Your Trusted Partner for Supply Teaching Opportunities

This document details Teach Agency policy with respect to professional conduct, child protection, and disciplinary issues relating to our teachers and support staff.

This document has been designed to support you whilst working for Teach Agency and to recognise our commitment to following DfE guidelines to be able to offer a high quality service to our supply staff and our schools.

Code of Conduct

Whilst working for Teach Agency please ensure you: 

• Dress formally unless otherwise advised.
• Arrive at school no later than 8:30am (if you are booked in an emergency please give a realistic time of arrival so we may advise the school).
• Ring your education consultant if you are going to be late.
• Use school policies for discipline and rewards appropriately – familiarise yourself with them as soon as you get to your assignment.
• Mark all work set at the end of the day and leave a report for the absent teacher.
• Be prepared with your own work in case no work has been set.
• Leave each classroom tidy at the end of each lesson.
• Report any incidents to your cover contact as well as your education consultant.

For Long-Term assignments you will additionally be required to:

• Set your own work based on the school’s programme of study.
• Mark any work set in accordance with school policies.
• Set and mark homework.
• Attend relevant out of school meetings e.g. staff meetings, inset days and parents evenings.
  
  

Child Protection Guidelines for Teachers and Support Staff

Teach Agency fully recognises its responsibility in preventing unsuitable people from working with children in accordance with The DfE’s (Department for Education) Keeping Children Safe in Education September 2023.

Physical contact

Whilst the law allows reasonable force to be used in cases of physical intervention, when you are working for Teach Agency we expect you to abide by the procedures for each school. Generally the rule is to avoid physical contact wherever possible; this way your actions can never be called into question. 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 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, or 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.

Personal and Professional Conduct

A teacher is expected to demonstrate consistently high standards of personal and professional conduct. The following statements define the behaviour and attitudes which set the required standard for conduct through a teacher’s career.

Teachers uphold public trust in the profession and maintain high standards of ethics and behaviour, within and outside school, by:

treating pupils with dignity, building relationships rooted in mutual respect, and at all times observing proper boundaries appropriate to a teacher’s professional position.

Having regard for the need to safeguard pupils’ well-being, in accordance with statutory provisions.

Showing tolerance of and respect both rights of others.

Not undermining fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs.

Ensuring that personal beliefs are not expressed in ways which exploit pupils’ vulnerability or might lead them to break the law.

Teachers must have proper and professional regard for the ethos, policies and practices of the schools in which they teach, and maintain high standards in their own attendance and punctuality.

Teachers must have an understanding of, and always act within, the statutory frameworks which set out their professional duties and responsibilities.

Our guide

• Know who to go to if you need help.
• If there is an incident then get help as soon as possible.
• If you have physical contact with a pupil, report this to the school and Teach Agency.
• Record details of any incident including as much detail as possible including details of the time, place and witnesses.
• You need to submit this to the school and Teach Agency.
• Avoid being alone with any pupils.

Disciplinary Procedure

Teach Agency engages supply staff under contracts for services and not contracts of employment, hence we do not operate a documented formal disciplinary procedure for supply staff.

We do however follow up all assignments for performance feedback and will report back comments to you – good and bad.

If we receive negative feedback we will seek to implement support mechanisms to improve performance with the relevant individual.

When we receive more than two separate complaints about the same element of an individual’s performance or behaviour, then all circumstances surrounding the placement will be reviewed. If the individual is not willing or not able to address the issues raised, then in some circumstances under the terms of registration we would be unable to offer any further work.