I have had a lovely, but strange week at a little village school, which has to remain nameless for what I am about to say in case I ever wish to do supply there again! I was covering a class teacher in a mixed Reception / year 1 class for 3.5 days (their usual PPA cover teacher had done the first 1.5 days) and as soon as I got there, I almost choked on the atmosphere.
The staff were all lovely to me on arrival. Having spoken to a few members of staff, including the Deputy Head, I came to the conclusion that there was no point in continuing to look for planning as there simply wasn't any! (my worst nightmare as a supply teacher!) As an NQT I am not particularly good at ad-libbing, but the deputy said, "do whatever it takes to get through the afternoon," so, assuming she did not mean 'leave the class on their own and head off down the pub' I let them do choosing activities, which, in English, means they played all afternoon.
That was not the last surprise of the week. It became clear during Tuesday afternoon, that most of the existing staff were looking for jobs as they did not get along with the headteacher. The teacher I was covering had handed in her resignation and was 'working' (with the help of a long term sicknote) her notice. It also became evident that no one had told the children their teacher was unlikely to come back and that most parents did not know either, although most sensed that all was not well and decided I might be the one to answer their barrage of questions. I had to stick to the "I know nothing. I am just the supply teacher" approach.
I have not been told they want me next week, and the agency have not arranged to send anyone else, so I am assuming they have made the decision to unsettle those poor children even further and that they will have yet another teacher next week.
Are they really living up to their "Aim to meet the individual needs of the children, in a caring environment"? (Quoted from their own website!)
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