Senior Cover Supervisor

About Us

Harris Academy Chobham is always on the lookout for inspirational and influential staff. Most of all, we are on the lookout for potential colleagues who like our students and want to help them succeed. We understand that if staff are to give their best to our students over a sustained period of time, then the school needs to provide them with the best deal possible. In order to help our staff have the best possible experience and achieve a proper work- life balance, we have put into place a range of measures to benefit both our teaching and students services colleagues. These include:

• An extra week of holiday for all Harris Academy Chobham staff. This takes the form of a two-week half term in October. We work fewer days than most other schools.
• Outstanding professional development both at Harris Academy Chobham and through the wider Harris Federation
• Excellent promotion opportunities
• A constant dialogue about workload and how to manage it most effectively. We have regular workload audits, and frequent campaigns to tackle unnecessary work and identify quick wins
• Rapid and effective support with any student behavioural issues arising
• A high-quality staff induction programme
• Marking protocols devised by departments themselves
• Clear communications and manageable deadlines. We only ask staff to do what is necessary and avoid complication and confusion.
• Learning walks rather than formal lesson observations. These are not graded
• Nursery on site
• Flexible and part time working encouraged whenever possible
• Additional time for leadership responsibilities
• High levels of administrative support for all teachers

Other benefits of working at Harris Academy Chobham:

• World-class facilities for learning, leisure and sport. A school which is genuinely at the heart of its local community
• The advantages of working for the country's most successful major Academy group. These include amazing consultant support and a range of high-quality central services.
• Generous Harris rewards and benefits package, including £2000 annually for Mainscale/Upper teachers.

We regard staff wellness as being central to the school's purpose and to its success.  We have several initiatives which we think give Harris Academy Chobham staff one of the best wellness packages to be found anywhere, including:  

• Access to the Calm mindfulness app 
• Staff fitness suite and multiple team sports opportunities 
• Staff social events 
• Staff discounts at shops and restaurants in the local area 
• Access to the Harris Federation's staff counselling service , Dedicated Wellness Hub 
• Healix Healthcare package 

The complete Wellness Strategy can be read on our website.

Main Areas of Responsibility

Your key duties will be:

• To supervise lessons for absent teachers.
• To allocate, explain and oversee cover work set.
• To report to the relevant Cover Manager any deficiencies with cover work set to include quality or appropriateness of cover.
• To offer general assistance to students in completing cover work in class.
• To follow the academy’s in class behaviour management and referral systems.
• To organize the days lessons efficiently in advance so that they run as smoothly as possible.
• When not engaged in carrying out cover, to undertake administrative or student support duties at the direction of the line manager or the relevant Vice Principal.
• Occasional supervision of post-16 students in their study base.
• To take registers in all lessons and promptly report any in lesson absences.
• To liaise directly with teachers to ensure cover lessons are delivered to a high quality.

Qualifications & Experience

We would like to hear from you if you have:

• Qualifications to A Level standard or equivalent
• Knowledge of strategies to recognise and reward efforts and achievements towards self-reliance that are appropriate to the age and development stage of the students
• Basic knowledge of SEN and other learning barriers
• Strong organisation and time management skills
• Relevant experience in successfully supervising groups of children aged 11-16
• Previous experience in a school or comparable large organisation
• Understanding of a secondary school environment
• Ability to provide classroom cover – within agreed parameters – in the absence of the class teacher
• Ability to consistently and effectively implement agreed behaviour management strategies
• Ability to use language and other communication skills that students can understand and relate to
• Ability to establish positive relationships with students and empathise with their needs
• Ability to demonstrate active listening skills
• Ability to provide levels of individual attention, reassurance and help with learning tasks as appropriate to students’ needs, encouraging the students to stay on task
• Ability to monitor the students’ response to the learning activities and, where appropriate, modify/adapt activities agreed with the teacher to achieve the intended learning outcomes

For a full job description and person specification, please download the Job Pack.

Professional Development & Benefits

Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level.

In addition to the opportunities for career development and progression, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes our Harris Allowance for teachers on MPS/UPS, a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions, a Wellbeing Cash Plan and many other benefits. Learn more about our benefits on our website.