The Secret Diary of Supply

It's like a romance - the first tentative meetings with your agency, the probing questions, figuring out how well you suit each other... and there's the feelings of infidelity when you sign on with a rival. ('Have your fingers in many pies' my dad used to say) And then there's just the waiting for the phone to ring... and waiting and waiting...
Will this be the start of something beautiful or will it all end in my mum rolling her eyes again and giving me that 'another one - just like last time' look.
But I did learn a few things through the heartache: 1: you only need to make one CRB application. Making multiples just slows down an already painfully slow system and good agencies know this.
2: good agencies do not want to see every bit of paper imaginable (one even asked for wage slips signed by previous employer - what a waste of trees) and will do the photocopying for you.
3: job seekers allowance - don't go there.

 

And then the phone starts ringing...
I know you're key stage 2 but I have a great reception class for you...
I know you're in North London but this school's great and it's only 2 and half hours away...

agencies...

 

I like it Roy

 

Kindred spirit...the phone rang at 7.27 this morning,was I ready as there would be work today.Don't move far away from the phone,there will be something.....
It's now 3.30,can I move please?
Seriously,it seems to be a lottery.The only thing to do is try to use the time productively,the oven and hob are immaculate.

 

I'm not proactive. It's official. It was my second day of supply proper. Nice school the agency said, but quite a journey. So 2 tube rides and a painfully slow bus from Hammersmith later and I'm 'Sarf of the River'. And I'm late - it's like 8.30 already.
I get a gruff reception, they're not happy with my lateness. I'm thrown in the room with the usual incomprehesible worksheets and nonsense planning-off-the-internet and no one comes near or by all day. The kids were great but the staff were as welcoming as Mr Burns - I expected them to release the hounds on me at 3.30 - and they all had faces like a wet weekend in Weymouth.
Then they ring the agency with 'feedback'. They felt I was not proactive. Next time I get treated like that I'll be more proactive and write 'losers' in red felt all over the staffroom noticeboard.

hhmmmpphh.

 

I've washed the floor, I've done the ironing, I've washed up, hoovered, polished, cooked, cleaned, shopped, dusted and even started doing my flatmates laundry...
But I haven't done any teaching this week. It's my own fault. I went on holiday, got lazy, and now there are a million reasons why not to make those calls.
I might start taking in ironing full time. Better than hopping on a bus at 7.30 with no idea unto what maelstrom you are heading.

But you guys LIKE supply, don't you?

 

And there's so much dispirited whinging in this forum. You all need to believe in yourself more. Supply teachers are expected to be BETTER than full time staff just to be considered any good. You are superteachers. Before you go in to a school you need to duck into the nearest telephone box, perform a quick change, and fly through the school gates with your cale flapping.
Recently I started a day singing with reception, taught Indian history to Year 4, wrote letters with Year 2, fielded on a freezing rounders pitch with Year 6 and ended the day with painting flags with Year 3. I loved it, but did think, how many of my regularly employed colleagues could pull all that off in one day?

You are all multi skilled multi tasking superteachers. Don't let them tell you otherwise.

 

Roy... keep going! Loving the mini-blog!

(Yes, I do like supply!)

Nutty x
www.SupplyBag.co.uk

 

I too have polished, hoovered (twice yesterday!), washed pots, done washing etc..also watched the entire series of Shameless s1 yesterday whilst doing ironing (yes, there was a lot of ironing!)

Have also been going on the mini trampoline once a day-I would highly recommend it to anyone (no, I'm not a trampoline salesperson!)

I may have no money, but at least I have a clean house! Aggie and Kim eat your heart out!!

 

Thanks! It's good to know I'm not alone
(I like supply really)

 

Roy 33

You are right of course! That's why we are NOT like cover supervisors, who one idi*t poster said there wasn't a fag paper difference between them and Teachers!

 

Roy33:

I loved the idea of flying through the school gates with my cale flapping so much I've packed a cabbage and I'm ready to go!!!

