Like many industries, the state of education today is very different than it used to be. Even pre-COVID, the pace of change in schools right across Australia was speeding up. Now, with schools needing to remain more agile than ever, it’s a good time to look at your internal processes and see what can be improved. First in line for a shake-up? The way you book relief teachers. Read on for three of the major ways to do this in 2021.
Call your network
Let’s start with a classic. For many schools, the usual jumping-off point when you need a relief teacher is to reach out to your existing network. Most schools have a database of teachers they have worked with over the years to lean on when the need arises. The problem here is figuring out a simple way to store and keep this information up to date. If, like many schools you keep your list of teachers in a spreadsheet, you will likely have to make many calls to teachers that are unavailable or have changed their number before you find someone to fill in. When time is tight, this can be a real issue.
Discover ClassCover
The beauty of ClassCover is that it puts the power to choose how you hire relief teachers in your hands. Available on the web or via an app, the platform combines all the tools your school needs to find, interview and book relief teachers.
For most schools, that begins by building your Teacher List. If you have an existing network of relief teachers, you can upload them into the platform to make the most of ClassCover’s powerful functionality, or, tap into the database of over 50,000 teachers already listed on the platform.
From here, use the search functionality to narrow down your options based on criteria like qualifications, distance from your school and more. Once you’ve added teachers to your list, you can sort them even further using a handy tag system, or reach out to your whole list if you need to find a teacher ASAP.
With a tonne of new features on the way, like video call functionality to interview candidates, ClassCover is a guaranteed time saver for schools whether you need a relief teacher today, or are planning for something specific down the track.
Try ClassCover free for 30 days.
Post in Facebook groups
Another strategy when you need to find relief teachers is to put a call-out in teacher Facebook groups. While this is a great way to reach a large pool of candidates at once, you are essentially rolling the dice that a teacher close enough to your school will see the post and be able to respond in time. Another potential issue here is your ability to properly vet teachers. Unlike platforms like ClassCover which feature comprehensive teacher profiles, finding fill-in teachers on Facebook and other social media platforms brings an element of risk when you are unable to check a teacher’s qualifications and experience.