Can it do lesson cover as well as playground duty?

Yes. Import the teaching timetable, then same-day lesson cover sits next to duty posts. Clash-aware picks will not put someone in two places at once.

Will supply staff appear on the rota?

You can mark supply against a day and keep the published PDF accurate. Booking the agency is still yours.

Does cover go out before someone checks it?

No. Suggestions wait until you confirm. A draft is not what staff see in the PDF or in their inbox.

Where does the 8 hours a week come from?

From the worked example of an 88-staff secondary: same-day duty and lesson cover, the weekly duty rota, reprinting lists and answering who is where. The secondary case study splits those hours out.

Cover

Same-day school cover. Duty and lessons on one board.

Same-day cover is the list you rebuild when someone is off: duties, and in a secondary the lessons as well. In a worked example of an 88-staff 11-16 school, that comes to about 8 hours a week, often owned by an assistant head. SchoolRota proposes who can step in. You approve it, then staff get one PDF.

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Absence in, cover proposals out, with reasons you can check
Lesson cover that respects the teaching timetable you import
Duty cover for break, lunch and gate on the same day
Optional AI chat to prepare the day, still with your approval

Cover without rebuilding the sheet

Cover supervisors and assistant heads lose mornings to reprinting lists. SchoolRota keeps the weekly pattern, then treats today as a copy you can amend. Uncovered lessons and empty posts stay visible until you fill them.

Rules you set, not a black box

Cover preference, first aid, job level and who is already teaching all feed the suggestions. Nothing publishes until you confirm. Staff never see a draft.

What it does not replace

It will not build next year's teaching timetable, and it will not ring an agency. Supply can sit on the day so the published sheet is accurate. The 8 hours is the secondary worked example, costed with assistant-head pay from the STPCD 2025/26 for England outside London. Your week may be shorter or longer.

Common questions

Can it do lesson cover as well as playground duty?: Yes. Import the teaching timetable, then same-day lesson cover sits next to duty posts. Clash-aware picks will not put someone in two places at once.
Will supply staff appear on the rota?: You can mark supply against a day and keep the published PDF accurate. Booking the agency is still yours.
Does cover go out before someone checks it?: No. Suggestions wait until you confirm. A draft is not what staff see in the PDF or in their inbox.
Where does the 8 hours a week come from?: From the worked example of an 88-staff secondary: same-day duty and lesson cover, the weekly duty rota, reprinting lists and answering who is where. The secondary case study splits those hours out.

Try it with your own school this term.

30 days free, no card, full product on your own data. Set the portal up when it suits you, publish your first day, and see what 07:40 feels like when cover is already proposed.

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