Teacher & TA Absences & Leave

1. If you are going to be absent due to illness, you must WhatsAPP or call the Repulse Bay Substitute Coordinator by 9:00 pm the night before or at 6:00am in the morning to request for a sub. Kindly make sure she receives your request for a sub. 
    
2. Subs must be requested through the sub coordinator. If you know of a sub that you prefer, you should inform the sub coordinator in advance.
    
3. You must also contact an assigned person on your team or department to inform them, i.e. call your teaching partner, TAs call their teacher, etc. Please also inform your supervising principal.
    
4. You are responsible for keeping your substitute folder up to date. Lesson plans are particularly important to update.  Please also include lunch duties and After School Activities schedule, if any.
    
5. Following your absence, you must complete a leave request form and turn it into the Admin Office for principals' signatures. 

The following information should be kept in a folder to be given to a substitute teacher in case of absence. It should be located in conspicuous space in your classroom, and your colleagues and TAs should know where it is stored. Some of the items will need to be replaced every time you have a sub in your room. Please make sure you update this information and its contents regularly so that you always have an up-to-date sub-folder ready.

List of Items to have ready in Substitute Folder:

1. Class list with relevant important information about the children
2. Name labels for children
3. Class telephone and address list
4. Crisis plan book – with info on fire drills and emergency evacuation plans (where you keep emergency backpacks). 
5. Class schedule, lunch duties and ASA responsibility, if any
6. Details for each day of the cycle (for example how you handle splitting children for Chinese classes, how you handle Library time, etc.)
7. Lesson plans for each part of the day, including information on where to find materials, books, teacher manuals, etc.
8. Name of who to go to for help (Instructional Council or other colleagues or TAs)
9. Clear expectations for what you want the sub to do after school hours (subs are expected to work a 7.5 hour day). If you have nothing for your sub to do, the Library is always willing to have people help. 
10. Parent Handbook

1. When a Teacher is absent and we need to find a substitute for the Teacher, our goal is to select a qualified Teacher.
2. At times when we are unable to get a qualified Teacher Substitute, a Teacher Assistant may be called upon to take over a class. In many cases, our Teacher Assistants are very able to provide substitute coverage because of their knowledge of the children and their familiarity with the classroom routines. We will look to the classroom Teachers to ascertain how ready and willing their Teacher Assistant would be to substitute for them if they need to be absent, taking into consideration their experience and abilities.
3. At the beginning of the year, the Teacher will talk with the Teacher Assistant to determine if he/she is willing and prepared to be a sub that school year. That information will then be shared with the Sub Coordinator. 

1. If a Teacher or Teacher Assistant is unable to come in to work, the Teacher or TA must notify the Sub Coordinator. If the Teacher or Teacher Assistant knows that he/she will be absent the following day, he/she should call (not email!) the Sub Coordinator the evening before no later than 9:00pm. If a Teacher or Teacher Assistant only knows he/she will be sick the day of school, he/she should call the Sub Coordinator at 6:00am on the day of the absence. This helps a sub to be identified as quickly as possible. Kindly avoid, if possible, calling after 6:30 am as this would mean the substitute won’t be arriving on time. A Leave Request Form should be completed upon their return to school and submitted to the Teacher or Teacher Assistant’s supervisor for approval. The principal has final approval on all leave requests.
   
   The TA should notify the teacher(s) if they are absent.
    
2. When Teachers or Teacher Assistants know in advance that they need to be absent, for example because they are attending a conference or doing a duty elsewhere in the school, they need to complete the Leave Request Form, turn it into their supervisor and inform the Sub Coordinator as soon as possible.
    
3. The Sub Coordinator’s job is to locate a qualified Substitute Teacher for all absences where a sub is needed. If the Sub Coordinator is unable to find a qualified Teacher to sub, then the following guidelines apply:
   - The Teacher Assistant from the team may be asked to sub pending agreement from the Teacher.
   - Another Teacher may be asked to step in as a sub and his/her other duties reassigned temporarily.
    
4. When a Teacher Assistant is asked to sub as a Teacher for a whole day, he or she will be paid the rate established by the school (currently HK$540) in addition to their Teacher Assistant’s salary for each day subbed. 
    
5. If a Teacher Assistant is asked to sub for a Teacher involving three or more hours of direct instructional time, he/she will be paid HK$270 in addition to their Teacher Assistant’s salary for each day subbed. Less than three hours of instructional time subbing will not be compensated additionally for Teacher Assistants, as this will fall into part of their regular duties.
    
6. There are always times when Teacher Assistants are asked to cover for Teachers as part of their regular duties, and this will not be compensated beyond the additional TA salary. Our generous staff ratios allow this to happen from time to time and we expect reasonable judgment to be used in making this decision. 
   
   Examples of this are:
   - To attend meeting with Student Services
   - To attend a meeting with a parent
   - To fulfill school wide responsibility i.e. WASC activities or curriculum meetings
    
7. In order to be paid, Teacher Assistants need to sign in the Sub Book in the Administration Office. The Sub Coordinator arranges for payment for all subs.