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Supply Staff Handbook

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 Introduction
This handbook has been designed to ensure all our staff are aware of our expectations as a
company and to help you achieve your best. We strongly recommend that you read this
thoroughly and adhere to company policies at all times. Remember that we are always here
to offer help and advice to our teaching staff so feel free to contact your branch if you need
assistance.
Thank you for choosing Simply Education and we look forward to welcoming you to our
team.

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What We Can Offer
Day-to-Day Bookings
If you are just looking to work around your other commitments such as childcare, study or
maybe you want temporary work whilst you look for something more permanent, day-to-
day work could be perfect for you. Some day-to-day bookings are pre-booked due to school
courses or meetings and on other occasions bookings will be due to unexpected events such
as sickness. Generally, these bookings will be made early in the morning starting from 7am,
so it’s vital that you complete your online availability to ensure you are at the top of our call
list. With this in mind, you need to be prepared for any early morning booking ensuring you
have your ID card and documentation at hand, ready to go. We will need you to get to the
school quickly and you should always let your consultant know how soon you will be leaving
your home and how long it will take you to reach your destination. Although you may only
be booked into a school for the day, you are representing Simply Education and we expect
your best at all times. Day-to-day bookings can often turn into something more long-term or
permanent so creating a good impression is key.

Long-Term Bookings
Long-term bookings are usually to cover a longer absence such as a maternity leave or a
long-term sickness and could be a full or part-time position. Generally, we would be able to
let you know when the booking is due to end but at times the school might inform us of this
on a rolling weekly basis. When taking a long-term booking you should take into
consideration that the school will need you to complete the requested assignment to ensure
continuity for the class. During a longer-term booking you will get to know and feel a part of
the school and be able to have a bigger impact on the development of the pupils you teach.
You may also be requested to plan and prepare lessons, assist with school activities and
attend parents’ evening in this time.

Permanent Jobs
There are a number of ways you could secure a permanent job. It could be that you are
offered a permanent position through a school you are working long-term at or by going for
an interview we have put you forward for. You should always let your consultant know if
you have been offered a permanent position, as the school will be subject to our Terms of
Engagement. Please rest assured that we would never jeopardise your chances of securing
the post. If you accept a permanent position with a school, you will become a member of
their staff meaning your contract will be held with the school and they will pay your salary.

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 My Simply Login
Every candidate who registers with Simply Education has their own Simply Login, which
allows you to log in to contact us or access information designed just for our candidates.
Once your application pack has been received by our Candidate Compliance Team, following
your interview, you will receive an email with your username and password. The email will
be titled ‘Your login activated by Simply Education’
Your username will always be the email you used to register with Simply Education. The
password will be system generated, and when you receive the email we advise you to
change your password by logging into your profile at
https://www.simplyeducation.co.uk/login
Once logged in you will find a ‘Change Password’ link under the ‘Your Account’ heading.
It will ask you to enter your old password (this will be the password you received in the
email). It will ask you to input your new password twice.

Simply Login will give you access to complete the following functions:

Searching for Jobs

You can you use our job search facility to search for any job vacancy across the company;
our system allows you to search by subject and area. If you find something you may be
interested in you can apply online or contact your consultant for more information. Our
vacancy page is updated regularly so it’s always worth logging in to browse any new roles
that you may be interested in.

Update your Contact Details

We always need to be able to stay in touch so if any of your personal details change, you
can simply log in to amend your home address, email address and telephone number. Our
system will email us to let us know you have made some changes and will update our
records for you.

Update your CV
It’s always important for us to have an up-to-date CV for all our teaching staff, so if we are
putting you forward for a position we present your full potential to the school. We will

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upload your CV when you first register but please keep us updated with any changes by
using the ‘Upload CV’ section on your profile.

