Designing for teacher absence in UK secondary schools
Cover lessons have not improved in nearly fifty years of education.
It’s time for an update.
Designing for teacher absence in UK secondary schools
Cover lessons have not improved in nearly fifty years of education.
It’s time for an update.
Designing for teacher absence in UK secondary schools
Cover lessons have not improved in nearly fifty years of education.
It’s time for an update.
Designing for teacher absence in UK secondary schools
Cover lessons have not improved in nearly fifty years of education.
It’s time for an update.
A Circular Problem
(✋drag to scroll)
Absent teachers
Don’t set key work as believe it won’t be completed
Don’t know who will cover so can’t set specialist work
May be too ill to set quality cover work
Set cover work is poor quality and unambitious
Covering teachers
Aren’t always subject specialists
Aren’t given time to prepare for the lessons they are teaching
Aren’t familiar with the students
Cover lessons gain bad reputation
Students in cover lessons
Are already unsettled by absence of main teacher
Have had poor experiences of cover in the past
Are demotivated by uninspiring cover work
Behaviour is poor and little work is done
A Circular Problem
Absent teachers
Don’t set key work as believe it won’t be completed
Don’t know who will cover so can’t set specialist work
May be too ill to set quality cover work
Set cover work is poor quality and unambitious
Covering teachers
Aren’t always subject specialists
Aren’t given time to prepare for the lessons they are teaching
Aren’t familiar with the students
Cover lessons gain bad reputation
Students in cover lessons
Are already unsettled by absence of main teacher
Have had poor experiences of cover in the past
Are demotivated by uninspiring cover work
Behaviour is poor and little work is done
A Circular Problem
Absent teachers
Don’t set key work as believe it won’t be completed
Don’t know who will cover so can’t set specialist work
May be too ill to set quality cover work
Set cover work is poor quality and unambitious
Covering teachers
Aren’t always subject specialists
Aren’t given time to prepare for the lessons they are teaching
Aren’t familiar with the students
Cover lessons gain bad reputation
Students in cover lessons
Are already unsettled by absence of main teacher
Have had poor experiences of cover in the past
Are demotivated by uninspiring cover work
Behaviour is poor and little work is done
A Circular Problem
(✋drag to scroll)
Absent teachers
Don’t set key work as believe it won’t be completed
Don’t know who will cover so can’t set specialist work
May be too ill to set quality cover work
Set cover work is poor quality and unambitious
Covering teachers
Aren’t always subject specialists
Aren’t given time to prepare for the lessons they are teaching
Aren’t familiar with the students
Cover lessons gain bad reputation
Students in cover lessons
Are already unsettled by absence of main teacher
Have had poor experiences of cover in the past
Are demotivated by uninspiring cover work
Behaviour is poor and little work is done
Our Solutions
We pair two opposite solutions for balance and impact.
Learning review
Enrichment kits
Learning Reviews are fully resourced, universal lesson plans routed in retrieval practice. The absent teacher provides only the name of the topic: the students provide words linked to that topic. Careful scaffolding leads them towards more complex retrieval: connecting, developing, explaining and summarising.
Designed to maximise learning within the restraints of a cover lesson, Learning Reviews are:
Professionally printed and posted to school in advance, no last-minute printing panics
Broadly applicable across topics
Behaviour proof by design
Informed by robust educational research
Teachable independent of subject knowledge
Easy to review – a teacher summary sheet shows behaviour, retrieval and work output at a glance
In addition, Cover Supervisors and Supply Teachers can be trained on delivering these lessons in advance.
Our Solutions
We pair two opposite solutions for balance and impact.
Learning review
Enrichment kits
Learning Reviews are fully resourced, universal lesson plans routed in retrieval practice. The absent teacher provides only the name of the topic: the students provide words linked to that topic. Careful scaffolding leads them towards more complex retrieval: connecting, developing, explaining and summarising.
Designed to maximise learning within the restraints of a cover lesson, Learning Reviews are:
Professionally printed and posted to school in advance, no last-minute printing panics
Broadly applicable across topics
Behaviour proof by design
Informed by robust educational research
Teachable independent of subject knowledge
Easy to review – a teacher summary sheet shows behaviour, retrieval and work output at a glance
In addition, Cover Supervisors and Supply Teachers can be trained on delivering these lessons in advance.
Our Solutions
We pair two opposite solutions for balance and impact.
Learning review
Learning Reviews are fully resourced, universal lesson plans routed in retrieval practice. The absent teacher provides only the name of the topic: the students provide words linked to that topic. Careful scaffolding leads them towards more complex retrieval: connecting, developing, explaining and summarising.
Designed to maximise learning within the restraints of a cover lesson, Learning Reviews are:
Professionally printed and posted to school in advance, no last-minute printing panics
Broadly applicable across topics
Behaviour proof by design
Informed by robust educational research
Teachable independent of subject knowledge
Easy to review – a teacher summary sheet shows behaviour, retrieval and work output at a glance
In addition, Cover Supervisors and Supply Teachers can be trained on delivering these lessons in advance.
Enrichment kits
Our Enrichment Kits provide schools with everything they need to deliver engaging enrichment lessons across a range of topics and aligned to the new Enrichment Framework. Professionally designed, printed, packaged, and delivered direct to your school, these kits give schools the flexibility to schedule enrichment at the most convenient times with the staff they choose.
