Short-term contracts and casual work. What does it do to your motivation and emotional health? Is it worth it?

Teachers who want to leave the profession sometimes tell me that they would like to try supply teaching, but they fear doing so will put them off even more. They wonder if the experience of working as a casual, wondering where their next contract is coming from, having to declare themselves as self-employed (and therefore pay twice as much tax) and constantly chasing regular paycheques will make them feel worse about paid employment in general – or at least paid school work?

Well, that’s actually a very negative way to look at it because it’s not often the case. It all depends on how supply teaching Bedford is set up and managed on a day to day basis. In the UK, we’re blessed to have plenty of agencies able to ensure there is a regular supply of work.

What are the benefits of supply teaching?

In a nutshell, supply teaching gives you the opportunity to work part-time in temporary roles with full support and supervision from an agency. Because of this, you can focus on one school until a regular post comes up although agencies never leave teachers without a job for long.

You also get to enjoy a better work-life balance. Supply teaching is very flexible too, so you can work whenever you like. You are technically your own boss! Therefore, you have no set hours, so there is more freedom to plan your own time. What’s more, it gives you the opportunity to really focus on your classroom practice as well as working with different colleagues and senior teachers every day.

Similarly, supply teaching can be very rewarding as you get to see the effect of your work immediately and know that you have had a positive impact. You also get to really engage with children and watch them learn – it’s a great feeling! Although supply can be hard to break into, it is well worth the initial effort as the benefits are huge. Once you establish yourself as a reliable supply teacher, schools will become loyal to you and offer solid contracts. Your agency may even prefer you over regular members of staff because there is no risk of sickness or holiday cover! Overall, if you want more freedom from your profession then supply teaching could be for you!