My Calendar
The ‘My Calendar’ section allows you to track bookings you have completed, check future
bookings and let your consultant know your availability. It’s vital that you keep your
availability up-to-date, so that you are at the top of our list for morning bookings, or so that
your consultant doesn’t call you unnecessarily. If you know that you will be unavailable due
to prior commitments or because of teaching work from another agency then please be sure
to let us know.

Follow Us
If you want to keep up-to-date with all the Simply news and join in discussions with your
colleagues, make sure you follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.

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Be Prepared
Every time you accept a booking from Simply Education please plan your journey in advance
to ensure you arrive at the time requested by your consultant. If you are running late please
call us, so we can keep in touch with the school and be sure to apologise when you arrive.
We understand that sometimes we may call you for an early morning booking at short
notice, so it’s always handy to keep a map of your local area or a satellite navigation system
in your car. We are always here to help, so if you need assistance with directions please give
our office a call and we’ll direct you to your destination.
Each time you work for Simply Education, our schools will expect you to carry the following
documentation with you.

• Your Simply Education ID card

• Photographic ID (Driving Licence/Passport)
• Your original DBS certificate

You will be asked to provide these documents on arrival, and if you are unable to provide
these you may be turned away from the school without remuneration.

Our Expectations
Simply Education expects all our staff to make a good impression for every booking they
attend. We expect you to be smart, professionally dressed, organised and equipped for your
day ahead. We request feedback from our clients for all bookings, and candidates who
receive continuous negative feedback will be unable to continue working for the company.
Dress Code
The following items of clothing are seen as inappropriate when working in a school
environment.

• Trainers/flip flops/very high-heeled shoes

• Jeans
• Tracksuits or sportswear
• Low-cut tops
• Very short skirts
• Tattoos on show
• Caps/hats
• Unclean clothing

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On some occasions there will be exceptions to this due to the type of booking you have
taken e.g. physical education or school outings. Your consultant will let you know if this is
the case.
Things to Remember
Ensure you sign in to the visitors’ book at the beginning of the day and sign out when you
leave the building. This is a requirement of the schools in case of an emergency and also to
confirm you have attended your booking.
Most schools have a handbook for supply staff. You should ask for this when you arrive and
read it. You also need to make yourself familiar with the following:

• Who you should report to

• Child protection/Safeguarding policy (Designated Lead)
• Any relevant Health & Safety information
• Fire procedure
• Behaviour management/Discipline policy
• Data protection procedure
• Name of Health & Safety Officer/First Aiders
• Your timetable/lesson plans
• School map
• Any security codes/keys to access restricted areas
• Playground/lunch duties
• School events (trips, inspections, sports days and parents’ evenings)

Enforcement of Standards
Simply Education expects all our staff to adhere to a set of standards. Whilst on a client’s
premises you:

• Are under the direction and control of the client at all times
• Must work as directed by the client and follow all reasonable requests, instructions,
policies, procedures and rules (including any racial discrimination and equal
opportunities policies)
• Shall no neglect, nor without due and sufficient cause, omit to discharge promptly
and diligently, a required task within the terms of the engagement
• Shall not make necessary use of authority in connection with the discharge of the
provision of services and engagement instructions
• Shall abide by the Working Time Regulations 1998
• Shall not act in a manner reasonably likely to bring discredit upon the client
• Shall not unlawfully discriminate for any reason
• Shall not falsify records, timesheets, expenses or any attempt to de-fraud the client
in any way

