Educators / Jobseekers
A Brief Guide To 'Supply'
A brief guide to ‘Supply’ – what is it to be a member of Supply Staff?
To work ‘on supply’ means to work on a temporary basis, with the work being found and offered by a ‘supply agency’, which in simple terms refers to an organisation whose job it is to find, well, jobs! It is equally our responsibility to find the people to fill the roles that schools request us to help them with.
The preference of Merit Education is to first of all find the educator / job seeker, which allows us to then not only assess the job seeker on behalf of our schools, but most importantly to find out what it is that the job seeker needs from a role, and not the other way around. This approach allows us to make much more accurate placements, benefitting both the job seeker, and the employer. Round pegs, round holes.
As mentioned above, the nature of the assignments that you will be offered is that they are temporary. This means that the assignments provided to you will have an ‘end date’ of usually up to a year from the assignment start date, but often less, as little as one single day. You will have the opportunity to state clearly to your employment consultant at Merit Education what length of assignment will best suit you, and with that in mind, we will find it on your behalf.
Our job finding service is of course much more specific to your needs than just knowing how long you would like to be in work for. By careful and detailed questioning we will find out other crucial information about your requirements, such as (but not limited to)
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School type
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Age range of pupils / classes
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Geographical locations
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Job types (i.e. teacher, teaching assistant, cover supervisor etc)
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Job requirements / necessary experience
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Rates of pay
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School atmosphere / styles of management etc
From the information you provide to us, we will be able to best match you to the jobs and the career opportunities that allow you to best demonstrate you abilities, and to go to work with a genuine spring in your step. There is little worse than having to force yourself to get our of bed in a morning to attend a job that doesn’t satisfy you. Whilst we can’t be there to pour your first coffee of the day and to make your toast, we can do everything in our power to make sure you’ve got something to look forward to once you set foot out of the door.
Working Via Merit
Working Via Merit - what makes us different?
There is little to say here that you won't have heard before. There really isn't. What we are able to say is that we genuinely aspire to be seen as a 'consultative' business in the truest sense of the word. One that takes pride in providing a sector based advisory resource.
We are committed to being recognised as an impartial advisory service that operates ethically and morally to ensure that our candidates and our clients are offered an immersive, intelligent array of solutions to their employment requirements.
Ultimately though, seeing is believing. We hope that you will request our services and that you will offer us the chance to prove what we can offer and what we are all able to accomplish together. Please get in touch and have an informal chat about how we can assist you with your career, your employment and your recruitment goals.
Teachers
Teachers:
When working as a teacher you will have first of all selected a school type to work within, specialising in providing educational support to:
Primary Schools
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Foundation Stage – Reception (ages 4 to 5)
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Key Stage 1 – (ages 5 to 7) years 1 and 2
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Key Stage 2 – (ages 7 to 11) years 3,4,5 and 6
Secondary Schools
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Key stage 3 (ages 11 to 14) years 7,8 and 9
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Key stage 4 (ages 14 to 16) years 10 and 11
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Key stage 5 (Sixth Form ages 16 to 19) years 12 and 13
SEND Schools
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All age ranges
Primary Schools
For those of you that have chosen to work in Primary education, you will most likely have opted to specialise in providing support to a particular age range, Foundation Stage pupils, or Key Stages 1 or 2. Within that you may also have opted to specialise in working with a particular year group, as each one has it’s own curriculum and pastoral requirements.
Secondary Schools
Those of you who have taken the Secondary School teaching route, most often it will be a particular subject that you will gravitate towards. It is often then the case that teachers specialise in providing their educational support to a particular Key Stage / age range.
SEND Schools
Finally, for those opting to work in an SEND school, it will be the particular type of support that you want to provide that guides you. This can involve wishing to specialise in providing support to pupils needing assistance with behavioural challenges, such as in PRUs or Alternative Provisions, or instead looking to focus your attention and experience on providing support to pupils with physical and mental impairments.
Suffice to say, no two schools are ever the same. Merit Education will work with you to identify not only the broader requirements that you have based on the experience you’ve gained and the qualifications you have obtained, but also in accordance with where you would like for your career to develop. The placements that we can offer to you will, as much as is possible, be in line with your chosen criteria, and will be offered to you based on finding out as much information as we can about what YOU want from your future employment.
Register your details be clicking the link below to allow us to start a conversation about how we can advise and assist you with your career journey.
