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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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Supply teachers
are used on a day to day basis to cover unplanned absences by staff
due to illness or emergency. If an absence is deemed as being
longer than 3 days then a supply teacher of quality would be used
to cover the absence of a member of staff. This would be on a
planned basis.
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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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This can present the following
problems:
Peak periods of staff illness can be planned for
but on occasions where there is an unforeseen spike supply agencies
will not have sufficient staff.
It is difficult to get quality supply teachers
in some shortage areas such as Science and Maths. This can
lead to classroom management issues and also prevent pupils
progressing in their learning at the appropriate pace.
Isolated community schools in rural or
semi-rural areas find it difficult to get supply staff who are
prepared to travel as travel costs reduce their net income which is
marginalised by the agency cut.
These problems could be reduced by encouraging
more staff from shortage subject areas into teaching.
Providing a coherent approach to training and
CPD for supply teachers to ensure they have effective classroom
management strategies. Provide a quality assurance system to
ensure that standards within the supply agency industry are
consistent.
Providing subsidies transport for supply
teachers to travel to isolated locations.
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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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Supply teachers
are used to teach planned lessons in most instances. They are used
to cover all ages and abilities across KS3-4. In
circumstances where the school is aware that there are difficult
characters in a class ‘in – house cover ‘ will be
used rather than external supply agency cover. Specialist
practical subjects will only take place if an appropriately
qualified supply teacher is available.
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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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Supply teachers undertake basic training in
practical subjects such as PE.
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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 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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I feel that in the
best situations pupil progress is commensurate with age and ability
however in most circumstances pupils progress at a slower rate.
Pupils behaviour is adversely affected by supply teachers if
the supply teacher does not have good classroom management skills
or does not adhere to the schools policies.
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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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This can be resolved by ensuring that supply
teachers have good classroom management strategies.
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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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Long term supply
teachers access school CPD and this enables them to develop their
skills.
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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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Agency staff should be required to undertake
Performance management and the relevant CPD.
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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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Question 5
- What are your
views on performance management arrangements for supply
teachers?
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Long term supply
teachers follow the same pathway as all teachers.
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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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§
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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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§
x
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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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The LA used to
have a pool of supply teachers that were employed directly this
helped in terms of quality assurance. This has been removed
and therefore the system is now very ‘hit or miss’ in
terms of the quality of the staff provided.
Consortia and
LA’s should have a role in the process.
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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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Consortia could quality assure in this area to
and provide CPD to the agencies to ensure that supply teachers have
access to the same support and challenge.
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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 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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As we require a
number of Welsh speaking supply teachers we as a school find it
difficult to source these as we are in a predominantly English
speaking area.
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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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§
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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We find a great
deal of variation in the quality of supply teachers from
agencies. This would indicate that there process of signing
on is not rigorous and that this area needs significant
improvement. In some instances agencies suggest staff that
are not qualifies for the appropriate sector and it is when checks
are made that this comes to light. Due to their business
interests many agencies are pushy and constantly harass Senior
Staff ion a daily basis or via email for business.
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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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There needs to be a gate keeping of the sector
to ensure quality and prevent harassment.
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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 9
- Are you aware of
any specific issues relating to Welsh medium education? If so, what
are they?
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It is incredibly
difficult to find Welsh Medium teachers in the local
area.
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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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§
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
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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There needs to be gate keeping within the
industry and quality assurance as the standard of supply teachers
varies greatly.
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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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