Welcome to term 1! After a crazy year, and a (hopefully) restful break, here we are staring down the barrel of another school year. As a casual teacher, the first few weeks of term can feel like going from 0-100 with barely a minute to stop and catch your breath. While our hopes for a return to normalcy in 2022 remain, chances are, the first chunk of the school year will not be without its hurdles. With that in mind, we’ve pulled together a list of quick actions you can take now to prepare yourself for a return to school. Ready? Let’s dive in.
Update your availability
You may have heard us going on like a broken record lately about the importance of updating your availability. In case you missed the memo, 59% of schools won’t book a teacher who hasn’t indicated their availability. With that in mind, it’s worth taking the opportunity to update your availability for the term ahead before things get too crazy.
Check your profile
The start of term is also an excellent time to give your profile a quick once over. Maybe you have completed additional PD hours or have new experience to add to your resume — now is the time to ensure you put your best foot forward by updating your teacher profile.
Review privacy settings
If one of your goals this year is to connect with more schools, double check your settings to make sure your profile is visible to schools.
Be proactive in your job search
To give yourself the best chance of appearing on the radar of schools in your area and booking more work, it pays to be proactive. Some of the best ways to do this are searching for new schools and requesting to be added to their list. It’s also a great idea to keep an eye on the ClassCover jobs platform that is regularly updated with callouts for casual teachers.
Cast a wider net
Times are tough in education and the nationwide teacher shortage is putting schools everywhere in a precarious position. When searching for schools, consider widening the radius a kilometre or two further than you would normally look. You’ll boost your chances of getting booked and the schools are guaranteed to appreciate the help.
Put your Teacher Portfolio to work
As a casual teacher, your ClassCover Portfolio is an invaluable tool to get more work. To ensure your profile is visible to schools, make sure it’s switched on using the checkbox on your profile. To get even more bang for your buck, you can even copy your portfolio link and use it as a live CV, adding it to your email signature so it’s right there whenever you communicate with a new school.
For NSW teachers, get the green tick
In NSW, our direct integration with the Department of Education makes it easy for schools to see which teachers have completed their mandatory training by displaying either a green or orange tick next to every teacher’s name on ClassCover. Learn how to get the green tick.
Booked or unavailable for an extended period?
If you find yourself booked on an extended contract, taking some time off or just otherwise unavailable, make sure you pause your ClassCover profile. This will temporarily remove your name from school lists and ensure they know you are unavailable. Learn how to deactivate your ClassCover profile or pause booking requests but maintain access to features like PD and ClassCover jobs.
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