Cover Supervisors

Phase 2 of the National Agreement brought about a change to teachers' contract with regards to cover and took effect on 1 September 2004. There is now a limit on the amount of cover for absence that a teacher is required to undertake. Schools needed to decide upon a strategy to find new ways of managing cover. The role of the Cover Supervisor evolved from this.

What is cover supervision?

Cover Supervisors are non teaching staff who look after a whole class of students. Typically, a cover supervisor will work during school hours and in addition to supervising the class, they will also oversee the completion of set work and manage the behaviour of pupils. A cover supervisor is likely to be used for short-term absences of a teacher. These might be:

• Known in advance e.g. where a teacher has an appointment or is absent for training.

• Or unexpected e.g. absence due to illness.

 

On a daily basis, cover supervision is more than likely to include:

• Supervising work that has been set in accordance with the school policy.

• Managing the behaviour of pupils whilst they are undertaking this work to ensure a constructive environment.

• Responding to any questions from pupils about process and procedures.

• Dealing with any immediate problems or emergencies according to the school’s policies and procedures.

• Collecting any completed work after the lesson and returning it to the appropriate teacher.

• Reporting back as appropriate using the school’s agreed referral procedures on the behaviour of pupils during the class, and any issues arising.

The role is a Cover Supervisor is a responsible one, involving taking sole charge of a group of pupils. Therefore the school takes care to ensure that the staff have the necessary skills and knowledge before being given charge of a class.