 

ha ha OK, 'cape flapping' it should be...
although I've nothing against you waving leafy vegetables if you really want to.

 

Anyway...
Halloween Horror today.
'Pippa' the lady from the agency calls - how she manages to be so efficient and chippety-chipper at 7 in the morning is beyond me. She's knows I'm desperate and it turns out she's desperate too. She wants to ask a BIG favour. She wants me to go back to THAT school, the one that's miles away and they hate me.
Oh well. I am desperate, (my ironing career is not taking off) so those 2 tubes and a bus ride later and I'm back in the Mortuary Primary. Things are better this time. I'm early and there's planning for most of the day. Year 3 are a dream. I decide in the afternoon to root about in my supply bag, and under the cabbages, there's a whole lot of Halloween art. We have fun. There are bats, pumpkins, witches hats, we have a scary afternoon.
Then in comes Vincent Price the deputy head. 'We don't teach about Halloween in this school' 'We have religious parents who will object.' yada yada yada Oops I ran over their religious dogma.
And they say once bitten...

'Halloween is cool for kids and don't let them tell you otherwise' I say. Am I wrong...?

 

OH man, Ray33, they seriously don't like you in that school. You are too cool for the school! It's kinda like the time when a teacher hunted me down to declare that I had left a coffee ring on her desk. Whew! you just know that it's not gonna work out!

 

Roy, Roy, where have you been? Didn't you know that since the year PC Halloween has been a BIG BAD THING.

I help out at Brownies and we all had a letter telling us how bad it is and on no account must we do anything to do with it - so we didn't ... but it didn't matter cos hardly any of the girls turned up - they were all out trick or treating!!!!

 

Wonders what Roys HT would have made of the asian kids that came dressed up in costumes yesterday to y house trick or treating.

 

Wonders what Mortuary Primary would have made of our fund-raising Halloween Fair with all things ghastly, including kids! Green and brown and orange fairy cakes topped off with bats wings, blood-red drinks, raffle to win an electrocution game, the list goes on... oops!

Nutty x
www.SupplyBag.co.uk

 

I've got a terrible confession to make...
I'm in Year 1 on Monday morning and being a KS2/3 kind of guy, saying I'm a bit nervous is like saying Hitler was a bit naughty. 'Now Mandy's the TA, she will be with you all day.' smiles the head. Mandy smiles back. Crocodiles suddenly pop into my head. Now I'm really worried....

So, of course Mandy has a meeting during registration. Oh and Mandy has to help out in the nurse's room while I'm setting up for numeracy. ('It's an emergency' - involving hot water and tea bags, no doubt) So I'm whirling round like a dervish, slapping down unifix and plastic pennies keeping the little monkeys busy and counting.

Yes! Mandy's back and just in time - an argument in the sand tray has left the corner of the room looking like a Sahara sand storm and 3 little boys in tears. I'm there with the strong words and the dustpan and Mandy's... on her mobile, outside. Great.

Little Melissa throws a full on leg kicking tantrum in the dressing up corner and I'm dodging the flying high-heels and feather boa, and Mandy sighs 'She's never normally like that.'

Mandy tuts and huffs through a whole day of my clearly ineffectual and inexperienced teaching and is always there with a ready word of support: 'No, that's not the normal way we do it.' she says. Thanks Mandy.

So, my confession... Mandy isn't there when Shakira has a little accident so I pack her off to the nurse with a supportive escort of her peers. Shakira comes back with sweets, and a big 'I've got dry knickers on now' smile and a little plastic bag of soiled contents. ...and Mandy was in such a rush to dash out of the class before tidy-up time that she left her hand bag behind. It's a big bag and full of zipped compartments. I stuff them in nice and deep.

Well, if you're gonna take the p*ss, you've got to be ready to receive it. Am I wrong?

 

I should add they were still in the plastic bag... I'm not THAT nasty.