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Supply Or Full-Time…Which Suits You?

Over her six years of teaching, Laura Alice a.k.a ‘The Touring Teacher’ has worked in both supply and full-time teaching roles in London schools (read more about her here). Both options come with pros and cons and your ideal role may just come down to finding the right match of school.

If you are planning on teaching in London, are currently doing day-to-day supply, are considering a full-time opportunity or just feel uncertain about which path to take…never fear!  Many teachers in London have had to make the same decision! Laura shares her thoughts to help clarify which could work for you!

In the meantime,  if you feel like looking at some teaching jobs with Vibe  check them out here!

London Teacher Laura Alice from Vibe and The Touring Teacher

Supply Teaching

Before I moved to London, I was adamant that I would only do supply. However, I came to find that while there were many benefits, there were also frustrations.

No staff meetings

This was a biggie! At the end of the day, when all the full-time teachers were walking to the staff room, hastily grabbing a coffee for a zap of energy, I was able to walk out the front door and head home (once my marking was done of course).

Leave everything at work

On supply, you may not be returning to the same class the next day. This means that before you leave at the end of the day, all you need is to have your affairs wrapped up. Once you’ve made sure the classroom is in order, there aren’t any surprises left behind and have written a note to explain what happened during the day, you’re all done!

Normally, you would have some extra planning to get done, or need to get something ready for the next day. But in this case, you may leave all that behind and get on with your afternoon. Winning!

Schools jobs are rewarding with Vibe Teaching in London

Work in different schools

I was able to see many different schools in London.  Each had their own charm and way of doing things.  Being able to experience this allowed me to find what worked for me and what didn’t. I saw many different behaviour systems and found which ones the students responded to and that I enjoyed working in. London has children from such diverse backgrounds.  Through supply teaching I was able to learn more about them and what each had to offer.

It was also super interesting to find out the history behind some of the schools. I taught in one school that opened originally in 1709.  The current building has shelters that were used in WW2! Coming from NZ, I absolutely loved learning about the history.

 The ‘M’ word

Marking will always be a part of teaching, no matter what position you take. With supply teaching, I found that I would get a large amount of marking to do, and less time to do it. Sometimes I would take a few different classes in the day, meaning that I had a city of book piles to mark in the afternoon.

But, as long as I followed the marking schedule of the different schools, I was able to get the books marked. Even if I did sometimes get hand cramp…

The Touring Teacher Laura from Vibe on a break from Teaching In London

Lack of ownership & routine

I am a teacher who loves to set up routines in the classroom and have jobs for the students. This is tricky when you are doing supply. I definitely wouldn’t recommend heading into a class and trying to change all the systems that a teacher already has in place for a single day.

It’s important to learn and prepare for how the class operates, and then use your own methods as well, if they fit with the existing system. As I was not able to set up my own routines, this made managing the behaviour difficult at times.  It wasn’t impossible, just more difficult than with your own class.

Missing teacher pals

For some supply teachers this isn’t an issue, but I did miss my teacher friends. For me it was important to have people around me to have your back, to share planning with and chat over a coffee.

While I was going to different schools, the teaching staff were friendly, and supportive, but for me it didn’t compare to having a solid staff group that you work with day-in-day-out, or a community to touch base with at the end of a day.

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Full-Time Teaching

After a month of doing supply, I had an idea of what suited me as a teacher in London.  I found a wonderful school, landed a full-time teaching job and ended up staying for two years. The perks of full-time certainly helped me enjoy my experience travelling & teaching in London.

Teach your own class

Having a class of my own again felt fantastic! This was because I was able to; set up the room in the way that worked for myself and the kids, establish rules and routines, and had a place to keep all my things. It felt like moving in to a new home.

Of course, like with any class, it took time to set up the routines and to establish relationships with the students but once I got there, the classroom ran smoothly (for the most part). What I loved the most was having a group of students that I saw every weekday, who I got to know, learnt their quirks and watched them grow and achieve.

Vibe Teaching helps you find the right PE jobs in London

Find consistency

As much as I enjoyed seeing different schools, it felt great to be going to the same place each day. Mindlessly walking to the same station and catching the same train to work was easier than planning a new route each day. I could walk through the doors, say hello to everyone and chat about our weekends or make plans to catch up for drinks, while knowing exactly how I had left my classroom.  Building on where we had left off the day before, knowing where the students were and what we needed to go over again made me feel at home.

Going to the same school and same room, with the same students each day was like the opening theme song to ‘Cheers’… “where everybody knows your name…”

Lauren from Vibe Teaching at her north London School

Full-time means better pay

Supply seems great for flexibility but generally during the first few weeks of the school year there isn’t great need for supply teachers.  The last weeks of term can be the same.  While it’s great to be able to have the occasional day off, I found that not being able to budget easily made it difficult for me to plan and save for travel.

Coming from New Zealand I also came to realise that in London you usually get paid more for full-time roles than for day-to-day supply, which most teachers hold as a huge factor in taking a full-time role.Beth from Vibe Teaching in Amsterdam

Opportunities & career progression

When you have your own classroom, you have more opportunities to do different things. You can go on class trips, take assemblies or have more creativity with the lessons. I enjoy performing arts and as a full-time teacher I was able to write and direct the plays and productions that we did as a school. I love teaching dance and drama and I was getting paid to do it! The chances to work on tasks that you have ownership of and really enjoy are more likely to happen when you are in a full-time teaching job.

In a full-time role you also have the opportunity to take on leadership responsibilities.  It’s great to build your CV and get a great reference from a headteacher.Vibe Teaching Agencies Jack playing a game of archery with the family in London UK

Responsibility

With great power, comes great responsibility. Any teacher has great responsibility, but even more so when you teach full-time. You head back to those staff meetings, you talk at parents’ evenings, you have paperwork to complete and you take on many different tasks throughout your day.

It is a lot of work and as with any job it can drain you at times.  In saying this, it is all worth it to see the difference you can make in a student’s life!

Teacher work in London is easy to find with Vibe Teaching Agency

Full-time or supply? You decide!

In trying both supply and full-time teaching I’ve had good and tricky experiences. These experiences have helped me grow as a teacher and prepared me for the next steps in my career. Each teacher has their own preferences and holds different things in priority. Whichever path you do take, make sure you find an agency who will find you a good match of school, a role that will help you progress your career as you need it to and a supportive community of teacher pals to help you along the way.

Laura works to Inspire Better Education with lesson videos and resources as ‘The Touring Teacher’.  See her website here.

Feeling ready to teach in London? Check out what you need to prepare here!

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