September is one of the busiest times of year for schools and supply agencies, which means being ready can make a real difference to how quickly you pick up work, how confidently you start the new school year and reduce the stress you face.
With 78% of school teachers reporting that they experience stress at work, according to Education Support’s 2024 Teacher Wellbeing Index, anything that helps reduce unnecessary pressure can be valuable to teachers.
For supply teachers, walking into an unfamiliar classroom without the right paperwork, resources or preparation can add to that pressure. Being organised in September can give you one less thing to worry about. Here are five things supply teachers can do to start the new school year on the front foot.
1. Get your compliance sorted early
Don’t leave your paperwork until the last minute. Make sure your DBS is on the Update Service, you have two cleared references, and your right-to-work checks are complete. The first wave of the school year bookings often goes to teachers whose compliance packs are already complete, so getting everything signed off early means you can be ready when the calls start coming in.
2. Compare agencies before you sign up
It can be tempting to register quickly with the first agency that contacts you, but take a moment to compare what you’re being offered. Ask for the Key Information Document (KID) before agreeing to anything. It should set out important information including your pay rate, who employs you and what deductions may be made.
You can compare agencies side by side for free on TeachR!
3. Understand PAYE versus umbrella
A headline day rate doesn’t necessarily tell you what you’ll actually take home. If you’re paid through an umbrella company, for example, employer National Insurance and other costs or fees may affect the amount you receive. Ask agencies to explain exactly how the advertised rate translates into your expected take-home pay, and check the deductions shown in your KID.
4. Register with a handful of agencies — then keep track
There’s no need to put all your eggs in one basket. Registering with several reputable agencies can give you access to a wider range of schools and bookings. But keep your own records. Know which agencies have your CV, where they have put you forward and which schools you’ve worked in.
However, it can become quite tricky to keep track of the agencies you've signed up with - so let us do the hard work for you! On TeachR, you can track all of the agencies you signup for and the roles you apply in the same place, for free!
It’s also worth keeping track of your Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) qualifying weeks from week one. Good record-keeping makes it much easier to understand where you stand as an assignment progresses.
5. Have a supply-teacher go-bag ready
Finally, prepare for the reality of walking into a classroom you’ve never seen before. Keep a go-bag packed with cover-lesson resources, a behaviour-management plan you trust and a few emergency activities that can work with different ages and abilities.
September can be unpredictable. Having your paperwork, agency arrangements and classroom resources ready means you can spend less time scrambling and more time focusing on the pupils in front of you.
TeachR can do the heavy lifting on these for you. Click here to learn more about what we do here.