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Your Career• 3 Min read

15th November 2018

What is a CRT teacher and what does the role involve?

What does the role of a CRT teacher involve?

Casual relief teaching (abbreviated to CRT) is where a qualified teacher is employed by a school for the purpose of covering the temporary absences – such as sickness or holidays – of their full-time teaching staff.

CRT can be as short notice as being contacted on the day to fill in for a day’s illness or as regular as a couple of months to fill in during bereavement or maternity leave. You will make your availability clear to the school at your initial interview.

Casual relief teaching is often undertaken by teachers to improve their work-life balance or to fit their work in the classroom around childcare responsibilities or part-time education.

It is also a useful way to secure a full-term position at a school that you are interested in working at, but which has no full time positions currently available.

What is a CRT teacher?: Advantages of the role

CRT teachers are not subject to the same assessments and administrative duties as a full time teacher, freeing you up from some of the most time consuming duties of a role in education.

Casual relief teachers do not have to be present at after school meetings, nor do they have to meet parents or write reports for children. They are free to focus on doing the part of the role that they enjoy most – actually teaching.

Due to their less restrictive schedules, casual relief teachers can usually take breaks whenever they like. Those working in full time teaching positions are restricted to holidaying only during the school holidays, during which flight and hotel prices can more than double. Travel for CRTs is much more flexible and thus more affordable.

CRT is also an excellent way of testing the water before applying for a full time teaching position in a particular school or neighbourhood. It will allow you to gauge the feeling of the school as a work environment, the type of pupils who go there and whether or not it will be a suitable workplace for you.

Working as a casual relief teacher is also an excellent way of returning to education after a career break such as maternity leave. If you are studying, the part-time nature of casual relief teaching is also useful as it fits very well around the demands of most part-time courses.

If you are retiring, reducing your hours from the traditional full-time teaching role to relief teaching in the same school is an excellent way to slowly reduce your hours.  

What is a CRT teacher?: Disadvantages of the role

The main downside of casual relief teaching is also the most obvious – a CRT teacher forgoes the regular income and job security of a full-time teaching position in order for more sporadic and less guaranteed pay.

Another disadvantage of the role is that you will have to be ready to work at very short notice. If a full time teacher calls in sick, they may do so early in the morning on the day and you must be prepared to come in and cover. This means that it is difficult to make plans on days you have listed as being available to work.

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