Cover Manager

Oakbank is a school of potential that drives for the betterment for all. The school is committed to a journey of transformation, where staff, students and parents are committed to improving the quality and experience of education for its community. We believe that every child deserves to not only access the full curriculum, but should thrive in their curriculums, developing academically, personally and holistically as a result of passionate and adaptive teaching, resulting in committed learning that secures successful outcomes. Our current phase of school improvement features our entire team, working together at pace to offer greater stability, more innovation and creativity. The aim is for greater consistency for all students, enabling them to manage their learning and themselves more effectively.

Our collective determination to make Oakbank a happier and higher performing school affirms our commitment to our values: integrity, collaboration and excellence. We believe in excellence for our students to give them the opportunities to have choices in their lives, empowering them to choose the future that they desire off the back of hard work. We believe in working together to ensure that our community supports one another and challenges one another to be the ‘best yet’ versions of ourselves, not because we have to improve but because if we do, the potential is endless. And we believe in the fidelity of our vision for students and staff, and strive to retain our moral compass when making decisions, to ensure an open, inclusive and happy community at Oakbank.

About this role

This key position is to ensure that classes are covered for absent colleagues on a daily basis. This absence may be planned or unplanned due to illness so it requires strong planning skills alongside flexibility and adaptability. Cover is provided by existing teachers, direct supply teachers and agency teachers.

Responsibilities and Role

• Managing and organising cover for absent staff, both teaching and non-teaching.
• Organising and providing induction and support for supply staff, both teaching and non-teaching.
• Support with ensuring that safeguarding requirements and other relevant regulations relating to supply staff are in place and adhered to, including the completion and recording of necessary checks.
• Providing additional cover resource by working as a cover supervisor to provide support for classes, groups or individual children as directed.
• Manage the staff cover process to ensure continuity in teaching and learning.
• Keep records on covers completed by individual staff to ensure that regulations are adhered to.
• Liaise with supply and recruitment agencies in engaging appropriately qualified supply staff to cover absences and temporary vacancies.
• Organise the appropriate deployment of teachers and supply staff to cover absences and emergencies.
• Provide staff with cover details at the start of the day and when emergencies occur. Provide a daily cover sheet, updated as required, to relevant areas and members of staff.
• Act as the main point of contact for any problems that may occur in relation to cover.
• Alert staff to location of cover work when set by absent staff, or subject leads.
• Communicate daily staff absences to HR and Headteacher.
• Monitor the effectiveness of supply staff as per school policies and procedures, informing her/his line manager of any concerns.
• Advise her/his line manager, the Senior Leadership Team and the Head teacher on matters relating to cover arrangements.

The Cover Manager will:

• Establish and maintain good relationships with all staff, students, visitors, suppliers and agencies.
• Monitor the performance of supply staff to ensure they:
• Provide positive supervision (cover) for classes where the class teacher is absent. Delivering prepared lesson materials and securing students learning.
• Promote positive student behavior in line with the school’s policy and support children to develop a positive growth mind-set, setting and maintaining high academic and personal expectations.
• Encourage students to interact and work cooperatively with each other and engage all students in learning activities.
• Ensure that all administrative duties, checks and documentation are completed to the required level of accuracy including returns and reports.
• Process, input and extract information and statistics from the school's database system/s as required and prepare reports for Senior Leadership Team and the Head teacher.
• Deal with correspondence promptly and as required.
• Manage, monitor and review relevant budgets ensuring best value principals are followed where possible.
• Ensure that financial procedures and activities are carried out in accordance with school policies and procedures, for example, authorising payment of supply staff invoices.

Other

• Attend school events as required.
• Participate in school emergencies as required, including locating students and staff and completing necessary documentation.
• Attend relevant meetings and training sessions.
• Undertake first aid training and responsibilities as required.
• Keep up to date with associated developments and changes in requirements and regulations, and communicate appropriate information to colleagues.

This job description will be supported by the school improvement plan which will identify key distinct tasks and responsibilities for this role in the school year. These will be derived from ongoing school self-evaluation and other local/national priorities. The postholder’s duties must be carried out in compliance with the school’s policies and procedures including child protection and safeguarding procedures.

These duties and responsibilities should be regarded as neither exhaustive nor exclusive as the post holder may be required to undertake other reasonably determined duties and responsibilities commensurate with the grading of the post.

Please note that we reserve the right to close the recruitment campaign earlier that this date subject to the volume of applications received.  We therefore encourage candidates to submit applications as early as possible.

It is an offence for an individual who has been disqualified from working with children to knowingly apply for, offer to do, accept, or do any work in a ‘regulated activity’. The position advertised is a ‘regulated activity’.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and require all staff and volunteers to share and demonstrate this commitment. The successful candidate will have to meet the requirements of the person specification and will be subject to the relevant pre-employment checks which will, where applicable, include a health check, an enhanced DBS check, the Children’s Barred List check and satisfactory references.

The school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment.