Staying on track with teacher absences
Not that I have ever managed a public transport system, but I imagine that co-ordinating the comings and goings of teachers and their replacement staff must be a bit like managing trains. The whole system needs to run like clockwork or else it comes to grinding halt and plunges the world into chaos. (And there have certainly been times where it has near plunged into chaos!)I am fortunate that my school isn’t too large but I can only image what it must be like for larger schools. Below is my process for managing staff absences and replacement staff.
Image from Author’s Collection
FINDING OUT
If staff know they are going to be away they usually tell me well in advance. This gives me plenty of time to organise a replacement teacher if required.I have a rule that if teachers are telling me they are going to be absent from work that they can not do it anywhere other than my office. As soon as I find out I make sure to enter it immediately. This is usually because by the time I make it back to my office I will have had anywhere from 3 to 300 other conversations and will likely forget that they told me [unless I am able to write it down].If staff wake up that morning and are unwell or unable to come to school, they need to call me by 7:00am so I can co-ordinate a replacement. (I’m usually at the gym during this time so they usually leave a voicemail message to which I reply confirming I received their message). Staff are not able to text as these do not always arrive on time and are not 100% reliable. Unless I have confirmed that I have received their message, staff are to assume that I haven’t and continue to make contact until confirmed.As part of our staff induction, I supply all new and returning staff with a card that contains my contact details and requirements for notification. Most save my contact details to their phone but In the event their mobile phone isn’t working, this is a helpful backup.
KEEPING TRACK
I create a Google Spreadsheet for each school term that keeps track of who is away each day and who is replacing them. I use a different tab for each week of the term. I also record a basic reason (eg: sick, personal, professional development, sport etc...) and the sub program budget being used to fund the CRT. [Replacement staff in Australia are referred to as Casual Relief Teachers or CRT’s].
Our CRT budget is solely used to replace staff who are absent due to illness or personal reasons. We currently allocate a CRT portion to each sub program budget to cover the cost of replacement staff for professional learning, assessment release, sports clinics, admin release etc... We also have a separate budget for Professional Practice Days and for Principal Support (staff released to act as officer in charge or 2IC if either my principal or I are out of the school)
What’s great about having it as a Google Spreadsheet is that I can access it anywhere, anytime through my computer, iPad or mobile phone. This is really useful if I am get a call when I am out for the evening or away for the weekend and I need to make a note of who is away and who will be replacing them.
In the event that a staff member is absent and has release throughout the day (they are not teaching class as they are off at a specialist) I will try and give this time to another member of staff undertaking leadership responsibilities. I keep track of this using the notes feature next to their name.
I also use my spreadsheet to help manage my expenditure on release staff. This helps to determine if I will ‘split’ a class. We have developed a policy as part of our long term planning document with our consultative committee that outlines how we will split classes if required.
LOCAL VS AGENCY
We use a mix of both locally employed CRTs and agency staff to replace teachers who will be absent. Most of our local CRTs are staff who have worked at our school previously, have retired and are after a few extra days work. I usually use local CRTs when I know of the absence in advance or to replace staff who are on Long Service Leave.
I usually use agency CRTs when I need a staff member at short notice (that morning) or if I have exhausted my supply of local CRTs. Prior to using an agency I would spend hours on the phone trying to source staff; waiting for them to return my calls. I love that using an agency is a simple as making one phone, sending a text message or a making few taps on an app. Once the agency has confirmed my CRT, I will receive an email or SMS with confirmation and can log into a portal to view details of my bookings.I have a template [see my post on using Text Exapander] that I use to send messages to local CRTs asking if they are available to work and a template I use to SMS the CRT Agency to submit a request for staff.
ON THE DAY
On the day staff are away, I share this with others through a news feed post on Compass.
I also use the Daily Organisation feature on Compass to “reallocate” classes to CRTs. Our CRTs access the roll via a set of iPads and reallocating the classes allows them to log in and access the roll. It also paints a “true” picture of who is working that day. I would love the ability to be able to ‘bulk reallocate’ classes to CRTs or other staff but currently I need to do this on lesson by lesson which takes some time.
As part of our Compass package, we also have a “talking points” unit connected to a display screen in our staffroom so (when it works correctly) it rotates through a list of class changes for that day. Unfortunately, talking points doesn’t ‘format’ very clean a display of this, so I create a slide in PowerPoint that lists who is away, save it an image and then upload it to my talking points display so it displays in a more user friendly format.
When CRTs arrive, our office staff provide them with the iPad so they are aware of their classes for the day and any changes or duties they make be undertaking.
Our iPads are also setup so they can access
a copy of our school map that also contains our Yard Duty zones
a list of staff, classes and room numbers
A copy of our staff manual
Emergency Management Information
Our CRT agency also creates a podcast about our school that they share with their replacement staff. This enables them to listen to information about our school as they drive or travel to us in the morning. This ensures they are aware of our processes and procedures before they arrive on site.
How do you manage staff absences and CRTs at your school?
What strategies, tools and workflows do you use or have you created to help manage this?