Each Enrichment Kit is a complete, standalone lesson and includes:
A clear, printed lesson plan
Double-sided A3 worksheets
A distinctive element that makes the lesson special, like making something, using a prop or entering a competition
Optional accompanying presentation slides
Postcard prizes for three students
The kits are designed to be as simple to deliver as possible. Facilitators can review the materials if they wish, but no advance preparation is required.
Our Solutions
We pair two opposite solutions for balance and impact.
Learning review
Learning Reviews are fully resourced, universal lesson plans routed in retrieval practice. The absent teacher provides only the name of the topic: the students provide words linked to that topic. Careful scaffolding leads them towards more complex retrieval: connecting, developing, explaining and summarising.
Designed to maximise learning within the restraints of a cover lesson, Learning Reviews are:
Professionally printed and posted to school in advance, no last-minute printing panics
Broadly applicable across topics
Behaviour proof by design
Informed by robust educational research
Teachable independent of subject knowledge
Easy to review – a teacher summary sheet shows behaviour, retrieval and work output at a glance
In addition, Cover Supervisors and Supply Teachers can be trained on delivering these lessons in advance.
Enrichment kits
Our Enrichment Kits provide schools with everything they need to deliver engaging enrichment lessons across a range of topics and aligned to the new Enrichment Framework. Professionally designed, printed, packaged, and delivered direct to your school, these kits give schools the flexibility to schedule enrichment at the most convenient times with the staff they choose.
Each Enrichment Kit is a complete, standalone lesson and includes:
A clear, printed lesson plan
Double-sided A3 worksheets
A distinctive element that makes the lesson special, like making something, using a prop or entering a competition
Optional accompanying presentation slides
Postcard prizes for three students
The kits are designed to be as simple to deliver as possible. Facilitators can review the materials if they wish, but no advance preparation is required.
Join the conversation:
take part in our research
Join the conversation:
take part in our research
Join the conversation:
take part in our research
Join the conversation:
take part in our research
Quotations from our research so far
"When I was a teacher, I dreaded going off sick because I knew I would come back to my classroom wrecked, my things missing, and student books in a state. The students inevitably wouldn’t have met the learning objectives and we would be behind on what needed to be covered before the next assessment. So often, I’d have to set something easy for a non-specialist cover teacher to deliver that involved drawing or watching a video. It would be a complete waste of time."
Secondary English Teacher
“I was once so ill that I couldn’t even sit up to type - I asked my husband to write up my cover for me, dictated it to him from bed, and had him email it in. And for what? For a box to be ticked but the work to be barely attempted. There are endless resources out there, and so many organisations wanting to engage with students. There has to be a better way.”
Secondary English Teacher
“I have been a teacher for 15 years, and providing cover is one of the main reasons that teachers don't take sick time. The work is never done properly, students don't see the lesson in the same way, and it is an extra task to do in our own time setting the work, when we are feeling at our worst. Enrichment sounds like a brilliant idea!”
Secondary RE Teacher
Quotations from our research so far
"When I was a teacher, I dreaded going off sick because I knew I would come back to my classroom wrecked, my things missing, and student books in a state. The students inevitably wouldn’t have met the learning objectives and we would be behind on what needed to be covered before the next assessment. So often, I’d have to set something easy for a non-specialist cover teacher to deliver that involved drawing or watching a video. It would be a complete waste of time."
Secondary English Teacher
“I was once so ill that I couldn’t even sit up to type - I asked my husband to write up my cover for me, dictated it to him from bed, and had him email it in. And for what? For a box to be ticked but the work to be barely attempted. There are endless resources out there, and so many organisations wanting to engage with students. There has to be a better way.”
Secondary English Teacher
“I have been a teacher for 15 years, and providing cover is one of the main reasons that teachers don't take sick time. The work is never done properly, students don't see the lesson in the same way, and it is an extra task to do in our own time setting the work, when we are feeling at our worst. Enrichment sounds like a brilliant idea!”
Secondary RE Teacher
Quotations from our research so far
"When I was a teacher, I dreaded going off sick because I knew I would come back to my classroom wrecked, my things missing, and student books in a state. The students inevitably wouldn’t have met the learning objectives and we would be behind on what needed to be covered before the next assessment. So often, I’d have to set something easy for a non-specialist cover teacher to deliver that involved drawing or watching a video. It would be a complete waste of time."
Secondary English Teacher
“I was once so ill that I couldn’t even sit up to type - I asked my husband to write up my cover for me, dictated it to him from bed, and had him email it in. And for what? For a box to be ticked but the work to be barely attempted. There are endless resources out there, and so many organisations wanting to engage with students. There has to be a better way.”
Secondary English Teacher
“I have been a teacher for 15 years, and providing cover is one of the main reasons that teachers don't take sick time. The work is never done properly, students don't see the lesson in the same way, and it is an extra task to do in our own time setting the work, when we are feeling at our worst. Enrichment sounds like a brilliant idea!”
Secondary RE Teacher
Teacher absence is unavoidable.
Lost learning doesn't have to be.
Teacher absence is unavoidable.
Lost learning doesn't have to be.
Teacher absence is unavoidable.
Lost learning doesn't have to be.
Teacher absence is unavoidable.
Lost learning doesn't have to be.
UpCover principles
Non-specialist staff are set up to fail when cover work is low quality or unfamiliar.
Absent teachers setting cover have an impossible job when they don’t know who will be delivering their lesson.
“Cover” and “supply” signal low expectations to students and staff alike. Cover lessons must be renamed as well as improved.
Enrichment that replaces cover must be planned, purposeful, and high-quality.