What is a school duty rota? The sheet most schools still print.

• A named person, a post and a time, not a vague team label
• Break and lunch treated separately, including split sittings
• A weekly pattern, and a daily copy when the pattern breaks
• Different from the teaching timetable, and different from lesson cover

What usually goes on the sheet

Posts first: yard, hall, gate, corridor, late gate. Then the slots, often 10:30 and a split lunch. Then the name, plus the thing that actually matters that day, such as first aid or a child who cannot be left. If the sheet only says 'Team A', people still walk to the office to ask who that is.

Who tends to own it

In a small primary it is often the head, the SENCO or the office manager, because they know who is already on a 1:1 and who did the wet-play gate yesterday. A deputy or a senior midday supervisor may hold the pen. The hours do not shrink just because the job title changes. In our 15-staff primary example that work is at least 5 hours a week.

Duty, cover and the teaching timetable

Duty is the planned post. Cover is what you do when the planned person is absent. The teaching timetable is the lessons, which you import so a TA is not put on the yard during a phonics group. SchoolRota is for the first two. It does not build the curriculum timetable, and it does not book supply with an agency.

Common questions

Is a duty rota the same as a teaching timetable?

No. The timetable is lessons. The duty rota is who is on the playground, in the hall or on the gate while those lessons run.

What is the difference between duty and cover?

Duty is the plan for a normal day. Cover is the change when someone is off, late or already with a pupil. Many schools scribble cover onto the same sheet.

Do midday supervisors need a login?

They need the sheet. A published PDF in their inbox is enough. An account is for the person who changes the rota.

See also duty rota software, playground duty, same-day cover and the 15-staff primary example.