Survival Kit For Supply Staff During The Summer Holidays
How to survive the summer both financially and with your wellbeing intact.
Every year, at this time, newer members of the Network tend to ask a very familiar question: What do I do for money over the summer? Those members, who have been on supply for a number of years, will have one or multiple of the following solutions in place to see them over the summer.
This article will attempt to gather all of those possible solutions together in one place, so that you are able to select those solutions which work best for you. However, just be aware: supply does not usually begin again the first week in September. Traditionally, supply work in September can be very slow and erratic and supply teaching tends not to get a full head of steam until October.
Solution 1: Work
Up until I became the main carer for my son, I personally worked every summer. My brother had a firm in the building industry, so as soon as supply work dried up during the summer term, I would begin the following Monday labouring for either my brother or for another of the firms he knew.
There are many seasonal jobs which require additional staffing during the summer holidays: driving jobs for supermarkets/delivery firms (one Network member actually drives HGVs during the summer), takeaway delivery jobs, bar work, waiting/corporate events, working at music festivals, working in shops/supermarkets and so the list goes on.
There are some jobs which we, as educators, are more qualified than most to do: summer schools, summer camps, working in nurseries, nannying, tutoring, sports coaching, music teaching, working for the National Citizen Service, running a creche (on a cruise ship) and so on. As you will have a DBS on the update service, you are at a potential advantage by not having to wait for DBS clearance. Which jobs you choose will always depend on your home circumstances and what is available in your local area, unless you are willing to significantly travel (as in, work in a summer camp/work on a cruise ship).
Solution 2: Benefits
The financial support available for supply members who cannot work depends on the situation of the individual. As well as state benefits that you may be eligible to claim, there are also several union and charity grants that are available and you may qualify for.
Benefits Calculator
This piece of software is very useful if you haven’t claimed any benefits before, as it will give you a very good indication of the benefits you qualify for and which you should apply for.
New Style Job Seekers Allowance
If you’re unemployed or work less than 16 hours a week, on average, you may be able to get New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA). New Style JSA is a fortnightly payment that can be claimed on its own or at the same time as Universal Credit.
New Style JSA is a contribution based benefit. Normally, this means you may be able to get it if you’ve paid enough National Insurance (NI) contributions, usually in the 2 full tax years before the year you’re claiming in. National Insurance credits can also count.
If you qualify, you can get New Style JSA for up to 182 days. After this your work coach will talk to you about your options.
New Style Job Seekers Allowance
Universal Credit
You can apply for Universal Credit online. To make a claim, you need to create an account, which you use it to make a claim. You must complete your claim within 28 days of creating your account or you will have to start again.
If you live with your partner, you will both need to create accounts. You’ll link them together when you claim. You cannot claim by yourself.
Hint: You can earn up to £573 a month without it affecting your Universal Credit claim. One member uses her umbrella company to extract all money she earns a month as holiday pay and then gets it paid back to her over the Christmas, Easter and Summer holidays.
UC - How Your Earnings Affect Your Claim
You can sign up for Universal Credit now, as it is based on your last 5 weeks of earning. For this reason, you may not get a payment in August but you will, if not working, qualify for a payment in September.
Grants
There are a number of grants you may qualify for over the summer. They include:
NEU Trust fund give confidential support and financial assistance to members in times of illness or hardship.
Education Support Partnership provide counselling and financial assistance to all education staff.
Teaching Staff Trust provide financial support when something’s happened that you couldn’t have expected.
The Elizabeth Finn Fund (EFF) provides financial assistance for people who are British and have a professional or similar background.
More shortcuts to grants can be found at:
Solution 3: Wellbeing Support
Created by Raegon Guest: Raegon Guest Anchor Wellbeing
As well as financial support, some members may need emotional and well being support. Here are a number of links where this support can be located if you need it:
Education Support
Education Support 08000 562561
Education support is a charity providing mental health and wellbeing support to educators. They are available 24/7, so you always have an option to contact them. They provide immediate support through their phone line, where you can speak to a trained professional at any time and also have lots of useful information and guidance on their website.
Now and Beyond
Now and Beyond is the UK’s only mental health and wellbeing festival for schools. Over the last 3 years they have built up a fantastic resource centre for educators to access and their social media is full of useful pointers and videos.
They also have a text support service in collaboration with SHOUT (See NHS below) – just text ‘Beyond’ to 85258. Texts are free from EE, O2, Vodafone, 3, Virgin Mobile, BT Mobile, GiffGaff, Tesco Mobile and Telecom Plus. The Beyond Text Messenger service is powered by Shout and Crisis Text Line. Some aspects require you to sign up.
Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families
The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families is the leading organisation driving wellbeing in schools, with loads of research and useful information, as well as signposting. They have a really useful booklet specifically looking at staff wellbeing in schools.
NHS
The NHS have a dedicated link to help you find local NHS urgent mental health helplines (only available in England, I’m afraid).
Mental Health Helpline for Urgent Help – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
They also have a text message service run by charity Mental Health Innovations (who also run the Now & Beyond Text service – see above) which is available 24/7. Just text ‘SHOUT’ to 85258
A little note of warning:
As we have all come to experience, being supply staff can be a lonely, isolating and misunderstood path to tread. I am yet to find any support that has a specific arm for supply educators, so much of what you see will be aimed at school’s permanent staff. It doesn’t mean it won’t work for us, just that it might need tweaking. With that in mind, I am more than happy to do more sessions in the Network, or provide other information, signposts and guides if they’ll be helpful. If you have questions or something you’d like me to look at, just tag me in the Network or send me a message.
Remember, you are not alone – we are the colleagues who understand what you are going through!
Solution 4: Setting Money Aside
Many members, who have been doing supply for a while, are used to the long break in pay between the two school years. A large number talk about different ways of putting money aside during the weeks where you are working to tide you over the lean times of holidays (especially summer) and times of no work (specifically September). We all hope and pray for work at the beginning of September but, as zero-hours contractors, this is never guaranteed.
Setting money aside may be a little late as an idea for this year but could be an idea to have in mind for the next academic year.
So there you have it, the four possible solutions to surviving the summer holidays and a lean September. I wish you all the very best for the approaching August and hope September comes with plenty of work and much need money.
