Supply Teacher

The NASUWT works at school, local and national level to ensure that the interests of members working as supply teachers are represented effectively and that their particular needs and concerns are reflected in the development of its policy its advice and guidance.

Know Your Rights: Supply Teachers (PDF 137KB)

News

Conference 2011 wants greater protection for supply teachers

Conference acknowledges that many supply teacher members are reporting a decrease in the amount of work available.

Conference deplores the passing of the provision of supply cover to agencies whose rates of pay are below national salary levels and which make no pension provision for supply teachers.

Conference urges the National Executive to investigate the situation and campaign for better treatment for supply teachers.

Conference calls upon the National Executive to enter into discussions with the governments, local authorities and other teacher trade unions to find a better way of providing cover in schools.

While all teachers working in schools, colleges and settings across the United Kingdom face many similar issues and concerns, the NASUWT understands that supply teachers face particular challenges as a result of the variable and often unacceptable employment practices of private sector agencies and the lack of access to career development and progression opportunities associated with some forms of supply work.

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Tackling the workload of supply teachers and ensuring that their professional interests are protected and enhanced are key priorities for the NASUWT.

 In England and Wales, the contractual changes introduced by the National Agreement, Raising Standards and Tackling Workload, and the workforce remodelling agenda are creating the opportunities to transform approaches to the organisation and deployment of the workforce that are enhancing all teachers’ working conditions and ensuring that teachers can concentrate on their core responsibilities for teaching and learning. 

While these reforms have led to changing patterns of employment and deployment for supply teachers, the need to ensure that the valuable work they undertake is fully recognised and that they gain access to the same benefits of reform as their non-supply teacher colleagues are central to the Union’s work in this area.

The concerns of supply teachers in Scotland and Northern Ireland are equally as important and the NASUWT’s activities, while reflecting the particular circumstances and context of the education systems in each nation, are also based on an understanding of the urgent need to drive down supply teacher workload and to enhance their professional status and standing.

Links to the NASUWT’s most recent policy and guidance materials of particular interest to supply teachers can be found on this page. These materials highlight the Union’s position as the leading trade union for supply teachers as they all reflect and address the direct experiences and concerns of its members. It is only through the active participation of members that the Union’s vital work on behalf of supply teachers can be sustained. By taking advantage of the many opportunities to get involved in the work of the NASUWT, supply teacher members will ensure that their Union can continue to protect and advance their interests and those of their colleagues.