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• Shall not corruptly solicit or receive any bribe or other consideration from any
person, or fail to account for monies or property received in connection with duties
performed under the provision of services on an engagement
• Shall observe the highest standards of hygiene, customer care, courtesy and
consideration when working in an education environment
• Shall keep confidential information howsoever acquired whether relating to the
client, its business or relation to students
• Shall be able to communicate effectively with the client’s staff, students and parents
• Must be helpful, pleasant and courteous
• Shall have legible handwriting
• Shall be confident and able to deal with clients’ staff at all levels
• Shall be able to work with minimum supervision, where appropriate
• Shall be prompt and punctual
• Shall maintain proper standards of appearance whilst at work and be properly and
presentably dresses
• Shall identify themselves when first introducing themselves to the client
• Shall not engage in any form of physical or verbal abuse, threatening behaviour,
harassment/bullying or be otherwise uncivil to persons encountered in the course of
work
• Shall not at any time be, or appear to be, on duty under the influence of alcohol or
drugs
• Shall not at any time be, or appear to be, in possession of firearms or other offensive
weapons
• Shall report any injury or accident sustained and/or witnessed whilst on the client’s
premises
• Shall on being charge or cautioned with any criminal offence or on being investigated
by any professional or statutory body, notify Simply Education immediately
• Shall not misuse or abuse the client’s property
• Shall not smoke while on the client’s premises except in those areas where smoking
is expressly permitted
• Shall adhere to all other relevant obligations that the client shall reasonably require
from time to time

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Our Policies and Procedures
Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy
Simply Education are committed to supporting safeguarding and promoting the welfare of
children and expect all our candidates to have the same commitment. Please ensure you
read and follow our Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy. To read the policy please click
here.

ICT and Social Media Policy

Whilst working on assignment you may need to use the school’s ICT equipment as part of a
lesson or to register a class. When using equipment in schools, Simply Education requires
you to follow the rules listed below:

• Ask for the school’s ICT policies and procedures for the use of equipment and make
sure you are familiar with it; you are expected to abide by this whilst working in the
school
• If you need to access the school network, ensure you have your own username and
password, you should always avoid using another person’s details
• Never give your password to other staff members or pupils and always log off your
computer if you are leaving it unattended (if you suspect somebody has used your
login, report this to a senior member of staff)
• If you need to use the internet for research or lesson plans, ensure you only use sites
that are relevant. If you accidently visit a site that could be considered inappropriate,
immediately exit that site and report the incident to a senior member of staff
• If you have reason to believe that the school’s computers have previously been used
to access inappropriate material, report this to a senior member of staff
• Never use the school’s computers to send or receive personal emails and if you
receive any joke emails to your school email address, do not forward these on. If you
ever have to send emails on behalf of the school, you should use appropriate
language and make sure your email could not be misconstrued
• If you receive an email from a pupil that concerns you, report this to a senior
member of staff
• You are in a position of trust and should remember that there are specific
boundaries between pupil and teacher. Never give your email, contact details or any
social network details to pupils. Do not accept or request pupils to connect on any
social media platform

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 • Change your security settings on any social networking site you subscribe to, so that
only friends can view your profile. Ensure that pictures or posts that you have posted
can only be viewed by your friends.
• Never give out your mobile phone number or take the number of any pupil.
• Do not have your mobile phone on display during lessons.
• Turn off your Bluetooth settings on your mobile phone.
• Never try to take photos or videos on school grounds on your mobile phone or any
other device. If you do need to photograph or video anything at all whilst on school
grounds you would need permission from parents and the school beforehand and
should only use school equipment for this
• Do not post on any social media (or other public forum) anything about our client
schools in which you have worked through Simply Education, or anyone working in
them, so as to maintain professional distinction and not jeopardise Simply
Educations client relationships.

Data Protection
Whilst working on assignment you may have access to personal data, it is important that
you are aware of the school’s policies regarding personal data and that you follow them.
Simply Education advises that you also consider the following.

• Never save or store any data on any unauthorised device

• Only print or photocopy when necessary
• Ensure you never leave any printing on the photocopier
• If you are required to use computer equipment, ensure the screen is locked when
not in use
• Always leave your desk or classroom free of any personal data
• If you need to dispose of any personal data, ensure this is done securely and in line
with the school’s retention policy
• If you become aware of any data breach, ensure you report this to the Headteacher.

