What are school cover lessons, and how do I request or accept cover?
School cover lessons help make sure pupils can continue receiving tutoring when their usual tutor cannot attend a lesson.
There are three types of school cover lessons:
Cover requests: when you cannot attend one of your own lessons and need another tutor to cover it.
Cover slots: one-off lessons you can accept ahead of time when another tutor cannot attend.
In-lesson opportunities: one-off cover lessons that appear when a pupil is waiting for support during a lesson.
How do I request cover for my school lesson?
You should always try to attend your scheduled school lessons with your pupils. If you cannot make a lesson, first check whether you can reschedule your lesson.
If you cannot reschedule the lesson, you can request cover:
Log in and go to your Bookings page.
Click the ‘Edit’ button and select ‘I can’t make this lesson’ from the dropdown menu.
Check the date and time of the lesson you cannot attend in the pop-up window.
Select ‘Cancel Lesson’.
Submit a cover report.
Why is there a limit on cover requests?
School pupils make the most progress when they are able to learn from, and build trust with, the same tutor week after week. Having a different tutor for multiple lessons can affect their progress and consistency.
Because of this, there is a limit on the number of cover requests you can make per slot. The limit depends on the length of the slot:
Slot length | Cover requests allowed |
1–5 lessons | 0 |
6–10 lessons | 1 |
11+ lessons | 2 |
If you exceed the number of cover requests allowed for your slot, you will need to cancel the whole slot.
This is also why you cannot request cover for the first lesson in a slot. If you cannot make the first lesson, you will need to cancel the entire slot.
If the school has rearranged the initial first lesson and it is now scheduled for the end of the programme, the second lesson becomes the first lesson of the programme.
This means you cannot request cover for that lesson.
Why can’t I request cover?
You might see a pop-up letting you know that you cannot request cover. This can happen if:
You have already reached the cover request limit for your slot.
You are trying to request cover for the first lesson in a slot.
What are cover slots?
Cover slots are one-off lessons that you can accept ahead of time when another tutor cannot attend.
Cover slots appear on your School Opportunities page. The original tutor will leave lesson notes so you can prepare ahead of time and continue from where they left off.
If you accept a cover slot, you will provide a one-off cover lesson.
What are In-lesson cover opportunities?
In-lesson cover opportunities appear when:
You are in a lesson space.
Your pupil has not arrived.
Another pupil is waiting for a tutor.
We match you with the waiting pupil so they can receive support and you can be paid for the lesson.
If you accept an In-lesson opportunity, you will deliver a one-off cover lesson for the remaining part of the lesson.
You will receive £10 for delivering the lesson, and no preparation is required.
You do not need to stay in your original lesson space for the full 55 minutes if you accept an In-lesson opportunity. You will not be penalised for leaving the original lesson space to support another pupil.
Writing my cover report
You will either:
Be prompted to write the cover report when you cancel the lesson if you need cover for your next lesson.
Be prompted to write the cover report at the end of the lesson, immediately before the cover lesson.
You can find more helpful information in the articles below: