Cheshire has formalised what supply teachers might expect from schools and what schools might, in turn expect from supply staff. Part One sets out what Supply Staff should expect from school management and Part Two sets out the duties and pay of Supply Staff.

Employment of Supply Teachers
Protocols for Cheshire Schools

(Part One)
What Is Expected From Schools

Background
Supply teachers provide an essential service for schools. There are good reasons for having protocols in place. These include: The fact that lessons taught by supply teachers need to be of a satisfactory quality both to meet the needs of the pupils and Ofsted There is increasing competition in the supply teacher market place There is an overall teacher shortage It is important that schools ensure that supply teachers want to come back. It is not as simple as saying that supply teachers do not want to go back to schools that have challenging pupils. Many schools in challenging circumstances have very loyal supply staff who show great commitment to the school. The key is valuing the staff.

Purpose
These protocols are designed to offer clarity to schools and supply teachers, making the expectations on each party explicit.

Recommended procedures
In each school a member of the SMT should have responsibility for supply teachers.
The SMT member will ensure that:
•All the necessary: pre-employment checks (references, CRB, GTC, work permit etc. ) have been carried out. by the school, CSS or any other agency used.
•Where the teacher is to be employed by CCC (i.e. engaged direct by the school or via CSS), both the school and the teacher are clear about the nature of the contract of employment i.e. how many hours the school will be expecting the teacher to work and the basis on which pay, superannuation etc. will be calculated.
•The supply teacher is greeted on the first day of any contract.
•Has a staff-room "buddy" who can support the supply teacher and can help with break and lunch routines etc.(Note1)
•The supply teacher is briefed on :
  -The school day, including break and lunchtime arrangements;
  -His/her persona1 timetable;
  -School procedures that will directly impact upon his/her work, notably behavioural management policies, including the system for seeking support if necessary, and pertinent health and safety matters, including any pupils taking medication;
 -The expectation of the school in terms of work set (Note2) and assessment;
 -End of day arrangements - to whom to pass work, comments on work set and/or behaviour of pupils.
•That the documentation relating to the supply teacher's payment is processed quickly and in line with County guidelines. (NB: all supply teachers engaged via CSS will receive 6.5 hours pay for each complete day worked.)

Notes
1. It is not anticipated that the "buddy' would be there to provide behavioural management support.
2. Supply teachers often arrive with a portfolio of lessons. However, for reasons of continuity it is expected that the norm would be that work will be set for a class.

(Part Two)
What Is Expected of Supply Staff

Expectations
Supply teachers are expected to actively teach As far as is practicable a supply teacher should be delivering the absent teacher's lesson The supply teacher should be equipped with some basic resources and materials to enable them to teach effectively in the absence of work and/or if work set doesnít fill time available. The supply teacher should have access to school resources enabling her/him to deliver the lesson.

Hours
A days supply should be paid at the rate of 1/195 of the annual salary. This is equivalent to 6.5 hours pay. Therefore schools can reasonably expect a supply teacher to work 6.5 hours for a full day. In the case of a one day cover, part of this time (around 40 minutes) is dedicated to PPA time and should be used to mark work completed in the lessons taught by the supply teacher. Marking can be carried out by pupils as part of a plenary activity, but the supply teacher will, as a minimum, initial work to show it has been checked. Marking must be sufficient to ensure that the absent teacher has no additional workload on her/his return. The minimum recommendation for a half days supply is 3.5 hours for a morning session and 3 hours for an afternoon. Supply teachers should check the nature of their contract with the school before starting work. Where a school pays less that the 6.5 hours for the day, they can expect that the supply teacher will not take on responsibility for marking or any other of the duties described below.

Extended supply work
Where a supply teacher is working for an extended period there will be a transition towards the supply teacher taking on planning as well as assessment. In these circumstances, the supply teacher will be given PPA time equivalent to the norm is the school. Where a supply teacher is taking on a contract for a 'reasonable' period (three weeks plus) (s)he can be expected to make a broader contribution, e.g. to attend departmental and other team meetings; to contribute towards any internal monitoring of pupil progress and possibly to attend parents' evenings. These duties must be capable of being carried out within the 6.5 hour envelope.

Dress code
Supply teachers will be aware of the expected dress code of schools. In primary schools in particular, it would be expected that supply teachers would take clothes and footwear suitable for the full range of activities likely with that age range.

Any thoughts on these ideas would be welcomed - email them to Stuart Hart The protocols are still in the stage of being discussed, the first draft has not been written. It is hoped that they might be ready by the middle of January.