“Our supply teacher, Mrs Wickstead, was actually an author. We were not expecting that!”

Enter the raffle to win a signed copy of A Spooky Tale.

Once again, a slow start to the autumn Term. Waiting for the teaching door to open and the journey to begin.

Note to self! Must remember to go away on holiday in September as there is very little supply work about at the beginning of term.

Teaching is always a challenge; each day is different as well as each class you teach. We are all individuals and teaching is individual. Lessons that go well with one class may not work so well with another group. Factors such as the weather (rain; snow; wind; sunshine), or circumstances in your day or that of the pupils will alter how it goes.

Rockets and star ships that can zoom you through space, time and beyond. 

As a cover teacher I am able to visit different primary schools across Sussex and Surrey. Each day can be a different location with a different age range, from reception to Year 6; I have to be adaptable and flexible.

What could possibly go wrong?

As I sat drinking my coffee, in the café in the park, I watched as groups of children passed by with their teachers and I smiled.

During a recent weeks visit to a school with Year 6, I was able to fill a few gaps with snippets of information about buses, books and rain-sticks. This got the children’s attention and they asked questions and listen to my tales.

I was recently booked for a day in a local school where I was asked to work with year 1 on their transport topic. The day was a mix of author booking as well as supply cover.

1st September and its ‘Back to Hogwarts Day,’ I wonder what events we might encounter in the year ahead.

Sometimes when you are visiting a school the work is clearly set and easy to follow, but sometimes you just have to be prepared for the unexpected and think of another plan!

So, when the lesson was ICT and we found the laptops had not been charged it was time to think of an alternative plan.

Tell them about your book suggested the another teacher.

As a supply cover teacher, the one thing you might miss out on is being involved in events such as any charity school events; these include Children in Need; Comic Relief/Red Nose Day; Christmas Productions; Non-uniform days; School Fairs.

Am I the only person not worried about lockdown?

I’ve painted a rainbow; made some colourful handprints; tidied the house and garden (a bit); read a book on youTube; read a few books on my ‘to-be-read pile’; and of course, played with the Lego.

So, what next?

I always leave a free book in every school I visit as a Supply Teacher.

At the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown it was my intention to publish a few resources and ideas online to help with homeschooling. But it seemed everyone was doing the same.

Over the last few years, as a supply teacher, I have visited many schools.

One thing I have come across in primary schools is the teddy adventures. This is where the children are given the chance to take the class mascot home for the weekend. They write a diary post of the weekends adventure and take photographs for the class book. What a good idea.

The task in school today was to write a letter as a character in a book to another character.

With a supply teacher visit to a school that I had not been to for a few of years, I wondered how the day would go.