The strain of supply work is greater than I thought. I’m in my 30s with a family. I’m using savings to survive and stressed about getting enough work long term. Not only that, you have to think about the future – really, you need to be saving up enough money to be able to survive August and September next year to start the supply cycle again.
In some ways, I’m grateful that you can at least see there is work appearing on Teacher Booker but it also adds a strange feeling of rejection when you are repeatedly applying and not getting work.
This is answer 206 of the 269 written answers that teachers let us quote anonymously in the Scottish Teacher Employment Survey 2026. It answers the survey’s last question: what do the people who make decisions about teacher employment need to know?
We have corrected spelling, added paragraph breaks and removed details that could identify anyone. Words in square brackets are ours.