Teaching Assistants
Teaching Assistants
When working as a teaching assistant you will most likely to have opted to support pupils needing additional educational support. This can be pastoral, behavioural or curriculum based support. It is also likely that you will have selected a school type to work within, specialising in providing educational support to:
Primary Schools
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Foundation Stage – Reception (ages 4 to 5)
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Key Stage 1 – (ages 5 to 7) years 1 and 2
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Key Stage 2 – (ages 7 to 11) years 3,4,5 and 6
Secondary Schools
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Key stage 3 (ages 11 to 14) years 7,8 and 9
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Key stage 4 (ages 14 to 16) years 10 and 11
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Key stage 5 (Sixth Form ages 16 to 19) years 12 and 13
SEND Schools
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All age ranges
Primary Schools
For those of you that have chosen to work in Primary education, you will most likely have opted to specialise in providing support to a particular age range, Foundation Stage pupils, or Key Stages 1 or 2. You may also have opted to specialise in a particular area of SEND support, such as working with autistic or ADHD pupils.
Secondary Schools
Those of you who choosing to work in secondary schools, as with primary schools you will potentially have selected an age range to specialise in, as well as an area of SEND.
SEND Schools
Finally, for those opting to work in an SEND school, it will be the particular type of support that you want to provide that guides you. This can involve wishing to specialise in providing support to pupils needing assistance with behavioural challenges, such as in PRUs or Alternative Provisions, or instead looking to focus your attention and experience on providing support to pupils with physical and mental impairments.
Suffice to say, no two schools are ever the same. Merit Education will work with you to identify not only the broader requirements that you have based on the experience you’ve gained and the qualifications you have obtained, but also in accordance with where you would like for your career to develop. The placements that we can offer to you will as much as is possible, be in line with your chosen criteria, and will be offered to you based on finding out as much information as we can about what YOU want from your future employment.
Register your details be clicking the link below to allow us to start a conversation about how we can advise and assist you with your career journey.
Cover Supervisors
Cover Supervisors
The fundamental role of a cover supervisor is to manage a classroom when a teacher is absent. The role requires the cover supervisor to assist the pupils as they work through pre-prepared exercises, as well as ensuring that students are supervised in order to ensure that they are safe and also that they remain on task. Cover supervisors mostly work in Secondary school environments, however it is occasionally known for primary school and SEND schools to require cover supervisor support.
Key Responsibilities:
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Supervise students' as they work
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Manage pupil behaviour
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Answer student questions or take notes of questions to hand over to the absent teacher
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Handle emergencies and follow school based procedures
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Collect completed work
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Report issues to the absent teacher
Skills and Qualities:
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Good classroom management skills
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Ability to motivate students in a positive manner
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Experience of working with children or in supervisory roles
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Flexibility, including the ability to adapt to new, unfamiliar schools, and also to locate unfamiliar geographical areas
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Knowledge of education legislation and policies (training and resources can be provided)
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Competence in using ICT
What to expect from Cover Supervisor Roles:
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Cover supervision is often temporary or short-term, on a day to day basis
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Cover supervisors are often required to work in different schools from one day to the next
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Cover supervisors may cover a variety of subjects, however you are NOT required to be an authority on any subject that you cover
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Cover supervisors may work with students of different abilities and also different behavioural challenges
In truth, the role of a Cover Supervisor assignments are among the most challenging roles that an educator can accept. However the good news is that this type of work provides a LOT of benefits to those that undertake this type of work:
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It is a GREAT way of ‘dipping a toe’ into the water when considering working in the education sector.
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You are able to see a variety of school types so that you can potentially identify which working environments suit you and your needs
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It is exceptionally flexible, as it is provided most often on a day by day basis, rather than requiring the job seeker to be available for entire weeks at a time
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It suits not only those people that are looking to try education sector based work, but also those that are qualified and experienced practitioners wishing to take on roles that require less involvement in school operations, such as planning and marking for classes.
Merit Education are able to provide the very highest level of support and resources to ensure that those of you opting to take on this challenging type of work are able to get the very best experience available and to translate this into an exceptional developmental opportunity. Register your details be clicking the link below to allow us to start a conversation about how we can advise and assist you with your career journey.
Early Career Teachers (ECT's)
Early Career Teachers (ECT’s)
If you have completed your studies, then sincerely, congratulations, it is a truly exceptional achievement. If you are currently studying your teaching qualification, keep at it, the hard work will pay off.
