Questions, answered.
Plain-English answers for the people who evaluate, buy and run the platform — leaders, DPOs, cover coordinators and teachers. Can’t find it? Ask us directly.
Start here.
What does CoverMyClass actually do?
CoverMyClass is a structured handover platform for staff cover. When a teacher is absent, the platform captures what the cover adult needs to know to run the lesson well — learning intention, materials, seating, behaviour notes, SEND adjustments, a fallback activity — and routes it to whoever is in front of the class. The returning teacher then sees what was actually delivered and what needs follow-up.
It is not a supply agency, not a timetabling tool, and not a pupil information system. It sits in the narrow gap between “who is covering the lesson?” and “what should they do once they walk in?”
Who is the platform for?
Adults working in or for schools: senior leaders, cover coordinators, classroom teachers, internal cover staff, and approved external supply teachers. Pupils do not log in and there is no pupil-facing experience.
How is this different from using a supply agency?
Supply agencies provide the adult. CoverMyClass provides the brief that adult delivers. The two are complementary, not competing — agencies operate downstream of the school and rarely receive the lesson-level context their teachers actually need. CoverMyClass closes that gap regardless of whether the cover is internal or agency-supplied.
How is this different from a shared drive, email, or Google Doc?
Anything is better than nothing. The reason schools that already use shared drives still adopt a platform is structure and audit. Shared documents drift in format from teacher to teacher; emails are missed; and neither produces a record of what cover actually happened. CoverMyClass enforces a consistent template, surfaces incomplete briefs before the morning, and leaves an audit trail for KCSIE evidence.
Cost, evidence and the decision.
What does it cost?
The Standard tier is £30 per school per month with a 60-day free trial. The full ROI workings, sensitivity tables, and a five-year benefit model are on the Pricing page. Volume discounts apply for MATs.
What evidence sits behind the claims on this site?
The business case is built from a 165-source brief. Every statistical claim on the public site carries a numbered reference. The full theoretical and empirical record is laid out on the Evidence page; the source list is on References.
Can we trial it before committing?
Yes. The standard offer is a 60-day free trial with full functionality and a 30-licence cap — designed to span one half-term, which we consider the natural decision unit for a school. After the trial, schools that find no value simply do not subscribe; there is no auto-conversion.
Do you provide a procurement pack for DPOs and business managers?
Yes. On request we provide: the Data Processing Agreement, our subprocessor list, a vendor security questionnaire response, our privacy policy in long form, and outline platform terms. Email privacy@covermyclass.com to receive these. The privacy policy on this site already covers most procurement questions in a DPO-readable format.
Is the platform aligned to KCSIE?
Yes. KCSIE 2025 requires a proportionate, risk-based briefing for every temporary adult in a school. CoverMyClass produces and audits exactly that record. The same audit trail is what an Ofsted inspector or DfE reviewer would expect to see if they asked how cover is governed.
How your data is handled.
Is CoverMyClass UK GDPR-compliant?
Compliance is built into the architecture. Each school is the data controller for content entered into its workspace; CoverMyClass is the processor, acting on written instructions under a Data Processing Agreement. Platform data is hosted in the United Kingdom. The privacy policy sets out the legal bases, retention periods, security measures, breach notification commitments, and rights routing in full.
Do you store pupil data?
The platform is designed for staff-to-staff operational content (lesson plans, seating notes, SEND adjustments, behaviour flags). It is not, and should not be used as, a pupil information system. In ordinary use a school user may include limited pupil details — a forename, a year group, a brief adjustment — where necessary for cover delivery. Where that happens, the school remains the controller and we process the data only on the school’s instructions. Safeguarding-sensitive information should be handled in the school’s safeguarding systems, not the cover platform.
Where is the data hosted?
In the United Kingdom. If a subprocessor processes any personal data outside the UK or EEA, we use an appropriate UK GDPR transfer mechanism (for example, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement) and document the transfer in our subprocessor list.
Is each school’s data isolated from other schools?
Yes. Each school workspace is logically isolated. Data is never shared between schools, including between schools within the same MAT, unless the MAT has explicitly enabled trust-wide visibility for a specific function. Access within a workspace is role-based and audited.
