To a supply teacher, it's one thing to communicate school expectations for students, but another school expectations for teachers. When you can, engage with supply teachers before they arrive at the school gate. What information on classes and lessons can you send them? For short-notice absence this isn’t going to be possible, but for longer term roles a lesson plan or scheme of learning allows a supply teacher to be at their best: to be well prepared.

They’ll be a short period in which a cover teacher waits at reception. Use this as orientation time. A small pack outlining school policies, key members of staff (with photos) and the timings of the school are very useful for any supply teacher. It’s not just practical, it also helps the teacher feel welcomed and supported from the get-go.

It’s useful for teachers to have a grasp of the class they will be teaching before the school day kicks off. Particularly in Primary schools, a data sheet can give teachers the information they may need before classes commence. If a cover teacher will be taking a wide range of classes, collating the required information is more tricky. See if you can give them temporary access to a management information system, like SIMS.  

A tour can seem unimportant. But students can sense a teacher’s understanding of the school environment. Even if it’s simply pointing out the key departments and facilities in the school, a quick tour can help teachers feel comfortable, and the students too.

It’s not always possible to know in advance when cover teachers will be in. If you know that there will be staff out on particular days, telling staff in weekly meetings or via email is valuable. Giving staff a heads-up to be welcoming, warm and friendly to any cover teachers can positively enhance their experience.

Supply Teachers are as qualified (sometimes more so) as full-time staff. Treat them with the respect you would any other colleague. Not only is a happy cover teacher a better cover teacher, but a happy cover teacher will reflect your school’s reputation. Supply teachers very often come from the local community. You want them to leave with positive accounts of your school, and the kindness and support they receive over the course of the day, will shape their view.  

A new calendar year can mark high staff absence. With more cover in, Airsupply ask what a school can do to support cover teachers.  

Supporting Supply In Your School

What does this mean for Supply teachers? 

Teachers strike - Supply teachers who are members of the NEU

Some supply teachers will be on longer-term contracts within schools and may have decided to join with their colleagues should strikes go ahead. Of course, this would be a personal decision. Similarly to teaching staff employed directly with education authorities and academies, it is likely, schools will not make payments for teachers attending strike days. 

Supply teachers will have an even bigger decision to make, as the ‘cost’ to a supply teacher is likely to be higher than that of a directly contracted teacher. 

Teachers are deducted 1/365th of pay for each day they strike, but because many supply teachers have a daily rate based on 195 days of work (aggregated to be their annual salary) they lose 1/195th of their pay. So many supply teachers are already almost 50% worse off in terms of a loss for a day of strike action.

Teachers strike - Supply teachers who are not members of the NEU 

Supply teachers on the whole don't get paid if they don't work. If those supply teachers choose to strike or the school closes, then they are unlikely to be paid.

In the worst event, on-strike days schools may have to close. This could then affect all supply teachers, irrespective of their union status, or their personal position. This then becomes a moot point for teachers that were not members of a striking union, especially if they are scheduled to work, or are working longer-term contracts. Should schools feel an obligation to pay those teachers? The jury is out on that, we’ll have to see how schools respond. 

If strike action wins a pay award, will this increase supply teachers pay?

Supply staff payments will not be directly increased as a result of pay awards to directly employed teachers. Supply teacher pay is an area which also needs to be addressed. Many agencies take a very large slice of the payments made by schools, whilst others, ourselves included, award on average £30 to £40 more than is typical. So, supply teachers need to look at their options. Airsupply is supported by Twinkl and others that care about teachers. Airsupply is helping to put teachers at the forefront. 

Supply teachers are likely to be in demand on teachers strike days. There is some likelihood in the event of school closures that some payments may be lost even for non-striking supply teachers. Supply teachers on strike will potentially lose a higher proportion of their annual salary than their permanent colleagues.  

For the best pay rates generally, it pays to work for agencies that put supply teacher pay at the forefront

Latest update - Projected NEU Teacher strike days 

Lastest announced NEU teacher strike dates: 

Tuesday 28 February 2023: all eligible members in the following English regions: Northern, North West, Yorkshire & The Humber.

