Cover supervisors

Released 26/02/2010

Survey finds mixed attitudes

School staff are unsure about the benefits of employing cover supervisors, according to a new study. While eight in ten school staff claim there is a significant benefit to employing cover supervisors instead of supply teachers, the majority (57.9 per cent ) say they only provide adequate cover for up to half of teacher absence at their school.

The survey, ‘Cover Supervisors: Economic sense or a question of quality', was carried out by Randstad Education, who surveyed 102 teaching and non-teaching staff in early years, primary, secondary, upper, middle and SEN schools in the UK to establish their views on cover supervisors when cost, administration time and the quality of education are taken into account.

The research found that nearly two thirds (64 per cent) of schools currently employ a cover supervisor with one third (31 per cent) saying they anticipate an increase in the number of people in this position in their school over the next 12 months. When asked what is important when deciding whether to use a cover supervisor or supply teacher, however, only 35% stated that the level of subject specific experience required to cover teacher absence was very important, raising questions about the quality of education provided when the regular classroom teacher is absent.

Commenting on the findings of the research, John Dunn, director at Randstad Education, says: "The employment of a full-time member of staff to cover teacher absence might seem like a sensible option to those in charge of providing cover, but the reality is very often to the contrary. As the research reveals, cover supervisors cannot cover all teacher absence - in fact, the majority say they only cover up to 50%. When there are multiple teacher absences, or when the cover supervisors themselves are absent, the schools must pay out more money to provide this extra cover, casting doubt on the economic logic of the role.

"In addition to this, the fact that subject specific experience is not a priority for those arranging cover is worrying for parents and teachers alike", continues Dunn. "Since up to a year of a child's education is spent with someone who is not the regular classroom teacher, there needs to be a focus on maintaining learning levels during this time."

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