Who are your subprocessors?
We engage a small number of carefully selected third-party providers for hosting, transactional email, error monitoring, and (where applicable) payment processing. The current list is available on request from privacy@covermyclass.com. We commit to giving schools reasonable advance notice of any material change.
What happens in the event of a data breach?
If we become aware of a personal data breach that is likely to result in a risk to individuals’ rights and freedoms, we notify affected schools without undue delay and, where required, the Information Commissioner’s Office within 72 hours, as required by Articles 33 and 34 UK GDPR.
Do you use school or pupil data to train AI models?
No. We do not use customer content to train third-party AI models. This is also stated in the privacy policy.
How it works in practice.
How does the handover process work?
The absent teacher (or, where they cannot, the cover coordinator) completes a structured brief: lesson title, learning intention, materials, seating plan, prior-learning notes, behaviour notes, SEND adjustments, and a fallback activity. The cover adult opens the brief on arrival and works from it. After the lesson, the cover adult records what was actually covered, what was set, and any concerns. The returning teacher sees the full record.
How long does it take to write a cover brief?
Most teachers complete a quality brief in under two minutes once they are used to the templates. The platform is deliberately designed so that the absent teacher with thirty seconds, or the cover adult who walked in three minutes ago, can both get what they need.
Can cover staff use it on a phone?
Yes. The platform is responsive and works on any device. Cover staff can view their day, open lesson briefs, and leave handover notes from whatever device they already use.
What happens if a teacher is absent at short notice?
For unplanned absences, the cover coordinator or a delegated leader can create the brief on the absent teacher’s behalf using saved templates and the teacher’s medium-term plan. The 60–90-minute morning cover routine described in the literature compresses to roughly fifteen minutes of oversight when this is in place.
How does role-based access work?
Each user has a role — for example, teacher, cover coordinator, senior leader, cover adult — with permissions scoped accordingly. Cover adults see only the briefs assigned to them on the day. Coordinators see the school’s whole cover picture. Senior leaders see oversight dashboards. Every sensitive action is logged.
Rolling out across a trust.
How does a MAT roll the platform out?
Typically one school at a time, with central-team observation, then a phased rollout across the remaining schools. The For MATs page sets out the model, including a worked ten-school example.
Do MATs get cross-school dashboards?
Yes — under the Advanced tier, the central team gets aggregated visibility across schools (cover load, brief completeness, KCSIE induction coverage) without seeing per-school workspace content. Trust-wide visibility is opt-in per function.
How is MAT billing structured?
Each school holds its own licence and is billed at the standard or trust-discounted rate. The trust can choose to consolidate billing centrally if helpful for finance.
Will it work alongside our existing MIS?
We focus on the cover workflow as the primary product. Integration with common MIS systems and Google / Microsoft workspaces is on the roadmap; specific options for your trust are discussed during onboarding. We do not require an integration to be useful — the platform works standalone.
Getting started, and help along the way.
How do you verify a school?
Via the school’s URN or DfE establishment number, which is public information, together with an authoritative email domain. We do not provision a workspace until verification is complete.
How long does setup take?
Most schools are live within a week of contract sign-off. Setup includes workspace provisioning, role assignment, template configuration, and a short walk-through with the cover coordinator and a representative teacher.
Is training included?
Yes. A short live walk-through is included at no additional cost, alongside written guidance. Most schools find that no further training is needed; the platform is deliberately designed to be obvious to anyone who has run a cover lesson before.
What does support look like during term time?
We aim to respond to support requests within one working day. For urgent issues during the school day, we operate a faster response channel which is shared during onboarding.
No lock-in, by design.
What happens to our data if we leave?
On termination, we delete or return school-entered content within 30 days, subject to any backup retention period specified in the Data Processing Agreement. There is no lock-in: schools can export their data at any time during the contract.
What notice is required?
The standard agreement is annual with a non-auto-renewing clause: if a school chooses not to continue, no action is required. Specific notice terms are set out in the platform agreement and discussed during procurement.
If it isn’t here, ask us.
The fastest route is to email us directly — we aim to respond within one working day. For data protection and procurement, write to the DPO line so the right pack reaches you.
Data protection & procurement: privacy@covermyclass.com