Wednesday 1 March 2023: all eligible members in the following English regions: East Midlands, West Midlands, Eastern.

Thursday 2 March 2023: all eligible members in the following English regions: London, South East, South West.

Wednesday 15 March 2023: all eligible members in England and Wales.

Thursday 16 March 2023: all eligible members in England and Wales.

For those that are working with Airsupply please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have specific questions. We’ll be posting regular updates on our Facebook social channels regarding teacher strikes, so don’t hesitate to follow us. 

Following the announcement this week from the National Education Union the largest teaching union in the UK, teachers strike action by its members is looking extremely likely.  

If teachers strike, what will this mean for supply teachers? | Airsupply Community Blog | Latest news and posts for supply teachers

If teachers strike, what will this mean for supply teachers?

Airsupply, working alongside Twinkl, offers supply teaching jobs that are fair, flexible, and better paid. This comes at a good time to help to improve supply teacher pay levels, which in turn helps offset some of the increases in living costs. 

Join our community group for teachers, retired/returning teachers & existing supply teachers. Latest news, community discussion & regular supply teacher blog posts.

Against the backdrop of soaring living costs and government-announced pay rises for many teachers across the UK, our Airsupply leadership team explores the economic impact on supply teachers' pay, benefits, and the rising cost of living. Spoiler alert! It’s not all bad news,  as Airsupply EdTech software is helping to reduce the cost of supplying teaching staff to schools. Savings which can be passed on to our hard-working supply teachers. 

In this article, we’ll look at the wider economic picture and also focus on many of the supply teacher pay-related questions being asked across the supply teaching community. Working together to ensure supply teaching is still a great career & lifestyle choice for so many of us.

Government teacher pay announcements - Overview

In July 2022, the UK government made announcements to provide one of the biggest pay rises in recent years for teachers and many other public sector workers. The (mostly) welcome announcement came against the backdrop of rising living costs in the UK, alongside the need to attract & retain gifted teaching talent into our schools. Across the country, many teachers and school leaders' salaries will be set against new pay scales. Rises will be back-dated to September 2022 and will range from around 5% for senior levels, and up to 8.9% for early career teaching staff during the 2022/23 academic year. 

Whilst recent teacher pay award announcements have been welcomed by many, some teachers are still facing the cost-of-living-crisis head-on. With year-to-date inflation running over 9%*, ‘teacher pay’ has become a top of agenda discussion for many teachers both individually and nationally. Whilst many teachers and school leaders are earmarked for pay increases there are tens of thousands of teachers, including supply teachers that fall outside of the new government measures. There is also the concern that schools are obliged to grant the additional salary increases to staff, without having been provided with additional funding earlier this year. 

Supply teachers & schools - What do the pay rises mean?

There is some risk that the latest round of teacher pay awards, alongside pay increases provided to millions of other government workers, may of itself, lead to higher inflation as additional spending heats up the UK economy. Potentially negating at least some of the effect of the rises. For those that haven’t been selected for a rise, the cost of living gap could widen desperately. 

Many school leaders, in making good the government's pay levy for permanent teaching and support staff, will face difficult decisions. Could supply teaching be one area where those cuts might be made? 

So where does all this leave supply teachers?

Surprisingly, it's not all bad news. A variety of legacy factors, not least the ongoing theme of teacher pay (relative to other roles offered with similar levels of qualifications) have left the education sector sorely in need of attracting teaching talent. Recruitment for many schools has been an ongoing battle to keep up staff numbers - partly one of the stated reasons for the recent round of pay increases is to help make teaching more attractive as a career option. Demographic shifts within the teaching cohort, alongside working-conditions for full-time teaching staff, are reasons for teaching staff to retire or leave the sector entirely. The net effect is that supply teachers are in demand, and to some extent on their own terms. 

