Establish Relationships Quickly with Students You Don’t Know

Someone puts their head round the staffroom door: can you just take 8C this period? Whether you're on supply, a cover supervisor or a trainee, you often get a class you don't know, a topic you didn't plan and about 47 minutes.

The habits here carry you through those first few minutes and the rest of the lesson. Be kind but firm, as you would with a stranger. Remember you're a guest in their room and ask where the crayons live. Keep pupils to the seating plan even when you can't find it (there's a script for that). Pick three non-negotiables and let the small stuff go.

There's help for pupils who find change hard, and a challenge. Give the pupil you've been warned about a job, and something positive to take away. It comes from a behaviour specialist who has done plenty of supply teaching herself.