The next step of course, is to put all of that theory, that study, and that training, into practice and into the classroom. Supply teaching and temporary assignments are an exceptional option for ECT’s as they allow for teachers to see what it is like to walk on their own two feet without having to commit to the pressure and the uncertainty of a permanent placement. Each and every single school has it’s own style, it’s own atmosphere, and of course, it’s own set of people. No two are alike, so temporary assignments give people the chance to immerse themselves into a schools culture and to identify the things that they want to see from a working environment. Even the schools that you aren’t too fond of will give you incredible learning and development opportunities, so that when you do finally settle on a school and a role you want, you will be much more likely to hit the ground running and to put the excellent experience that you’ve picked up on supply, into practice.
Here are a few FAQ’s that are well worth considering:
What are my options now that I have qualified?
Ultimately, provided that you have decided that teaching is the career you want to take, there are three distinct choices:
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To find and to accept a permanent role.
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To take on a long term, but ultimately temporary role
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To take on very short term assignments, days and weeks at a time (more commonly referred to as ‘supply’)
Each of these options have a series of pro’s and con’s. It is worth discussing your personal aims and also your anxieties with your consultant so that options can be suggested and a clear attainable career path containing the right types of experiences can be created.
Does supply teaching count towards my induction year?
Well, yes in theory, but it does depend on certain conditions. The school has to agree to provide the level of support required to assess your teaching. You can spread the terms across different assignments and schools, however all schools that you are working in must agree to provide the necessary support. Merit Education will discuss your needs with the school in question and will notify you in advance of a booking whether the option for support will be offered to you. Thankfully it is frequently the case that schools are happy and willing to give ECT’s the required support.
Can working on Supply affect the strength of my CV?
This is an area that has seen a noticeable market change. Supply teaching for a period of time was seen as a last resort, and it is fair to say that there were some negative connotations aimed towards supply staff. This has changed dramatically as hiring processes and more sophisticated, intelligent vetting processes have been introduced to ensure teacher quality remains high.
As a result it is now often expected that teachers have spent at least some time in their career as temporary teachers. Therefore, your CV will not be affected in any way by having shorter term temporary assignments. In a lot of cases it demonstrates desirable characteristics, such as the ability to adapt to new environments and school types, and to then bring learning experiences and different teaching practices to prospective new employers.
To discuss how Merit Education can work with you to help define a path and to offer options that are suited to YOU and to your personal goals, give us a ring on 0115 697 8185 or register your details below.
The Merit Registration Process
The Merit Registration Process
When you first speak to a Merit Education consultant, you will begin by sharing your current employment situation with us, and by letting us know what you want from a work finding service. We will then ask some introductory questions to make sure that we are best placed to provide you with the service and support that will suit your career and employment goals.
Provided that you are happy with our work finding services, you will then be invited to attend a face to face meeting with your dedicated consultant, either in person or via a video platform such as Microsoft Teams.
Prior to the registration meeting you will be sent the following emails;
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(If Applicable) your link to your scheduled online video platform meeting
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A formal invitation to your registration meeting including an explanation of what to expect from the meeting as well as the purpose of the meeting. This email will also detail the necessary documents that you will be required to provide at a later stage of the registration / onboarding process.
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The Key Information Document (KID) form. This will detail how we will pay you for the work we provide and what your holiday entitlement will look like.
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The Merit Education Terms of Business. This is a formal statutory document that fully details your rights and the rights of the employment business when providing you with work finding services.
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The Merit Education Application Form and our policy documents.
During the registration meeting, you will discuss in much more depth what it is that you need and want from your next role. Your consultant will be on hand to guide you with your requirements and to manage your expectations. You will also have a conversation with your consultant about the necessary documentation we will need to see, and a time and date will be agreed to allow a face to face meeting to take place in order to see these documents (this will be the case if your registration meeting has been conducted online rather than in person, if you are meeting your consultant in person then documents will have been discussed prior to the meeting and will be taken from you during the 'in person' meeting.)
After the registration meeting and the document gathering meeting, Merit Education will process your registration information, including performing all necessary safeguarding and vetting checks required to allow you to work in an educational setting.
You will then be notified when the registration process has been completed and will be termed as an 'Active' candidate with Merit Education!
Testimonials – How did Merit help you?
Testimonials - How did Merit help you?
Feedback and advice is crucial, especially for new companies like ours. We need to know what we are doing that can be improved and tweaked. Likewise, we need to know what we are doing correctly so that we can continue to provide the high level of service that we aim for. Get in touch, let us know what you think.