Cover Teacher Handover Sheet

Who this is for

The page a cover teacher reads before the class walks in. Each lesson with what to do, where the resources are and what to collect, the pupils they need to know about in a line each, the routines the class expects, and who to call if it goes wrong.

Teachers leaving work for a colleague or supply teacher, department heads setting cover, and the cover teachers themselves, who would rather have it on one page than in an email chain.

What this helps you track

• What each period is doing, with the resources and where to find them
• The work to collect at the end, so nothing is left in the room
• Pupils the cover teacher needs to know about, in a line and without private detail
• The routines the class is used to, so the day runs as it usually does
• Who to call, and where they are

How to use it

1. Fill in the class, room, date and periods covered, and your own name as the absent teacher.
2. Write each lesson on a row: the period, the class, what to do in plain steps, where the resources are and what to collect.
3. List the pupils a stranger needs to know about, with a short practical note; write see office rather than any medical or personal detail.
4. Describe the routines: how the class comes in, how work is handed in, where the register goes.
5. Fill in who to call and where they can be found, then leave the sheet where the cover teacher will see it.
6. The browser version keeps a copy in your own browser so the routines and pupil notes carry from one absence to the next.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How much detail should the pupil notes have?

As little as does the job. A seating note, a pairing that works, a pupil who leaves early. Anything medical or personal belongs with the office, and the note can say so.

What if the cover teacher does not teach my subject?

Write the what-to-do column as steps anyone could follow, name the page or worksheet, and say what a finished piece looks like. Assume nothing about the subject.

Can I reuse it?

Yes. The routines, the pupil notes and the contacts change slowly; the lessons change every time. The browser version saves the sheet so you only rewrite the lessons.

Is there room for a seating plan?

No, deliberately. Attach the seating plan sheet if the class needs one; this sheet is the words, not the map.