Having access to reliable teaching work through established, fair and flexible supply teaching agencies means that qualified teachers can put their own lives and families ahead of all else. Choosing days they want to work, setting their own pay rates, and generally gaining more control. All of which helps to offset many of the downsides of full-time teaching. 

How Does Airsupply create fair, flexible, and better-paid teacher supply work?

Since 2016, Airsupply has offered a fairer deal to supply teachers and schools by charging lower commission rates. By charging lower commission rates we allow teachers to earn more, it’s that simple! Schools save typically around 25%, so it’s a win, win for everyone. Lower commissions are the result of lower administration costs alongside other efficiencies created using Airsupply's leading Edtech software. Use this link to find out more about Airsupply and how we can help you and your supply teaching career. 

Supply teacher pay arrangements for longer-term roles 

For longer term (>6weeks) roles, Airsupply is committed to fair pay for supply teachers. These roles will often involve lesson planning, more marking, meetings and parents evenings, so we encourage teachers to set a daily rate that matches their payscale earnings. Some agencies will talk about doing this from week 12 (because of AWR), but we do it from day 1 in the role – because you are doing a full teacher job from day 1.

If this is the case, please make sure you have considered the following:

What is the supply teaching rate you are being paid? A

Is the contract term-time only? If so, you will not be paid for half-terms, Christmas holidays and similar non-school days. 

What is the termination date of your supply teaching role? E.g. if you work “until Easter”, will you be paid for part of the Easter break, or does your contract end before the Easter holiday? If your supply teaching contract ends on 1st April, you will only be paid until that date.

Please check for sickness and holiday entitlement, as well as any inset/training days you have the right to take part in.

Are there any other expectations (e.g. coming in before term to prepare a classroom, running after-school clubs, or similar)?

If you would like assistance or have any questions about these alternatives to day rates, please call us with your questions on 0330 122 6629, or your union for contractual questions and advice.

What deductions will be made from my supply teaching payments?

The usual statutory deductions will be made from your supply teaching pay: tax, NI and student loan repayments if due. The only other deductions will be for union fees if you are a member, and pension contributions if you are part of the Teachers Pension Scheme.

If you are above State Retirement age, you don't have to pay NI from your supply teacher pay packet. Please see: https://www.gov.uk/tax-national-insurance-after-state-pension-age/stopping-paying-national-nsurance

Do I receive holiday or sick pay while assigned Airsupply teaching roles?

Supply teacher sick pay - You will only get paid for the days you work with Airsupply.  

There are some circumstances whereby you may qualify for Statutory Sick Pay after you have been off sick for 4 days or more - however, the first three days do not qualify for SSP - and then only during the time you have agreed to work for the school. You will not be entitled to be paid for these waiting days at the agreed rate. 

Supply teacher holiday pay - If you set your Airsupply day rate at 1/195 of what your salary would be annually this ‘will’ include an element for holiday pay. Setting your rate at 1/195 means holiday pay is included and we can account for this (12.08%) on your payslip.

Best supply teacher pay/income administration methods for tax purposes. 

Should I be paid as PAYE, through an umbrella company, register as a sole trader or should I create a registered company? As a supply teacher working Airsupply teaching assignments, what is the best way for me to set myself up to be paid?

How you wish to set yourself up to be paid is up to you and we would suggest you get independent advice if you are confused by the different supply teacher pay options, to work out what is best for you and your circumstances.

Here is a brief description of each option:

You receive your Supply teacher's pay via Airsupply's payroll (Subsy Limited our original registered company name - not an Umbrella Company).  All deductions are made automatically and you will need to complete an HMRC Starter Checklist and provide information to us before being added to our payroll. You are automatically enrolled to a Nest pension after 3 months. Employer National Insurance and employer pension contributions come out of our fee, not your day rate.

