Maternity or paternity leave, illness or injury, bereavement, jury service, the gig of a lifetime… just some of the reasons why instrumental and vocal teachers might need to find someone to cover their work.
‘Depping’ is something music teachers have always done, but we tend only to think about it when we have to find someone, or when asked to step into someone else's shoes. It's worth thinking ahead of time about depping out work or being a dep.
Portsmouth piano teacher Mariana Tapp has been on both sides of the arrangement. ‘When I needed cover, I asked a friend who was looking to expand his confidence and ability,’ she says. I introduced him to my students as a trainee and trusted friend. It worked very well for older students but not so well for younger ones – they didn't respond so well to change.’
Navigating the responses of pupils, parents and the original teacher can be tricky.
‘I once covered a few lessons which resulted in parents asking to transfer to me permanently. I had to turn them down out of respect towards my colleague,’ says Tapp. There are of course no guarantees of receiving the same respect in return: ‘I've also lost pupils when the helping colleague offered a lower rate. Luckily not many left!’
There are other reasons why teachers may not wish to call in a substitute. I spoke to one teacher with a long-term health condition, who said: ‘I've never depped out my teaching. People tried to persuade me when I was really ill, but I feared I'd lose the students so I battled on.’
Maternity leave presents challenges for music teachers, especially self-employed ones, who have spent years building both relationships and pupil numbers. A recent report from the Federation of Small Businesses highlighted the discrepancy in maternity support for employed and self-employed women.
Bristol flute teacher Violeta Llano has a busy teaching schedule in schools across the city; a colleague from Bristol Plays Music covered her recent maternity leave.
Her approach was to establish useful communication: ‘I met with the dep, and she came to one of my schools to see me teach. During our meeting I went through my notes and registers and we chatted about each pupil. I think this gave her the confidence to meet my pupils halfway through the year and not break the flow of learning. Don't forget to prepare your pupils too!’
She takes a balanced view: while the dep should be adaptable and aim to maintain the learning relationship, ‘it's not personal if they teach something differently to you. It's all a valuable experience for your pupils’.
For teachers doing work for schools and hubs, situations and contracts may vary – but very often the hub will take on responsibility by using one of its own tutors, rather than leaving it to the individual tutor to replace themselves.
Sue Beckett, head of Portsmouth Music Service, explains her hub's approach: ‘We would always use one of our existing tutors – we have interviewed them and we know they are quality assured. We liaise with the neighbouring hub if none of our own tutors are available at the required time.’
Diane Widdison is the national education organiser for the Musician's Union, which represents many ‘musicians who teach’. ‘If you are teaching, you should take your responsibility seriously, and have a commitment to your pupils not to take on teaching work to fill in gaps while your playing work picks up,’ she says. ‘It's not good for pupils or schools, parents – or the teacher!’
Widdison echoes Beckett's position. ‘Depping should only happen in self-employed work. DBS check, public liability insurance check, how the dep gets paid – the teacher is responsible for the dep and will have to sort out any issues.’
While there is a discussion to be had about loyalty in the context of frozen rates of pay, zero-hour contracts and cases of teachers working full time who are still considered ‘self-employed’, music teachers would very likely all agree. We want to do the best possible job for all our pupils; it's simply not fair to take on work and then regularly send someone else.
If you're the regular teacher, make sure you send the dep the school's safeguarding policy, and if you're the dep, make sure you read it. The length of time a school or hub will accept since a teacher's last DBS check varies – sign up to the automatic updating service to avoid problems.
Musicians and music teachers, like everyone else, have embraced the internet and many of us can barely remember what our pre-online working lives were like. We use forums and social media to share best practice, new resources, and to advertise and find work. There are many Facebook groups where people look for last-minute playing deps, and increasingly teaching deps too. I took a random snapshot in early December: of the first 20 posts on a Facebook group for music teachers, only eight mentioned DBS checks. One post was someone looking for a dep; I contacted the poster but did not receive a reply.
Can it really be a good idea to ask someone you've never met, whose qualifications and DBS certificate you may not be able to check, to teach your pupils? After all, the teacher-pupil relationship is a central part of the job. Not one of the teachers or other professionals I spoke to was comfortable with the idea.
Widdison stresses the point: ‘It is your responsibility and reputation at stake when you get someone to cover your work.’
Talking to a dep about your pupils will allow them to approach lessons with confidence (© SHUTTERSTOCK/FRANZ12)
