At HD Ningbo, cover is a shared professional responsibility for all International Teachers. Emergency cover is assigned by senior leadership so teachers do not need to arrange this themselves and to balance cover across the teaching team. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey to help us identify whether it is possible to make the process smoother and more consistent for everyone.
This survey focuses on two areas: the quality of cover work provided when teachers are absent, and how cover is assigned. All responses are anonymous.
1. The last time you covered a class, was a cover sheet provided by the absent teacher? Yes, a complete cover sheet with lesson details Yes, but it was incomplete or unclear No cover sheet was provided I don't remember
2. When no cover sheet (or an insufficient one) was provided, how much extra time did you spend preparing for the lesson? 5–10 minutes 10–20 minutes 20+ minutes / I had to create a new lesson None — I could follow what was left
3. What information on a cover sheet is important to you? Clear lesson outline / activities OneDrive link to all resources Room and support staff details Key student information / behaviour notes Login details for digital platforms Seating plan Contact person if I have questions None of the above — I can manage without a cover sheet
4. Should any other information be added to the cover sheet?
5. How much detail do you need in a cover sheet to teach the lesson confidently? Please balance what is helpful for you as the cover teacher against what is reasonable to expect from a colleague who may be unwell. Brief bullet points — I can adapt Step-by-step instructions for each part of the lesson Full script / word-for-word instructions It depends on the subject / year group I do not need a cover sheet, just PPT or lesson resources
6. It is a reasonable expectation that teachers prepare a partially completed cover sheet in advance, so it can be quickly shared if they become unwell unexpectedly. Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree
7. If your year group / subject team kept a shared folder of "ready-to-go" cover lessons with pre-filled cover sheets, how useful would this be? Very useful — it would save me significant time Somewhat useful Not useful — I prefer to plan my own My team already does this
8. When a teacher is unwell, we need to balance what is reasonable to ask of them against what their colleagues need to cover effectively. What is a reasonable expectation for how much notice a sick teacher should give when they are able to do so? 12 hours prior (the day before) Before 7:00am (so cover can be arranged before the school day starts) Before 8:00am As soon as they are aware, even if that's during the school day It depends entirely on the illness — some come on suddenly and cannot be predicted
9. Cover is currently assigned based on three factors: (1) the number of covers you have done so far this semester, (2) the time since your last cover, and (3) the busyness of your timetable on that day compared to your personal average. Do you feel these are fair factors to consider when assigning cover? Yes, these are fair factors Mostly fair, but I would suggest additional factors No, these do not feel fair I'm not sure
10. If you feel additional factors should be considered, please specify:
11. Over the last few weeks we have developed and tested a tool that automatically assigns cover based on the same criteria as previously applied. Using this tool, cohort leaders would be able to assign cover for their own year groups using the same distribution and tracking methods as before. If cover assignment responsibilities were shared between cohort leaders, I would: support it — cohort leaders know the class needs better support it — it would spread the workload more fairly need to see how it works first prefer it to remain assigned centrally by senior leadership
12. If you could change ONE thing about how cover is managed, what would it be? Please note that the structure of the school necessitates that cover will continue to be assigned internally.