Name: David Rennie
Age: 55
Specialism: I graduated from Loughborough University with a degree in Sports Studies, then did my teaching PGCE at Cardiff.
PK Education office: East Midlands
How long have you worked as a teacher?
I’ve been working as a teacher ever since I qualified in 1983. I originally studied Sports Studies so I teach PE in Secondary schools.
What made you turn to supply teaching as a career?
After being in permanent posts for 30 years, I felt like I wanted a change but I still wanted to teach. So I began to look into supply teaching, and I came across PK Education. Once I’d spoken to Gemma at PK Education’s East Midlands office, I knew I was making the right decision and becoming a supply teacher was the right route I wanted to follow.
How long have you worked with PK Education?
I’ve been working with PK Education for over a year now as I started with them in November 2013. During this time I’ve been assigned different posts on a day-to-day basis and longer term supply roles. I’ve also had a variety of teaching roles in terms of subjects, by trade I would say I’m a PE teacher but PK Education has provided me with the opportunity to expand my experience.
What kind of assignments have you had?
I’ve had a real variety which has been very refreshing!
At first, I was getting a lot of day-to-day roles which was great and allowed me to visit a variety of different schools and teach different classes. Then, after a couple of months I was offered a long term cover contract for three days each week. So I taught there three days a week and the other two days I was available to cover at other schools.
I’ve recently started another long term cover role at the same school, but my current role is full time.
All of the people I’ve spoken to at PK Education have been great and very personable, they’re an agency that’s very easy to work with. I always feel prepared for where I’m going and I’m confident that they’ll supply me with work when I need it.
How has supply teaching helped you?
Supply teaching has allowed me to make a change in my career, whilst also keeping my hand in teaching. At a time where I felt like I needed a change, I was able to gain a lot of experience in different subjects and different environments. I’ve now gained a long term position as an English Teacher which I’m really enjoying. I’d say that working as a supply teacher has reignited my love for teaching and I feel very lucky because not everybody gets the chance to do that.
