Substitute Teachers Overview

Your regular staff members deserve time off for whatever reasons they see fit: they have an appointment to get to, they’re sick, they’re taking a quick family vacation, etc. You will not always have advanced notice, so having a system in place for substitute teachers – and making sure that regular staff know that system – is a must.

How you choose to staff your substitutes will depend greatly on your program’s location and size. A smaller program with classrooms well-within state childcare ratios might be able to cover a teacher’s absence by shifting around staff that are present, with no need to bring someone else in. Larger programs might use an agency to outsource substitute teachers on an as-needed basis; the agency would take care of hourly wages, payroll taxes, worker’s compensation, etc.

Unless you have complete faith in a staffing agency, a list of available substitutes is an absolute must. Familiarize yourself with your area’s regulations about substitutes (do they need CPR training, background checks, and registry confirmation?) and start creating a list of individuals that are available to substitute. Ensure their contact information is up-to-date and that you know what days and times they’re available.

Many schools start their substitute lists by looking to retired teachers – either from their program or otherwise – and current part-time staff. You need a mix of people that can work with any of your age groups or settings, at any time – there isn’t a magic formula for how many substitutes you should have on hand.

Some programs have a staff member who handles all absences and coordinates coverage, while others ask those who will be absent to find their own substitute. What works best for your program is mostly a matter of size and personal preference: if you utilize an agency, they might ask for one point-person, while if you have a smaller program, it might be easier to ensure everyone has access to a substitute list and can contact someone when they need to.

A final word on substitute teachers: they’re professionals, just like the rest of your staff, and deserve to feel comfortable and welcome into your program. If you have a ‘pool’ of substitutes for your program, you might consider inviting them to get to know the teachers, see the classrooms, and chat in a casual, child-free environment (and you could invite them to any community events!)

You might invite them to submit photos and bios for your program website, allowing families to get to know them. Ensure that your regular staff feel comfortable interacting with substitutes and providing them guidance as needed, leaving important information (daily schedules, allergies) in easy-to-find places. You want to cultivate great relationships with your substitute teachers so that they’re excited to join you.

Where to Include

At Playvolution HQ, we recommend using the Three Handbook Method.

Consider adding this policy to your Staff Handbook.

Considerations

• If you’re asking staff to contact their own substitute teachers, how do you expect them to do that? (Phone call, email, text?) What is the easiest option for last-minute needs, and what do the individual substitute teachers prefer? At what time do you expect staff to contact substitutes if they’re not able to attend work, and how will your staff inform you of who will be covering for them?
• If you’re planning on using staff in the program to cover for absences, do those staff members know that to be part of their duties? How will you support them if they have to make many classroom/age group changes throughout the day?
• If no substitute teachers are available (look, it can happen), what administrative staff is qualified to provide child care? If no one is available, how will you inform parents and caregivers of program closure? What will that mean for tuition, per contracts with families?
• If you’re using a staffing agency, who is in charge of contacting them to arrange coverage? How will you ensure that staff understands how to correctly use the agency’s systems?
• If a staff member has a negative experience with a substitute, how will it be handled?

Sample Policies

NOTE: The following samples are real-world examples relating to this post’s topic and are provided as a reference for creating your own policies and procedures. Sharing them here is not a recommendation of their content.

Sample 1

Sample 2

Sample 3

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