Physical Contact
Whilst the law allows reasonable force to be used in cases of physical intervention, when
you are working for Simply Education we would expect you to abide by the procedures for
each school. Generally, the rule would be to avoid physical contact wherever possible, this
way your actions could never be questioned. However, there may be situations where this
cannot be avoided or where physical contact is necessary

The Law

The Education and Inspections Act 2006 has given new statutory powers

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to members of staff in schools. This allows them to “use such force as is
reasonable” to prevent a pupil from:
• committing an offence
• causing personal injury to others (or themselves) or damage to property
• prejudicing the maintenance of good order and discipline at the school

Physical contact may be necessary if you need to demonstrate exercises during a PE lesson,
if a young child is upset and needs comforting or if a pupil is in need of medical attention. In
these situations, you will need to use your own judgement, but you should always ensure
you do not touch a pupil in a way that could be seen as inappropriate.
There could be situations where you need to intervene to either protect yourself or a pupil.
Although there is no legal definition of ‘reasonable force’, you should consider if the
circumstances warrant it. The force used has to be the minimum amount needed.

Our Guide

• Always familiarise yourself with the school’s Behaviour Management policy

• Know who to go to if you need help
• If there is an incident get help as soon as you can
• If you have physical contact with a pupil, report this to the school and Simply
Education
• If you are injured whilst on assignment, ensure you seek medical advice where
needed and inform the school and Simply Education about the incident
• Record details of any incident including as much detail as possible such as details of
the time, place and witnesses. You need to submit this to the school and Simply
Education
• Avoid being alone with any pupils

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Continuous Professional
Development
As a teaching professional you will understand that in education things can change quickly
so keeping up-to-date with teaching techniques is important. Unfortunately, if you are not
in a permanent post you could miss out on training opportunities so Simply Education
encourages all our teaching staff to make the most of the resources available to them. We
offer a variety of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) training and advise our
teaching staff to take advantage of these opportunities. You can see a full list of current CPD
courses on our website.

Safeguarding in Education Training

Any person working in an unsupervised capacity with children or young people must
complete Safeguarding training every 3 years and Simply Education are able to offer this as
part of our service to all staff who register with us. These courses take place in term time or
in the school holidays and are free of charge to all our teaching staff. Please contact your
consultant if your Safeguarding training needs renewing and they will be able to advise you
of the nearest and next available course to you (online option is available).

Education Development Managers

Our Education Development Managers are always on-hand for teaching staff who are in
longer-term bookings to give advice and techniques on ways to improve your teaching. Our
team have years of educational experience which they will use to support you whilst on
long-term placements. This may be by spending some time observing your lessons,
preparing action plans to help you, or by simply talking through ideas over the phone. If you
would like to be contacted by one of our Education Development Managers, please contact
your consultant and they will arrange this for you.

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Statutory Guidance
Part one: Safeguarding information for all staff
All staff must click this link and read part one of keeping Children Safe in
Education
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_
data/file/1181962/Keeping_children_safe_in_education_2023_-_part_one.pdf

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Our Network of Local Offices

Head Office
Bedford Heights
Manton Lane
Bedford, MK41 7PH
Tel: 01234 216 199
Fax: 01234 262 992

Bedfordshire/MK Berkshire Cambridgeshire

Tel: 01234 216 199 Tel: 01753 373 067 Tel: 01223 459 714

Cheshire East Sussex Essex

Tel: 01270 382101 Tel: 01273 978 003 Tel: 01245 570 079

Hertfordshire Kent Leicestershire

Tel: 01923 640 481 Tel: 01634 926 067 Tel: 01163 120 067

Lincolnshire Liverpool Manchester

Tel: 01522 370 172 Tel: 03300 241 343 Tel: 03300 241 343

Norfolk Northamptonshire Oxfordshire

Tel: 01603 552 086 Tel: 01604 372 495 Tel: 01844 355 581

Peterborough South Buckinghamshire Staffordshire

Tel: 01733 490 097 Tel: 01494 980 147 Tel: 01782 703 103

Warwickshire
Tel: 01926 935 053

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