Agency staff are particularly vulnerable to dry spells when it comes to being offered work. That’s why we thought we’d share these 3 key tips to make sure you are making the most of the school holiday and getting yourself ready for when schools go back.

1 – Keep the work flowing

If you’ve had a busy half term going into schools and covering for days, weeks or even the whole term so far, then you may not be too worried about whether you’ll continue to keep working once school goes back. However, supply work can be a fickle beast, and you should never become complacent about what you need to do in order to keep the phone ringing with offers of assignments. Some useful things you can do during half term are:

• Touch base with your consultant – make sure they are 100% clear on your availability in the coming weeks, and that this is reflected in your file and online supply diary.
• Check that no paperwork is outstanding - if an item of your compliance paperwork becomes out of date then the flow of work could stop abruptly – so double check with your agency that this will not hold you back, and action anything of importance while the schools are on down-time.
• Update your CV and references - this one is really important because you may have acquired key skills or knowledge during the last half term which are not currently reflected on your CV. Can you afford to under-sell yourself in a competitive job market? Or to miss out on the fantastic comments that your last school may make about you on your latest reference?

2 – Make sure your pay arrangements are up to date

Hopefully, you are organised and won’t have any pay outstanding from the last half term. However, school holidays are a great time for checking through your work diary and comparing to your pay slips to check that you are not missing payment for any work completed. If you spot any errors, speak to your consultant or payroll company who should be able to assist you.

Now is also a good time to print off some timesheets and check that you are ready to face the new half term. There is nothing more annoying than getting to the end of the working day and realising that you have no timesheets in your bag to get your work signed off, so print some out and add them to your school bag. Fortunately, most Axcis schools use our online system, but it’s still a good idea to carry some paper timesheets with you anyway.

3 – Update your resource kit

Supply staff sometimes have to rely quite heavily on their own resources. This could be because the usual class teacher has been called away for unforeseen reasons and work has yet to be set. Or it could be simply because you have some bright sparks in your group who have already completed the work which was left by the usual teacher. Whatever the reason, it is essential that supply teachers carry a range of worksheets and activities so that they are not caught out. Axcis has lots of useful SEND resources, so why not see what we’ve added in the last half term and bump up your kit for when you go back to school?

Refer a friend to Axcis

If you are super organised and already have all these things in hand, why not speak to your friends or put a shout out on Facebook to see if anyone you know is looking for SEND teaching or support work? Axcis runs a fantastic referral scheme which could help keep you quids-in when supply work goes quiet. Read more here to find out how the scheme works.