National
Assembly for Wales
Children, Young People and Education Committee
ST 09
Inquiry into
Supply Teaching
Evidence from :
Supply Teacher
Consultation questions
Question 3 - What are your views on the impact of the use of supply teachers on the outcomes for pupils (including any impact on pupil behaviour)? |
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Because behaviour is so poor for supply teachers, pupils’ learning is going to be affected. The worst affected are those pupils who want to learn and do their work, and who ask for help, but the teacher is so busy dealing with the bad behaviour that they can’t give the others the help they want. But the main reason that pupils’ learning will be affected is because the work set is so often poor, so no useful learning can take place.
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If you believe there are problems in this area, how do you think they could be resolved? |
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It would be easier for teachers to set good work if they had good quality text books. |
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How significant is this issue? (Please select one option) |
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1 – This is a key, urgent problem. |
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2 – This is a problem that needs to be addressed. |
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§ 3 – This is a minor problem |
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4 – Not a problem. |
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Question 4 - What are your views on the Continuous Professional Development of supply teachers and the potential impact of the National Professional Learning Model? |
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Supply teachers can’t afford to attend CPD courses, as they cannot afford the cost of the course, and they can’t afford to take a day off work. However supply teachers learn a great deal simply by visiting so many different schools / departments and pick up a lot of good ideas and strategies. This is something that full-time staff in schools could benefit from if they had time to talk to supply teachers.
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If you believe there are problems in this area, how do you think they could be resolved? |
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How significant is this issue? (Please select one option) |
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1 – This is a key, urgent problem. |
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2 – This is a problem that needs to be addressed. |
§ yes |
§ 3 – This is a minor problem |
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4 – Not a problem. |
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Question 5 - What are your views on performance management arrangements for supply teachers? |
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Well, there aren’t any, are there?!
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If you think there are problems in this area, how do you think they could be resolved? |
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How significant is this issue? (Please select one option) |
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1 – This is a key, urgent problem. |
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2 – This is a problem that needs to be addressed. |
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§ 3 – This is a minor problem |
§ yes |
4 – Not a problem. |
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Question 6 - Do you consider that local authorities and regional consortia have sufficient oversight of the use of supply teachers? |
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No
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If you believe there are problems in this area, how do you think they could be resolved? |
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How significant is this issue? (Please select one option) |
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1 – This is a key, urgent problem. |
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2 – This is a problem that needs to be addressed. |
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§ 3 – This is a minor problem |
§ yes |
4 – Not a problem. |
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Question 7 - Are you aware of any local and regional variation in the use of supply teachers and if so, are there any reasons for this? |
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I have no knowledge of supply teaching outside my own area, although I have heard anecdotal evidence that suggests there is more supply work in some areas than others.
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If you believe there are problems in this area, how do you think they could be resolved? |
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How significant is this issue? (Please select one option) |
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1 – This is a key, urgent problem. |
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2 – This is a problem that needs to be addressed. |
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§ 3 – This is a minor problem |
§ yes |
4 – Not a problem. |
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Question 8 - Do you have any views on supply agencies and their quality assurance arrangements? |
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‘Quality assurance’ is a meaningless phrase and doesn’t mean a supply agency is any good. We have to work through supply agencies because little or no work is available through the local authority. While supply agencies are bad in many ways they are providing what the schools ask for. If the schools are only prepared to pay for ‘cover supervisors’ then the agencies will ask qualified teachers to work all day for as little as £55 a day, and if we won’t do it we might not be offered any other work. If schools are asking for supply staff to go in for one or two lessons rather than paying for a half days work, that is what the agencies will ask us to do. Agencies are a bad thing in that they obviously take a big cut from what they charge the school, meaning supply staff get paid very badly. They also use umbrella companies to process pay, meaning staff have to pay a fee just to get paid. There is also no holiday pay, sick pay or pension contribution for supply teachers. However, to be fair, agencies are convenient for schools and supply teachers to use, getting the staff for schools and the work for the supply teacher.
One problem is that because pay is so low, many experienced supply teachers turn down longer term work because the extra work involved in planning and marking is not recompensed. So pupils whose teacher is off for a long time may not get an experienced teacher to teach them for a long period of time. (Agency workers regulations are supposed to mean that after 12 weeks supply staff get the same pay as full-time staff but agencies and schools have ways of wriggling out of this.)
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If you believe there are problems in this area, how do you think they could be resolved? |
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How significant is this issue? (Please select one option) |
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1 – This is a key, urgent problem. |
§ yes |
2 – This is a problem that needs to be addressed. |
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§ 3 – This is a minor problem |
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4 – Not a problem. |
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Question 9 - Are you aware of any specific issues relating to Welsh medium education? If so, what are they? |
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If you believe there are problems in this area, how do you think they could be resolved? |
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How significant is this issue? (Please select one option) |
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§ |
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2 – This is a problem that needs to be addressed. |
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§ 3 – This is a minor problem |
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4 – Not a problem. |
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Question 10 - If you had to make one recommendation to the Welsh Government from all the points you have made, what would that recommendation be? |
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Question 11 - Do you have any other comments or issues you wish to raise that have not been covered by the specific questions? |
A classes’ poor performance or behaviour might be blamed on ‘oh they had a supply teacher all term’ rather than looking at the school’s behaviour management or a weak Head of Department. In a BBC Wales news item recently, supply teachers were blamed for costing schools thousands of pounds and affecting pupils’ education. No mention was made of the fact that up to half the money paid by schools for supply staff goes to the agencies, not the teachers. And if schools have a lot of staff absence then they should be looking at supporting their own staff better. Pupils who want to learn can be taught just as well by a supply teacher as their regular teacher – sometimes better! |