You have finished your training, you have QTS, and the September job you wanted did not come off. Or you did not want a permanent class yet. Either way you are looking at supply, and everyone has an opinion about whether that is a good idea.

Here is a straight account of what supply teaching is like as an early career teacher, what it does and does not do for your induction, and how to make your first term count. Plenty of people still call this the NQT year, so if that is the phrase in your head, this is the same thing under the current name.

First, the induction question

Sort this out before you accept anything, because getting it wrong costs you time.

Short, day to day supply does not normally count towards induction. Longer placements can, but it has to be set up properly: the school needs to be able to offer induction, you need an appropriate body in place, and it should be agreed before you start rather than discovered in March.

So ask two questions of any longer role you are offered. Does this placement count towards induction, and who is the appropriate body? If the answer is no, that is not automatically a reason to turn it down. A term of day to day work while you look for the right induction post is a sensible plan. Just make the decision with your eyes open, and check the current rules with your appropriate body rather than relying on what someone told you at university.

What day to day supply is actually like

You get a call, usually between 7am and 8am, sometimes the night before, telling you the school, the year group and roughly what you are covering. You arrive, sign in, find the classroom, and teach children whose names you do not know from planning you have not written.

It sounds harder than it is. Most schools leave work for a cover teacher, and most classes have a TA who knows exactly how the day runs. Ask them. Every experienced supply teacher says the same thing: the teaching assistant is the most useful person in the building on your first morning.

What you gain from a term of it

Early career teachers who do supply come out with things their peers in one school do not have.

• Behaviour management that works with strangers. Without months of built up relationship, you learn to be clear, calm and consistent in the first five minutes. It is the hardest skill in teaching and supply makes you learn it fast.
• A view of many schools. You see a dozen approaches to phonics, marking and rewards, and leave with strong opinions about what you want in a school of your own.
• Flexibility across year groups. Being comfortable in Year 2 and Year 6 makes you easier to appoint.
• A network. Heads and deputies meet you and remember you. Long term roles very often go to the person who covered well in October.

Making your first term work

1. Have a bag that is always ready. Whiteboard pen, spare pens, a book you can read to any age group, and two or three activities that need no resources. A ten minute gap at the end of the day is easier with something in your pocket.
2. Arrive twenty minutes early. Time to find the office, the classroom, the fire route and someone you can ask questions of.
3. Ask for the class list and any pupils you should know about. Medical needs, an EHCP, someone who finds change hard. A one minute conversation prevents most problems.
4. Write down what you taught. The school, the year group, what you covered and anything that went well. It gives you real examples at interview and evidence for induction later.
5. Leave a note for the class teacher. What got done, who was brilliant, what did not get finished. It takes three minutes and it is why schools ask for you again by name.
6. Ask for feedback. Most schools will tell your consultant how it went, so ask them to pass it on, good and bad. In supply nobody offers feedback unless you ask.

The bits people find hard

The uncertainty. Not knowing where you will be on Thursday is uncomfortable at first. It eases as schools start requesting you, and once you have three or four regulars your week looks fairly predictable.

The isolation. You are the visitor in every staffroom. The fix is partly practical, sit in the staffroom rather than eating in the classroom, and partly about your agency. If your consultant knows your name and asks how the placement went, supply does not feel lonely. If you are a number in a database, it does.

When to move to something longer

A term of day to day work is a good education. Two years of it, if what you want is your own class, is a long time. Watch for the moment the variety stops teaching you anything new, then tell your consultant you are ready for a long term placement and say what you want: key stage, distance, whether it needs to count towards induction.

Long term roles are usually filled from a small list of people the agency trusts. Turn up, do the job well, be easy to reach and be clear about what you want next.

Getting started

Register before term starts, not during it, so your DBS and references are done and you are free to say yes when the call comes. Be honest about your travel, your days and the age groups you want.

We have placed early career teachers in North West schools for over 25 years, and we work with a lot of people who came to us straight from their PGCE. There is more on our ECTs and NQTs page, the current roles are on our jobs page, and you can start with us by registering your CV or reading how to register.