I am sick to death of the supply agency. I went in yesterday to read them the riot act about taking £40 off me for the CRB check and when I initially registered being promised that I would be found work within the week and 6 weeks later still being £40 down and jobless. Unfortunately I got fobbed off with a whole load of crap about how this time of year (i.e. the first week of term) was very quiet for supply work and how next week things should pick up. They also suggested I registered with another agency so I went along to register with them, only to find out that I am being led up the garden path by the original supply agency.
The woman from supply agency 2 gave me a much more honest viewpoint of why I wasn’t getting any work. Naturally when a school rings a supply agency they firstly want a qualified teacher, if they cannot get one of these then they want an unqualified person with shed loads of experience, then they move onto the dross like me. This is why I aam not getting any work, because I have little curricular knowledge of working in a school. I have helped out in an extracurricular role (in fact for an entire academic year) but this is of little benefit to a school wanting classroom experience. The woman from supply agency 2 suggested that I go off and find some voluntary work within a school, as she needs a minimum of 6 weeks experience before she can look at placing me in a classroom environment.
So here I am, typing a general cover letter explaining how I wish to observe lessons to gain experience for the PGCE I will be starting in 9 months time, and updating my CV in the hopes that in 6 weeks time I may be able to earn paid work. Trouble is, for the next 6 weeks or so I have no idea how I am going to fund myself… minimum wage bar jobs and general dogsbody work looks my only option. Plus I have the student finance company breathing down my neck to let them know how much money I am earning so I can start repaying my loan in April.
It’s a fun life being a graduate!
Wannabe Teacher 