We do not recommend any or have relationships with any and we will never accept ‘kick backs’ or referral fees from any umbrella companies (UCs).  They are technically your employer and all deductions are made for you by them.  If you have multiple sources of income it may work for you to simplify admin, but there are increasing stories and cases of poor practice and ‘skimming’ (taking deductions but not explaining them) that mean we will only work with one if it is absolutely insisted by you, the teacher. The UC will also charge you a fee for carrying out the administration on your behalf.  UCs will also have a pension scheme in which you will be auto-enrolled into unless you opt-out. But beware, many agencies have used umbrella companies because they are passing on the Employer NI and Employer pension costs to be taken out of the teacher daily rate. This seems completely unfair to us. The agency sets your rate and passes on the employer costs to you! So ‘your rate’ may seem high but deductions can be in excess of 30% after all employer and employee deductions and the UC fees have been removed.

For supply teaching, it is often not possible to be self-employed. Please refer to HMRC's website for more information: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-employment-status-for-tax. Also, note that most schools prefer their teachers to be paid as PAYE or through an Umbrella company. 

If you are considering working as a self-employed supply teacher, it is vital to seek professional advice based on your personal circumstances. There are limited situations where this may be possible, but for most teachers, this is unlikely to be a good solution. 

Please contact us on 0330 122 6629 if you have any further questions, or the HMRC Employment status helpline direct on 0300 123 2326, 08.30-16.30, Monday to Friday. 

What if I am already a member of another pension scheme? Can I make contributions to a private pension scheme?

You can continue with your private pension scheme contributions. Airsupply pays (3%) into a pension after 3 months to which you are automatically enrolled.

What deductions will be made from my supply teacher pay? 

The usual statutory deductions will be made from your pay: tax, NI, pension (5%) and student loan repayments if due. 

If you are above State Retirement age, you don't have to pay NI from your pay packet. Please see https://www.gov.uk/tax-national-insurance-after-state-pension-age/stopping-paying-national-insurance

How do I repay my student loan? Student loan deductions from payroll

Any Student Loan deductions will get recognised through your HMRC Starter Form and then automatically deducted in our payroll process.

Can I work half days or sessions only? What if I only want to work half days?

It is dependent on what roles the schools wish to post. Many of our schools post half day roles to cover training, to release teachers for PPA time or for specialised lessons in primary schools (eg. Language teaching)

You need to set your availability in the Airsupply calendar as usual, and you can then just accept half-day roles if this is your preference. 

What if I already have a direct relationship with a school? What if I already work direct with a school?

If you already work directly with a school and are not registered with Airsupply, the school can invite you to register and work through Airsupply and we will charge that particular school any fees on your bookings. 

The Airsupply leadership team looks deeper at the impact of rising living costs within the broader economic picture. With recent government teacher pay announcements, inflationary pressures and tighter school budgets - what does all this mean for supply teachers? This one is not to be missed! 

Supply teacher pay | Airsupply teaching jobs are fair, flexible, and better paid | Airsupply is transforming pay and benefits for supply teachers

Supply teacher pay

Even though it is a word challenge, this activity will test your pupils’ maths skills as well as their spelling. On the whiteboard, quickly assign each letter of the alphabet a value; for example, A = £12, B = £3, C = £21 and so on. Set a few questions on the board such as, ‘What’s the most expensive word you can make?’, ‘Can you find a word that equals £42?’ and ‘How much is the word ‘league’ worth?’, and see what they come up with.  

Choose an object from the class and in small groups children should come up with as many uses for that object as they can. The more absurd, the better! Children may want to note their ideas down on a scrap piece of paper or a mini-whiteboard before presenting them to the class. Encourage them to use descriptive and persuasive language; an example would be something like, “This fantastic, soft-haired paintbrush has over 100 uses! Not only can this be used for your artistic endeavours - but its durable bristles could also be used to dust your antique ornaments and are still gentle enough to brush your pet hamster.”

This common, family party game is a perfect class activity. It can be played in different ways depending on the subject or topic you’re teaching. Select a volunteer from the class to come to the front and be the guesser. Jot down something on a post-it note linked to your lesson, such as a number or a literary device, and stick it on the guesser’s forehead. It is then over to the rest of the class to lead them to guess “who they are” by answering their questions (yes or no answers only).

