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.
The current recurring 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
Maybe 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
The current recurring 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
Maybe 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
The current recurring 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
Maybe 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
The current recurring 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
Maybe 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 sessions
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:
Easy to use – pick a topic, print and go
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 sessions
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:
Easy to use – pick a topic, print and go
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:
Easy to use – pick a topic, print and go
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 sessions
Enrichment sessions break away from taught content entirely. From career talks, to PSHE topics, to creative workshops, Enrichment Sessions turn the cover lesson time slot into an opportunity to widen student’s access to completely new ideas. They are designed to be:
Original
Standalone
Fully resourced
Quality assured
Evidence-based
With sessions planned well in advance with support, educators enter the classroom fully prepared and confident.
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:
Easy to use – pick a topic, print and go
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 sessions
Enrichment sessions break away from taught content entirely. From career talks, to PSHE topics, to creative workshops, Enrichment Sessions turn the cover lesson time slot into an opportunity to widen student’s access to completely new ideas. They are designed to be:
Original
Standalone
Fully resourced
Quality assured
Evidence-based
With sessions planned well in advance with support, educators enter the classroom fully prepared and confident.
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.
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.