Teachers TV - A day in the life of a Cover Supervisor

I have talked in previous blogs about the changes in the educational supply teaching markets which are affecting not only Classroom but ALL teaching agencies. The biggest change is of course in the Secondary education market. More and more schools are employing Cover Supervisors over qualified teachers which has in turn affected the amount of supply teaching work open to a lot of qualified Secondary school teachers. To counter this we know a lot of Secondary teachers who are here teaching in the UK are working not only in Primary Schools but are taking interim work as Cover Supervisors. But just what does a Cover Supervisor do? The following video from Teachers TV will hopefully shed some light!

Interesting viewing. So what do people think of this whole Cover Supervisor phenomenon? Good thing or not? As ever your views are always welcomed!

Teachers TV - A video for Teaching Assistant's to help control angry classroom behaviour!

To all Teaching Assistants out there working for Classroom and beyond, please watch this excellent video from Teachers TV which gives some extremely useful techniques for coping with a students angry behaviour, whether you work with a child one to one or in a whole class setting.

Are there some useful techniques on here? What strategies do you use in the classroom? Do our teachers who are here teaching in the UK have any ideas to help Teaching Assistants in class - after all its a team effort?!

Teachers TV - A video for those new to Primary school supply teaching: SECONDARY teachers take note!

I have uploaded this video from Teachers TV for all those supply teachers who are currently beginning their supply teaching career in Primary schools. This video may be covering old ground for a lot of Primary teachers but I know that there are plenty of you who are newly arrived and only just setting out on your supply teaching adventure who should find this very interesting. I am also very aware that with the current slow patch in Secondary - Classroom and surely other agencies too will be supplementing Secondary school supply work with days in Primary schools. If you want to be successful in a Primary school then you will have to adopt a different approach to the one you might take in a Secondary school. Flexibility is always the key to successful supply teaching in the UK and preparation and research will only reinforce your flexibility!

Why not watch this video where you will be given plenty of hints and tips to be an effective Primary supply teacher and while your at it why not check out Teachers TV and its wealth of resources to help you be the best. I have mentioned it before but it really is a great site for teachers from every arena!

What do you think of the video? Are the presenters tips useful? Anything you would add?

Resource Focus Part One - TEACHERS TV

An aim of Classroom's blog is to ensure that we are recommending and advising useful resources to help you in your role as Teacher or Classroom assistant. It is not to be underestimated how useful readily available resources can be to help you deliver the best lessons in your repertoire.

Teachers TV has long been championed by our colleague Victoria who runs Classroom Canada, and rightly so. Teachers TV is a UK channel which broadcasts to help all teachers improve their teaching no matter what their background or level of experience. Its an excellent channel (a satellite channel available via freeview) and indeed website. You may not ever be in the mood to flick through your satellite channels and choose Teachers TV over The X Factor (who would?!) but my recommendation is that you use it as an online resource when you're on your laptop and in 'work mode'! Its simple to navigate and has some superb videos looking at a wide array of topics - for example - behaviour management, lesson planning and all areas of Special Needs. Most are about 15 minutes in length and give you the opportunity to learn in the most interactive way of all - as a viewer!

You can spend a lot of time navigating the Teachers TV website but it will be worth it. I stumbled across this excellent video attached where behavioural expert Sue Cowley observes and comments on a Year 5 Primary lesson which has been suffering from a small handful of disruptive pupils. Watch as she provides support and coaching for the class teacher through a hidden earpiece!

This is the first of many resource recommendations on the Classroom blog. What do you think of Teachers TV? And do you have any better suggestions for classroom resources for teaching in London? Let us know!