Online smartboard activities – no login required

Children love to get competitive with this maths activity. Hit the Button offers timed maths games linked to times tables, number bonds, and square numbers. Depending on the classroom setup, children could come up to the smartboard and select the answers themselves, or divide the class in half and you select the answers while each team battles it out to hit as many correct answers as they can within the time limit.

This is a great activity for pupils across all key stages. Current issues are usually presented in a balanced way and is easy to digest for children and teenagers. The main broadcast lasts around 6-8 minutes and usually includes some interesting, light-hearted news towards the end. Allow some time afterwards for pupils to raise any questions and to discuss whichever topics pique their interest.

Aimed at primary school children, Arcademics hosts a range of maths games and useful spelling and grammar games. Just like with Hit the Button, these games are fun to play as a whole class and offer a selection of maths and literacy focuses.

As a supply teacher, it is always handy to have a few extra activities up your sleeve just in case a lesson runs short. Having a few fun but purposeful activities which help consolidate children’s literacy or numeracy skills, or promote discussion, is a practical way to use additional time. If you ever find yourself with time to spare, here are some activities you could try with your classes.

Purposeful Time Fillers

From buzzer to tambourine, something which is going to cut through conversation and save your voice is useful. It’s worth thinking of something both portable and unusual. A bell or whistle is also used by some of our teachers.  

2. A USB with engaging and snappy activities

Useful for “filler activities” or the last 10 minutes of a lesson, a set of slides with paper-free activities can prove to be a life-saver for our teachers. Activities which could be used in different key stages and for different classes are sure to be used time and again.  

Not for the students, for you! Marking policies in schools are often colourful. Marking in red isn’t a thing of the past, but it’s not surprising for pink, turquoise, purple or green to be used instead. Having the right pen colour isn’t essential, but it does mark continuity for pupils and shows a well-prepared supply teacher.  

Lots of our schools cater wonderfully for supply teachers. Some don’t. A travel mug and your preferred hot beverage is a good idea. Going as far as milk (powdered or UHT) might seem extreme, but not all schools will have enough throughout the day.  

Kitchen timers are inexpensive, portable and lightweight. You can set them to run for a lesson, to keep an eye on your pace and for when break might be. Or, set them for an activity to help keep kids on task.

A couple of our teachers use these. They’re excellent as either a reward (consider putting your own surname on it) or in books if you’re marking. It looks fantastic to permanent staff and students when any marking by a supply teacher can be quickly identified.

Basically anything soft. A small soft object to throw around a classroom is a fantastic way to cold call and keep kids engaged. You could work into activities too, such as those that you have on your USB.  

Rewarding students is just as important in a temporary position as it is in a permanent one. Economy can guide what to use as a reward. Some of our teachers use stickers, but these cost a fair amount (if you do go for stickers, big packets of gold stars can be cheap). A stamp works well, as does simply writing student names with an unusual coloured board pen.

Not essential, and better with Primary where you’re likely to be with the same class all day. They’re a nice icebreaker in the morning and remain useful for the whole day. Big packs cost little.  

This is quite a nice touch. We’ve written about the importance of leaving a note, but if you have a calling card, it can be an awesome thing to leave with a school and certainly ups the likelihood of you being asked back.

Not sure how this would go down with Secondary, but a teacher of ours uses stories to great effect with Primary students. Having collected them over the years, this teacher prioritises stories with a moral message. These don't just make a good stopgap in class, but can be used for a whole string of activities over the course of a day.

What to take on a day of supply? There are a few things some teachers take along which we think are pretty clever. There are some essentials which you’ll need to bring. A form of identification, A DBS and other things which a school may have asked you to prepare. Below we list some of the more unusual items which some of our teachers take with them.

