A longer booking may offer continuity, but the label alone does not tell you the workload, pay or security. Compare the actual duties and terms before accepting.
IN PLAIN ENGLISH
Day-to-day cover and longer placements can involve different responsibilities. Get planning, marking, meetings, hours and cancellation terms agreed rather than assuming they follow automatically from the booking length.
What may change with duration
In a short booking, a school may leave prepared work and ask you to hand it back. In a longer placement, it may expect you to plan sequences of lessons, assess work, attend meetings or communicate with families. These are common possibilities, not universal contractual rules.
Ask who owns each task and when it is expected to be done. For a support role, clarify whether you are attached to a pupil, class or wider team and who directs your work. If responsibilities change, ask to review the agreement.
Discuss the practical workload
Ask about timetable, preparation time, marking expectations, access to resources and support from a subject or phase lead. Confirm any duties before or after pupil hours. Do not assume being paid by the day means every additional meeting is either included or separately paid.
For example, a booking described as “cover for two weeks” may become half a term with planning responsibility. Before agreeing the extension, ask for a revised written description, pay arrangement and end date. A familiar school does not remove the need for clarity.
Check pay and continuity separately
A longer expected duration is not necessarily a guarantee of every day’s pay. Read cancelled bookings and notice and ask what happens if the absent colleague returns early.
Keep assignment dates and role details for Agency Worker Regulations purposes. Qualifying service is not simply 60 days, and changing agency does not necessarily restart the count. The legal hirer and actual duties matter.
Think about what suits you now
Different classrooms may provide variety but require repeated induction and travel planning. A regular placement may help you learn routines but bring a larger ongoing workload. Compare those practical differences against your availability and commitments, not a promise that one route is always better.
If you need a placement to count towards induction, read ECTs and supply teaching before accepting. A long booking does not automatically become an approved induction post.
What this means for you
Write down the expected duration, days, role, duties, gross pay, hours, named support contact and notice terms. Ask for an agreed review point if the booking continues. Keep the confirmation alongside your own record of actual work.
A clear handover at the end matters too: ask where planning, assessment and unfinished work should be left, using the school’s systems.
Frequently asked questions
Does long-term supply automatically become permanent?
No. An extension or qualifying equal-treatment rights do not themselves create a permanent job. Ask separately about any proposed change of employment.
Should the rate rise when duties increase?
Discuss the revised work and applicable contractual or equal-treatment terms. Do not assume either an automatic increase or that the old rate necessarily settles the issue. General agency-rights guidance below covers Great Britain; national and contractual arrangements differ.
Related guides
Sources and further reading
Last reviewed: 20 September 2026. Official guidance and individual arrangements can change.