My idea of Hell? Covering for an ill teacher. By Sophia Waugh
People don’t think much about illness when considering the pressures schools face. And yet it is a real source of anxiety and conflict. The least popular member of staff is the person with the responsibility for organising cover. Those who’ve taken that job soon regret it, and pass it on to someone else as quickly as possible – if only so that people will smile again when they see them walking into a room. Most schools now have members of staff there solely to cover lessons. This is a bonus for the teachers (who always used to take all the cover lessons) but it’s a thankless job. Children cheer when the cover staff arrive, immediately sit in the wrong seats, do no work and misbehave. We had one young man who lasted under a month before he left a lesson, and the school, in tears. There are stricter rules concerning...
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