11 Items You Might Not Think To Bring For Supply

It’s really rare for a school or recruiter to look at just one CV.  Realistically they’re going to look at lots. We’re talking hundreds each day. Making sure that the information is concise is incredibly important. Aim for having a CV of no more than 1 page in length. If you feel you’ve got masses of strong and relevant experience, then consider 2 pages. But note, this should be the preserve of teachers with many years of experience.  A really obvious way to fit more onto a page is to adjust margins. You can also toggle font size. Having everything laid out over a page or two makes your employment history look organised and relevant, reflecting the employers' first impression of you.  

How is the information being organised?  An employer needs to be able to run their eyes down your CV and pick out the key information quickly. Think about using bullet points to number the skills or roles you developed in each job. Always make sure that your education and employment are in separate areas of your CV.  Use short sentences and avoid blocks of text - sentences should not be more than two lines.   

To write a CV which is going to get a school excited, you need to think about what a school might be looking for. You may have had lots of experience outside of education and the classroom. That’s not a problem, but think about what aspects of that job a school might be interested in. If you worked at a salon, it would be relationship and communication skills over technical ability as a stylist which would interest a school. Equally keep your relevant work experience, like working at a school, to the point. Say what skills you demonstrated, and how you demonstrated them. Don’t go on a tangent and mention “various supply roles” – list the subjects and Key Stages and then list the success you had. Remember too, relevant also means up to date. Keep that CV updated!

We’ve put together our own template. If you’d like a copy, email contact@airsupply.org.uk saying CV PLEASE and we’ll send you an attachment. We’re happy to look through any CVs you send us if you’d like some feedback.

At Airsupply, we’re lucky enough to read lots of CVs.  As schools might also catch a glimpse of your CV, we consider what you can do to make yours stand out from the crowd. 

3 Easy Tips to Boost your CV as a Supply Teacher

It requires some initial investment, but switching from paper and printing to SMS and email, can save your school huge amounts. Many schools already do this for communication with parents. Using digital for everything from staff payslips to trip forms will ensure big savings. Schools find the initial investment of turning digital is paid back surprisingly quickly. 

More and more schools are using their sports grounds, halls or classrooms as rentable spaces. It’s not easy to set up, requiring additional staffing, initial promotion and increased school wear and tear.  But when up and running, the additional income can be a welcome financial relief in the current funding climate.   

Schools might need to market either their schools or the services that they provide (like site use). Though an exasperating challenge, how schools market their “brand” is increasingly important. Switching to social media promotion and online advertising from more traditional marketing methods often increases reach and costs less.   

Schools are being encouraged to share services with neighbouring schools or within MATs. Particularly valuable for small primary schools, sharing services like finance or marketing can help reduce costs. Looking for new ways to recruit permanent and supply through “digital platforms”, also have the potential to save schools in the long run. Some schools are looking at working with volunteers and doing more to bring charities into schools.

Good for your school budget and the planet, the introduction of sustainability measures can see savings over the long run.  Expensive options include solar panels, boiler upgrades and new insulation. Other options such as motion-activated lights, percussion taps which can’t leave water running and smart metering. Options like reminding staff not to leave their projectors on overnight are even free and have been shown to save heaps in bills.  

If your school has already managed to implement any of the above strategies, or thought of something we haven’t, please let us know. We’d love to hear from you.

With schools facing another year without a funding increase, we look at some of the strategies being used to save money. "It has not been possible to fund additional pressures facing schools in 2018-19.” The news delivered by the DfE is sure to be frustrating for school leaders. Making additional savings on top of the huge job of running a school is no easy task. Here, we list some ideas used by schools we work with to try to tackle the funding challenge.

Supporting Supply In Your School

Express expectations

Have an orientation pack

Deliver the data

Give a tour

Alert staff

Kindness counts

Find better paid supply teaching jobs

If teachers strike, what will this mean for supply teachers?

Supply teacher pay

Purposeful Time Fillers

11 Items You Might Not Think To Bring For Supply

3 Easy Tips to Boost your CV as a Supply Teacher

5 Strategies to Save Your School Money

Teachers

Schools

Company