How to survive as a supply teacher

Many people say supply teaching is the ideal job. You get to teach a range of subjects, at a range of different schools and meet so many different people in the process!

The job does have its downsides though. The limited lesson prep time and array of classroom dynamics can take some getting used to.

What can we do to survive the job?

Have a selection of really good resources

Sites like Teachit offer a wide range of resources that are shared by other teachers. You could have a set of go to exercises for when the mood needs lightening a bit or have some great videos to watch when things are getting tense.

Download a wide selection of things and put it all on a memory stick so that you always have them on you. You never know which resources you may decide to use.

Let the students go to the toilet

Ignoring / rejecting the basic needs of your students is a big no no, especially if you deny them their right to go to the bathroom. This will not put you in the students’ good books and the likeliness of them enjoying the lesson or wanting to behave themselves is drastically reduced.

Know names

I’m not speaking about students here that would be way too tricky especially in the small window of time you have with them. What you’ll find really useful, is learning the names of some of the ‘scary’ teachers that the kids are generally scared of. At the mention of their name all your students should perk up and be willing to listen.