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Secondary education

Roisin or any cover supervisors or teachers for that matter!

12 replies

wendylady · 17/07/2008 10:18

Quick, whilst no ones looking. Its Maureen btw, just covering my back at work, in case someone sees my posting name, this will be my work one and I'll only ever post in secondary in school time! Smart eh?

Anyway, need to get some resources together for next term. I'm working in English and humanties. I was thinking of worksheets and possibly interactive stuff that I can pull out of a hat, on the occasions that I have no cover work to give the wee darlings!

I've got Teachit and Englishresources and I've found one called bgfl.org for Humanities. Just wondered if anyone else has some gems that I just must use.

Thanks!

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Blandmum · 17/07/2008 10:25

No help to you re English, but go to the Timesed.co.uk website and they have a huge resource bank for all subjects

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wendylady · 17/07/2008 10:28

Cheers MB.

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solo · 17/07/2008 11:09

MB, I'm going mad!I read your post as 'no help to you you're English' lol!

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Blandmum · 17/07/2008 14:02
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wendylady · 17/07/2008 15:55

Spent the morning looking at resources on TES. Brilliant! I amended a few to work on our interactive package too.

Once I'd done it all, I asked who's budget my files and things were coming out of and my manager told me mine and handed me a catalogue and an order form! What joy! I've spent the afternoon in pure stationery porn!

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roisin · 18/07/2008 17:01

just posting on this briefly so that it will come up under my threads when I have time to look at it which is not now!
Rx

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MaureenMLove · 18/07/2008 17:18

I am me this afternoon!

I'll post too, so its further up my list! I'm off out later and I'll forget I was chatting!

I'm really enjoying this CS thing! We've basically been shaddowing a teacher since half term, so I've really got to know the kids. My teacher has been pretty much leaving it up to me for the last month and I'm really getting my confidence up now.

I've got English and humanities to cover and I have just managed to set up a meeting with H Of Humanities for Monday, so I can get a feel for what he wants from me. English is done.

It is still a bit like the blind leading thhe blind, because our line manager is impossible to pin down, so she's told me to just get stuck in and do what I feel is right. I hope its want she wants! It seems right. The kids respond to me and some have even moaned when its not me covering!

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roisin · 23/07/2008 11:49

Hiya! Finally got round to this. I'm glad you're enjoying it: it all sounds very positive.

I have got a lot of material from Teachit.

Generally what I did was instigate a huge sort out of the English office and piled up loads of 'old resources' and textbooks. I have then gradually gone through these and weeded out which ones work.

Are you responsible for setting your own cover? Generally (IME) the best cover work is tied in to the current scheme of work, and appropriate for that particular class ... i.e. ideally set by the teacher. I have a bank of 'emergency cover resources', but only use these if someone is very ill and unable to set cover, or refuses to set cover, or sets rubbish cover!

Good cover for KS4 is very difficult, and I'm planning to have a target on my Perf Mgt this year to develop some better resources for them for cover.

In KS3 we have various 'activity' sort of worksheets, and intersperse these with grammar skills work from an old textbook.

In Humanities they have some very good textbooks and just use those.

Do let me know what resources you end up using, and what works particularly well.

Whatever you do make sure you continue to spend lots of time in regular classes. I do think one of the keys to this job is getting the right work for the right class. You can have great cover material, but it might not work for every class.

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scaryteacher · 23/07/2008 13:32

I don't understand why the teachers you are covering for are not setting the work? If I was off sick, or away on a trip, there'd be lesson plans e-mailed in/left in folders with lists of resources etc, and what I wanted done, with a lesson plan. You're paid to supervise presumably, not set the work, that is what the teachers are paid to do. I'm sure you're perfectly capable of setting work and I don't mean to imply otherwise, but it's not your job to do it surely.

I used to get so cross when I did a cover, and no work was set - they used to get extra RE, especially the year 10s and 11s, they used to get an hour on how to pass the exam and what to look for in the questions!

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roisin · 23/07/2008 17:19

According to staunch union people:
Teachers do not have to set cover for anyone else.
Teachers do not have to set their own cover if they are ill.



Generally most of the staff in my depts do set work, but I have to cover in other depts where they don't always set work.

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scaryteacher · 24/07/2008 00:23

What union are they in then? If we were ill we were expected to set 5 lessons, if that was the teaching load for the day, and god help us if we didn't set it. As I was a secondary teacher who taught 5 subjects, this could be fun if I was off sick on a 5 subject day!

The only time we didn't set work when sick was if we were off long term and signed off, and then the HoD set it.

When we did a school trip I left folders with lesson plans for each day I was away, plus books and resources.

Sounds like your teachers need a kick - we wouldn't have got away with that in Cornwall.

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roisin · 24/07/2008 07:52

Worst offenders are SMT.
Some of our teachers do need a kick, but no-one does it.

Most are great though!

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