you can about the school/class before you go.
- Don’t worry if you have a bad day, there are always some classes that are more challenging to cover than others but it’s all good experience.
- Have some back up resources in case you need a filler.
- Learn names quickly or else use name labels.
- Don’t be afraid of going to lots of different schools as it’s good to form relationships with lots of settings
- Make sure you leave a handover for the teacher so it’s clear what you have done in the day
- If you really like a school tell the staff that you enjoy going there and ESP, also take on extra things if you can. I took an assembly once, the class I was covering were doing one that day, and the head was so appreciative. It really helped to make a good impression with the school, and I ended up getting a job there.
- Make sure you know exactly where the school is and leave plenty of time!
- Enjoy it! I found it so lovely getting to know lots of schools and working with so many lovely children and staff and I learnt a huge amount from it.
