What Are the Benefits of Working as a Supply Teacher?

In this blog, you will learn:

• The benefits of working as a Supply Teacher.
• The skills required to be an effective Supply Teacher.
• Where the latest Supply Teacher jobs are and how to apply for them.

For many teaching professionals, supply teaching offers a unique and rewarding alternative to a traditional full-time classroom role. Whether you're newly qualified, returning to teaching after a break, or winding down for retirement, working as a Supply Teacher can open the door to a wide range of career opportunities. 

In our latest blog, we’re exploring the many benefits of supply teaching including the flexibility of choosing when and where you work, and the ability to fit work around personal commitments. 

What are the benefits of working as a Supply Teacher?

There are many benefits to working as a Supply Teacher, including:

• More flexibility than permanent positions.
• The ability to balance a teaching job with childcare.
• The opportunity to build classroom confidence.
• The guidance and support provided by Spencer Clarke Group.
• The chance to pursue teaching even if a permanent position is not secured.
• The opportunity to impress a school and secure a permanent role.
• The chance to ‘try before you buy’.
• The rewards of the role without the administrative burdens. 

More flexibility than permanent positions

Compared to full-time, permanent teaching positions, working as a Supply Teacher offers a lot more flexibility over the days and hours which they work. Full-time classroom Teachers must follow a fixed weekly timetable for up to 39 weeks of the year and they can not take annual leave in the same way as other professionals are able to. 

Supply Teachers have the freedom to choose when and where they work. This means that they can accept placements which suit their availability, whether that is once a day or once a month. 

Working as a Supply Teacher is how some retirees, or those close to retirement, choose to wind down their career in education. It is the perfect way to keep a foot in the teaching door while preparing for exiting the profession altogether. 

The ability to balance a teaching job with childcare

For parents and guardians, working as a Supply Teacher is a great way to balance a teaching career and parenthood. The ability to choose when and where work is taken, means Supply Teachers can fit teaching jobs around school runs, spending time with their children and other parental commitments. 

Secondary education recruitment specialist, Liam Jones, said “The lack of ‘after-hours’ demands, such as marking and lesson planning, leaves evenings free for Supply Teachers to spend time with their loved ones.”

Liam continues, “We also find that supply teaching works really well for people who care for old or sick relatives. It enables them to earn a wage while balancing the demands of being a carer.”

The opportunity to build classroom confidence

The prospect of teaching a classroom full of children can be daunting and working as a Supply Teacher provides ample opportunities to build classroom confidence before committing to a full-time teaching position. 

The ability to work within multiple schools gives Supply Teachers the chance to experience a variety of teaching styles, school cultures and behaviour management strategies, all of which can strengthen their skills as a Teacher. 

The guidance and support provided by Spencer Clarke Group

As specialists in education recruitment, we support Supply Teachers with tailored advice and guidance across their placements. Thanks to our outstanding relationship with multiple schools in the North West, we have many supply teaching career opportunities available. 

Even if you haven’t quite finished your PGCE, you can still register your interest for supply teaching jobs, ready for when you are qualified. By registering early, it means that your name will be at the top of the pile once you’re qualified, ready for when supply teaching opportunities are released. 

The chance to pursue teaching even if a permanent position is not secured

Even if an Early Career Teacher has missed the opportunity to secure a full-time teaching position for the term ahead, the great thing about supply teaching is that they can still work in a teaching role in a classroom. 

The opportunity to impress a school and secure a permanent role

By working on a temporary basis, Supply Teachers increase their chances of standing out to  a school and earning themself a permanent position in a school.

If the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) sees potential in a Supply Teacher and feels that they would be a great addition to their school, they may invite them to continue teaching there on a permanent basis.

Headteachers and SLT’s have the best interests of their pupils in mind and a Supply Teacher who has demonstrated effective lesson planning, teaching and behaviour management will be highly sought after for permanent positionS. 

One professional on Quora says, “From the pupil's point of view, a successful Supply Teacher has to be non-threatening and interesting. They should be able to hold the class’s attention with a bit of pizzazz and style. Not contradict anything they already learned, but perhaps illuminate it differently.” 

The chance to ‘try before you buy’

A great benefit of working as a Supply Teacher is the chance to experience a number of schools before deciding on which aligns with their personal preferences. One of the best things about supply teaching is that you can weed out the schools which don’t match your energy and teaching style.  

On the rare occasion that a Supply Teacher works at a school where they encounter a negative experience, the benefit is that they will only be there for a short period of time. 

The rewards of the role without the administrative burdens

The beauty of supply teaching is that Supply Teachers can experience the joys of working in education without the burdens often associated with the role. From lesson planning, marking and team meetings, permanent Teachers are often required to dedicate additional hours to the role. 

A Supply Teacher will usually only focus on the teaching element of the role, especially if they are only with the school for a short period of time. This makes supply teaching effective for maintaining a healthy work-life balance. 

Supply teaching jobs for Early Career Teachers

Passed your PGCE but struggling to secure a permanent teaching job? 

As specialists in education recruitment, we work alongside hundreds of primary and secondary schools throughout the North West of England who regularly need Supply Teachers. 

Whether you’re looking to build your classroom confidence, fit your new teaching job around existing responsibilities or test the water before committing to a permanent position, we can help you enter the wonderful world of supply teaching. 

We usually find that schools love our Supply Teachers that much, they end up taking them on in a permanent position. 

Even if you’re not searching for supply work, if you refer a Teacher to us and we successfully place them into a teaching role, you could earn yourself £250 in vouchers! (Ts & Cs apply)

Recruit Supply Teachers

As a specialist education recruitment agency, we support mainstream and SEND schools with Supply Teachers and support staff across the whole of the North West. If you’re struggling to find cover, why not get in touch with one of our team to see how we can help?

• Primary schools - Jimmy Callagher 
• Secondary schools - Liam Jones
• SEND schools - Jamie Heath

Meet Liam Jones 

Who is Spencer Clarke Group?

Established in 2017, we’re an award winning and progressive recruitment agency based in the heart of the North West. Our reputation is built on trust, expertise and an unwavering commitment to exceed expectations. 

In 2024, we were named Recruitment Agency of the Year at the prestigious Recruiter Awards, an accolade we are extremely proud of.