What Teachers Look For in a Relief Teacher.

(Last Updated On: September 13, 2023)

How relief teachers can impress the classroom teachers they cover for:

I trained to teach high school but did plenty of work as a relief teacher in Primary schools. There were quite a few things that were different teaching the younger students, but one thing that I wasn’t prepared for was that in many primary schools, the classroom teacher is the one that organises their lesson cover.

I don’t know if this is the standard anywhere else, but it’s unheard of for high schools in my town. There is usually someone whose role is to organise the reliefs for the day or give out reliefs to other teachers who have free lessons. Getting calls from individual teachers while they are sick in bed was something that I wasn’t prepared for.

Female substitute teacher helping a teenage student, who really appreciates the help.
As a relief teacher, you can really be a lifesaver for a teacher in need.

Most of the advice that I give is around demonstrating your skills to school leadership and the daily organisers who will be booking you for lesson cover. However, in many situations, it will be the classroom teacher making these decisions and so impressing them can help you get more work in the future. Regardless of whether this is the case for the schools that you relief teach at or not, making sure that you’re in the classroom teachers’ good books can come in handy, so here are a few things that they will appreciate:

1. Quickly reply to a request for cover.

There’s nothing worse than being in bed, too sick to move, and needing to find a teacher to cover your class for the day. Many teachers are on relief teacher groups on Facebook or some other social media platform deliberately to make this easier for them. They just need to make a post asking for a relief teacher, and there will be plenty of people in the local area who will be happy to help out. However, if you’ve covered for a particular teacher before and did a good job, the teacher may prefer to call or text you individually instead.

Now, if the teacher has put out a call on social media, but especially if they’ve contacted you directly, answer as quickly as possible. Even if the answer is a no, let them know ASAP so that they can find something else. I know that I prioritise those relief teachers who I know will reply quickly because the chances are, I need someone in a hurry. Even if you can’t cover the class, I’ll ask you first so I know sooner if I need to keep looking.

If you answer quickly, you will become the first person people ask when they’re in a tight spot. But even if you can’t get to your phone immediately, definitely tell them that you can’t make it! The only thing worse than rushing to find a relief teacher first thing in the morning is waiting to hear back from them.

2. Leave comprehensive notes.

Write down precisely what happened during the day so that when the teacher comes back, they know exactly what’s been happening. You don’t need to write pages and pages of notes, but write enough that the teacher knows where to go next and if they need to adjust anything for the next time they set cover for the class.

Make sure that your notes are honest. If you had trouble controlling the class, or weren’t sure what to do for this activity, or tried this thing written in the notes but it didn’t work, let the teacher know. Whether you tell them or not, they will hear roughly how your day went from their class and the other teachers. You don’t want to write a note saying that everything was fine and then hear from their students that the relief teacher had no idea what they were doing. The teacher will appreciate your honesty, and if you include what you did try, if things went wrong, they will see the effort you put into looking after their students.

3. Follow instructions.

Another rude shock that I got when I taught an elementary-aged class for the first time as a relief teacher was that no notes or instructions were left. Leaving notes is required in many high schools, and I know that as a high school teacher now that I can’t afford for my seniors to be even a lesson behind if I’m away sick. I remember getting into the classroom and finding a handwritten note on the table that had a seating plan, a couple of notes about individual students to keep an eye on, before simply ‘English in the morning, Maths before lunch, but other than that do whatever you want!’.

Substitute teacher helping an older female student. Both are smiling.
Being told that you can do whatever you want with a class can be scary, but it is a great opportunity!

Again, as a high school teacher, I would expect a relief teacher to follow my notes as closely as possible. I know that I teach specialist subjects, and I’m unlikely to get another teacher who specialises in my subjects as a relief teacher. I deliberately write these notes with this in mind, and honestly, often, it’s as simple as: ‘give them this resource. They will know what to do. Tell them to email me if they have questions’.

I’ve had relief teachers cover my lessons who did not follow these instructions. One didn’t feel comfortable going through the given slides with my class because they weren’t confident in the content. I didn’t expect them to, and I would guess that they didn’t even look at the slides because I’d deliberately put the answers to all of the questions on the very next slide for them to go through together. I wasn’t impressed.

If you get a note that says you have free reign, use this as an opportunity. As a relief teacher, you don’t always get a chance to demonstrate your curriculum or planning skills, so use it while you have it. Test out something new, or have some ideas already in your back pocket. If you’re in a pinch, I’ve found Teachers Pay Teachers an invaluable resource to grab a quick lesson plan or task at the last minute.

4. Behaviour management.

This one is pretty much a given. It is well-known that behaviour management is the hardest part of being a relief teacher. The students can be real rat-bags to a teacher they don’t know and who doesn’t know them or their class routines. Their regular classroom teacher knows exactly what they’re like, and will likely know if you’re in for a rough day.

The big thing with this one is to be completely honest. If you struggle, let someone know and ask for help. If you’ve struggled to control the class, it will not be a secret, so you should let people know and get some help. In your notes for the day, detail the strategies that you tried and name particular students who gave your grief. Giving this much detail to a teacher will help describe what happened during the day.

You never know, the classroom teacher may have exactly the same problem with exactly the same student, and the strategy that you tried would be their best guess as well. Even if you feel like a bit of a failure at the end of the day, making sure that you’re honest means that you are making sure that you can be trusted and demonstrates your skills as a teacher. Again, don’t doubt that being a relief teacher isn’t tough, and most teachers have been in your shoes at some point in their careers. Being honest means that you can work with the classroom teacher, and this professional relationship will undoubtedly help you.

Elise is an enthusiastic and passionate Australian teacher who is on a mission to inspire and support fellow educators. With over a decade of experience in the classroom, Elise leverages her expertise and creativity to provide valuable insights and resources through her blog. Whether you're looking for innovative lesson ideas, effective teaching strategies, or just a dose of inspiration, Elise has got you covered.

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