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Question
1 - What are your
views on whether there is a prevalence in the use of supply
teachers on a planned and unplanned basis?
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I have been
working as a daily Supply teacher since November 2013. I have
only failed to be offered work on 11 days since then.
I am an
experienced teacher and I qualified in 1989. During the time
I’ve been doing daily cover, I’ve only been left a note
and work of a standard that I would have left twice.
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If you believe that this results in problems
(for example, for schools, pupils or teachers), how do you think
they could be resolved?
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Pupils suffer a lack of continuity. It
baffles me that schools that are in ESTYN monitoring have their
teachers away on training courses so often. The pupils suffer
from the absence of their regular teacher.
Class teachers suffer because pupils generally
act up for Supply teacher so the class teachers end up
“firefighting” when they return the following
day.
Schools suffer from the lack of continuity
because no matter how effective the Supply teacher is, their
marking will never match the school’s policies
perfectly.
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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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§
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2 – This is a problem that
needs to be addressed.
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§
x
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§
3 – This is a minor
problem
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§
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4 – Not a problem.
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§
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Question 2
- What are your
views on the circumstances in which supply teachers are used for
example, the types of classes they cover; the types of learning
activities which take place under the supervision of supply
teachers; whether they are qualified to teach relevant
subjects?
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I’m a
Primary teacher and am qualified to teach all subjects from Nursery
to Y6. I’ve been asked to cover all ages, although many
schools complain about being sent Secondary trained teachers who
have little idea of what to do in a Primary classroom.
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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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Stop using agencies. Local Authorities should
employ pools of Supply teachers whom they have interviewed and
observed teaching.
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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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§
x
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2 – This is a problem that
needs to be addressed.
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§
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3 – This is a minor
problem
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§
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4 – Not a problem.
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§
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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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No Supply teacher
can mark pupil books to perfectly match school policy. No two
school mark attendance and luncheon registers the same way. How is
lunch or tuck money collected? For pupils, their routine is
always disrupted.
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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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L.A.s should employ pools of cover teacher whom
they have interviewed and then provide CPD for. The L.A.
Personnel Depts can deal with the employment legislation, police
checks and so on. When schools then pay for Supply cover, the
money is effectively kept “in-house”.
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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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§
x
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2 – This is a problem that
needs to be addressed.
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§
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§
3 – This is a minor
problem
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§
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4 – Not a problem.
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§
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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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CPD does not
exist, unless a Supply teacher is a member of a professional
association which offers training on weekends.
What is the
National Professional Learning Model?
What role does the
GTCW have in this? None.
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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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As
above, L.A.s to employ Supply teachers and deal with their training
and CPD needs.
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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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§
x
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2 – This is a problem that
needs to be addressed.
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§
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§
3 – This is a minor
problem
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§
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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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This does not
exist. As self-employed teachers, where the agencies act as
introductory agents, we have no managers to run CPD.
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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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As above. L.A.s to employ Supply teachers
directly.
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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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§
x
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2 – This is a problem that
needs to be addressed.
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§
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§
3 – This is a minor
problem
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§
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4 – Not a problem.
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§
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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.
I’ve been observed because I was teaching long-term in
a school in ESTYN monitoring. Otherwise, there is no
oversight at all.
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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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L.A.s to employ Supply teachers and their
“School Effectiveness” staff can be used to observe
their teaching and match Supply teacher to schools’ needs,
when schools can’t cover absences, for example when dealing
with the delay between a new member of staff being appointed and
then being able to take up their post.
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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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§
X
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2 – This is a problem that
needs to be addressed.
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§
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3 – This is a minor
problem
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§
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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’ve taught
in Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Monmouthsire, Newport and
Rhondda Cynon Taf. The differences depend on how much money
the school has to spend. That’s why agencies give rugby
tickets and other freebies to headteachers to encourage them to use
their agency.
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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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As above, stop using agencies.
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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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§
x
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2 – This is a problem that
needs to be addressed.
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§
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3 – This is a minor
problem
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§
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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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There are
none.
My
“interview” was a joke.
Supply agency
staff are professional liars. They tell the person on the
other end of the telephone whatever they think that person wants to
hear and will promise them the Earth. I have been told by my
agency to lie to a school about my future availability. For
an agency, the bottom line is money. When I have said (only
twice) that I was not available, they say “I’ll say if
I can pay you a bit more”. Given the school is charged
£150 a day for me, and I take home £62.85 after costs,
this is a joke.
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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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As above, L.A.s to employ Supply teachers
directly.
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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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X
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2 – This is a problem that
needs to be addressed.
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§
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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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I’m in a
Welsh medium school currently and the Head is negotiating to
“pay off” the agency and employ me directly. The
Head, and an Athrawes Bro tell me that they can’t get
adequately good Welsh-speaking staff. I’m not really in
a position to comment.
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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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As above. Employ Supply teachers in pools with
L.A.s.
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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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§
x
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2 – This is a problem that
needs to be addressed.
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§
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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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Take profit-making agencies out of the
equation.
Local Authorities should recruit, employ and
train their own pools of Supply teacher with their Personnel depts.
and School Effectiveness staff having oversight roles.
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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?
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None.
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