10 essential tips for occasional teachers

There are golden rules for occasional teachers to follow to ensure their day gets off to a great start - and continues in that vein. 1. Find...

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There are golden rules for occasional teachers to follow to ensure their day gets off to a great start - and continues in that vein.

1. Find out if the work is pre-set

Will you need to bring your own ideas or has the teacher left teaching plans to follow?  Also, check to see if you will have use of a whiteboard and, if so, that it will be set up for you

2. Get there early

There are a few key things that you will need to be familiar with, like the school’s behavior policy, the teachers written plans, staff toilets, tea and coffee making facilities, and where you can prepare resources, so it makes sense to get to the school in good time.

3. Bring your own resources

It’s a good idea to have suitable teaching ideas up your sleeve so that you have something to fall back on if you need it.  “A parent had mistakenly picked up the teaching plans as she dropped off her child,” says Tony Adams, occasional teacher.  “I had nothing at all to fall back on as I hadn’t brought any back up plans with me.  That was in my early days as a occasional teacher, though.  I bring back up plans all the time now.”

4. Introduce yourself to everyone you meet

The school caretaker is often a font of practical knowledge, and office staff can be helpful, too, so make yourself known to them.  Smile and say hello to other teachers and staff within the school, not only is it good to see a happy face but it leaves a great impression.

5. Ask about the children

Someone in the school who is familiar with the class should make you aware of any children with particular needs, so that you can organise use of teaching assistants, adjust any plans, and take into account those who would find change difficult.

6. Make yourself familiar

Get to know the timetable for the day, the school’s writing style, class rules for behaviour, how children are expected to move around the school, and whether there are any children who need medication

7. Find out about routines

The start of the day is crucial to how well the rest of the day will go, so make sure that you are aware of the daily routine.  Children will be reassured those routines haven’t changed and that you are in command.
“Children need an immediate challenge and something to get them focused at the start of the day,” says Lisa Berry, primary school teacher.  “So, I write the name of a favourite story character on the whiteboard and ask them to make as any words as they can from it.   The child who has thought of the most gets a praise hand stamp.”

8. Know your groups

Not off by heart, of course.  But have names of children and relevant groups to hand so that the class can easily organised.  The children will usually  know which groups they are in, but you may get a few who will play around so keep stick the list on the wall.

9. Have fun ideas for time fillers

There are always times of the day when you will need to fill short gaps, such as when a session finishes early or assembly is running late.  It’s always worth having a few entertaining ideas, and a cupboard puppet seems to do the trick for some.  “Egor lives in the cupboard and whenever we have 5 mins to spare, he pops out to tell the children about his latest amusing adventure,” says Shona Barker, primary school teacher..

10. Bathroom limits

Manage toilet needs by having a maximum of two children in the bathroom at any one time.  There could already be a rule about this though, so check with the teaching assistant.  You want to avoid half the class visiting the toilet at one time