Following the announcement last night and the new lockdown, there is a need for all supply staff to do their part to make sure that this time, every member of supply staff gets furloughed.

Last time, only somewhere between 40-60% of supply teachers were furloughed, even though every member of supply staff who used the HMRC on-line enquiry chat was told that they did qualify for furlough. This time, we need to convince the MPs in particular that the furlough scheme needs, for supply staff in education, to be mandatory and not voluntary.

To this end, we need you to write to your MP, laying out the case: that supply teachers are qualified teachers; that successive governments have spent a great deal of money training us to be teachers; that in the first lockdown only 40% of supply teachers were furloughed; that many teachers have been told already that they won’t be furloughed this time and that they need to raise questions in parliament about making furlough for education supply staff (teachers, cover supervisors and TAs) mandatory, so that we don’t exacerbate the recruitment and retention problem that already exists in education (most new teachers leave within 5 years).

I have spend the morning writing a standard letter to send to your MP but if you would like to write your own, making it more personal, I would do that: MPs like more personal letters. You can use https://www.writetothem.com/ to find out who your MP is and where to send your email.

Now is the time to make sure that all supply staff get furloughed up until half term.

Here is the letter. Please amend it as you see fit and make it as personal as possible: MPs love a personal letter from constituents. Best of luck.

Dear (Name of MP),

My name is (Insert your name) and I am a supply (teacher/cover supervisor/teaching assistant) in your constituency. As of 8 pm last night and the announcement of this new national lockdown, I am highly unlikely to get any work until the half term at the end of February. Please could you help me to get onto the government’s Flexible Furlough Scheme.

I am a qualified (teacher/cover supervisor/teaching assistant) with (insert number) years of experience in schools. The government spent a large amount of money training me, and the other supply staff I know, to create an intelligent and agile substitute workforce. I regularly go into schools at very short notice and cover the absence of qualified staff with high quality, on demand teaching. I and my supply colleagues are the glue that hold the education system together.

During the first lockdown last March, only around 40% of supply teachers in England and Wales were furloughed and a number of those were only furloughed at National Minimum Wage (not their actual wage). Many supply education staff have been informed already that their agency will not be furloughing them during this lockdown. Some are saying that because schools will be open for the children of key workers, then supply staff cannot be furloughed.

The current furlough scheme is a Flexible Furlough Scheme which means that, if I do get work, then I don’t receive furlough and if I do not work, then a furlough payment will cover my wages. I think that seems a highly fair system which all supply staff should be signed up to.

Could you please raise with you colleagues and in Parliament the question: why it is not mandatory for education supply staff to be signed up to the Flexible Furlough Scheme? Last time it was up to the supply agencies and only around 40% of the agencies furloughed their supply staff. In both Scotland and Northern Ireland, 100% of supply staff were given ‘furlough like’ compensation: I think the supply staff of England and Wales deserve the same treatment.

There is a recruitment and retention problem already in education in the UK: most new teachers leave the profession within the first 5 years. I hope you can support supply staff to get furloughed and help retain as many experienced teachers in the profession as possible.

Thank you for taking the time to read my email. I hope you agree with the need to make furlough mandatory for supply staff and do what you can to make it a reality.

Yours faithfully,

(Insert Name)