Cover Supervisor/Manager

Townsend Church of England School, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 6DR

12 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  Monday, 2nd March 2026 or sooner

• Closing date

  13 February 2026 at 9am

• Date listed

  29 January 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Administration, HR, data and finance
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Part time, full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £25,989.00 - £32,061.00 Annually (FTE) Plus outer London fringe. Term Time 38 weeks plus 5 inset days.

Cover Supervisor/Manager job summary

We are looking for a committed and talented person to join our existing Cover Team. As Cover Supervisor/Manager, you will be responsible for the management, organisation and coordination of daily staff absences across the school, ensuring all classes have appropriate cover. You will manage our internal Cover Supervisors and external supply agencies and be responsible for providing daily cover as a Cover Supervisor when needed.

The post-holder will have access to and be responsible for confidential information and documentation. They must ensure confidential or sensitive material is handled appropriately and accurately. An understanding of Arbor is an advantage. However, training will be provided on how to use the MIS system to ensure effective understanding.

The Cover Supervisor role involves providing classroom supervision to whole classes in the absence of a teacher as required, delivering any work left or prepared by the absent teacher or by the subject leader. When not covering for absent teachers, you are likely to work as part of our learning support team, or to assist with school administration, help with displays or to support subject or year leaders. Options are flexible depending on the strengths, abilities and skills of the successful applicant.

Previous or similar experiences would be an advantage although support is available to help you learn. Previous experience of working in a secondary school would be welcome and appreciated but is not essential as long as you are prepared to learn and to train.

This post would suit either an experienced colleague looking for a new experience, someone looking for their first appointment in a school with the right skill set, a newly qualified person with appropriate experience, someone returning to school work with appropriate experience, as long as you will be able to quickly demonstrate impact and the ability to support the students in their continued learning, or someone considering teaching as a future career.
About the School

Townsend is a relatively small and very friendly school with a great atmosphere, circa 800 on roll, including a Sixth Form. Townsend is rated Good by Ofsted (January 2024) in all areas. In our last SIAMS inspection (May 2024), it was found that we are living up to our foundation as a Church school.

Townsend Church of England School is situated on a large, green site between St Albans and Harpenden, and welcomes applicants from people of all faiths and of no faith. Children who attend Townsend live in St Albans and Harpenden, as well as other towns in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire, including Welwyn Garden City, Hemel Hempstead and Luton. Townsend has evolved at pace in recent years with a clear ambition to be a school which provides the highest quality education that a setting can. Our outcomes have improved with children making good progress in their qualifications as well as maintaining a caring and supportive environment. Opportunities to enrich the curriculum have increased recently with school visits to France, Italy, Poland and America. Townsend has also embraced the best technology available by becoming an Apple school in September 2024, which has seen all students provided with access to an iPad. We are also improving the fabric of the building with integrated learning spaces and plans to develop the sports and technology facilities.

Townsend believes that educating the whole child is key to a successful education. The Bible-based vision of Love Your Neighbour underpins all we do. Students are taught to respect and care for themselves and each other, and Townsend’s supportive environment encourages them to make the most out of their journey through Secondary School.

Although this is a Church School you do not have to adhere to the Christian faith to work here, but you must be in sympathy with our work and be able to support the aspects that give us our distinctive character as a Church of England School.

Headteacher, Mr Anthony Flack is excited by the opportunity to make Townsend, ‘The first choice secondary school for all’.

Friendly and welcoming, Townsend impresses with its calm learning environment and caring staff. To find out more about the school, please visit our website for more details https://townsend.herts.sch.uk/

We reserve the right to move to shortlisting and interviews when we have viable applications.

If you would like additional information or to discuss this vacancy - please email the school (recruitment@townsend.herts.sch.uk) for the attention of Mr Flack (Headteacher), or Mrs Llewellyn (Senior Deputy Headteacher), and we can either email a reply or telephone you if you leave a contact number.

To apply for this vacancy, please send a cover letter and an application form to Mr Flack, Headteacher, Townsend CofE School, High Oaks, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 6DR or email to recruitment@townsend.herts.sch.uk

Townsend CofE School is committed to the safeguarding of all students and all staff appointed are subject to the usual teaching vetting and compliance checks that include DBS checks, two satisfactory references, confirmation of identity, qualifications, and barred list checks.

Following the shortlisting stage, and before making a final decision, the school will collect and process information publicly available about you by conducting a brief online search using an internet search engine. We do this to ensure that the school acts in accordance with its obligations set out in Keeping Children Safe in Education.

Further information about the job

The candidate will be required to undergo a full enhanced DBS check and must be eligible to work in the UK.

Visas cannot be sponsored.

If you're interested in teaching or training to teach in England as an international citizen, we can help you understand your next steps.

Commitment to safeguarding

Townsend Church of England School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Successful candidates will be required to have a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Baring (DBS) check and meet the safeguarding requirements consistent with those outlined in the Keeping Children Safe in Education document. Please note that references are always taken up.

Applying for the job

This school accepts applications through their own website, where you may also find more information about this job.

CVs will not be accepted for this application.

About Townsend Church of England School

• School type: Local authority maintained school, Church of England, ages 11 to 18
• Education phase: Secondary school
• School size: 756 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 18
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• School website: Townsend Church of England School website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/townsend-va-church-of-england

A Church of England Voluntary Aided secondary school.
See Website www.townsend.herts.sch.uk

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