7 WAYS TO HOLD ONTO SUPPLY STAFF (and keep them coming back to your centre)




Ideas collected from a variety of current supply staff:

          LEAVE A DETAILED MESSAGE OR TEXT.  Include name of centre.  Who's calling.  Who they'll be filling in for.  Which age group of children.  Work time and date.  Are the children going on a field trip that day?

      WRITE DOWN THE CURRENT DAILY ROUTINES.  Updated from what's posted on the wall.  Write out what the supply should be doing and when.  There is nothing worse than walking into a busy centre and not knowing what to do; some supplies end up standing around, or walking in circles trying to figure things out or just follow along with the children. 

      CREATE A SUPPLY INFORMATION SHEET that looks something like:
You are filling in for ….
The other staff in the room are ….
You should go on break from …. to …
The children go outside from …. to … and have snack/lunch from …. to …
The children's bathroom routine is … and note: children can go in pairs but NEVER child X and Y together because they won't come back.  Ever.
The lunch routine is … (e.g. lunch trays come from kitchen at 11.  Your group sits at the yellow table.  The teacher serves the food and the children can pour their own milk.  After the children are done, they tidy up their space and can immediately go to the washroom or all the children should wait until everyone is done and the group goes to the washroom together).

4      LET SUPPLY STAFF KNOW THE PAYROLL PROCESS: where to record their hour or if the supervisor does this, when pay day is and how they will be paid (cheque, direct deposit,) who to contact if there is a problem or discrepancy.

5      PROVIDE A LIST OF THE CHILDREN'S NAMES and maybe the parents if the staff will be maintaining an attendance list/parent sign in/out.



6      PROVIDE IDEAS ON WHAT TO DO IF THERE IS 'DEAD' TIME.  If the supply is filling in for toddler teacher A and toddler teacher A has programming time from 5:30-6:00, what can the supply do during that time instead? Keep in mind that it's nice for a regular staff to do toddler teacher A's dishes because toddler teacher A is away, but the supply staff now has 'dead time' and doesn't necessarily know what to do instead.

PROVIDE A CENTRE LIST with staff names and age groups so when the next call comes, they can refer to the list and know who they're filling in for and can plan ahead.   
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