It is always handy having a good source of coverwork up your sleeve. Maybe you are off sick, or going on a course, and you want something decent to leave your class. Or maybe your colleague has left you in the lurch and you need to print something off quickly to give the class and their cover teacher.

This time of year, in particular, I often find myself in need of good coverwork. With GCSE and A Level exams fast approaching, and the accompanying extra maths lessons and collapsed revision days, it is crucial to have a bank of decent materials to hand. The works needs to be of good quality, with clear instructions, plenty of practise so the students don’t finish it all in 5 minutes, and ideally come complete with answers, just in case you have a non-maths specialist covering the class. That way you might just avoid a riot and being the most hated member of staff in the school.

So, I have scoured the TES Maths website for the best source of free coverwork around.

Craig Barton

Resources by topic

Explore exercises for every maths topic you could imagine using these thorough lesson plans and activities. With pages of questions and answers, they are perfect for cover work and are pitched at Year 7, Year 8, Year 9 and GCSE classes.

Student booklets

Although these workbooks were designed as homework activities, they can easily be left for cover lessons. They cater for a range of ages and abilities, from low-ability sheets for Year 8, Year 9 and Year 10 to high-ability booklets for Year 8 and 9.

GCSE worksheets

Avoid unproductivity in your Year 10 and 11 cover lessons using this bundle of revision homework sheets. Covering a range of topics, and alternating between calculator and non-calculator exercises, these work well at the end of a year as a revision exercise or at the start of term to see what your students have remembered. Two resource bundles are available; one for students working towards grades C and B, and one for students aiming for grades B to A*.

Revision presentation

Challenge your KS3 class with this well-structured resource, which when printed fits neatly onto an A4 piece of paper, complete with a presentation displaying the answers. With over 100 slides, there is plenty of content to keep a class occupied and is a good back-up to have for multiple cover lessons.

Maths investigations

If you are feeling a bit adventurous, then you could always set something a bit different. Engage your students with one of six thought-provoking investigations, including topics such as area and probability. It comes complete with teacher support, as well as guidance for peer assessment.

Useful extras

You can’t always be prepared for a last minute change of plan, but at least with this handy template you can quickly organise your thoughts in a structured way. And if you fancy trying something off-the-wall, how about adapting these English cover work lesson ideas for the maths classroom? With a bit of creative thinking, these could be used to approach topics in a more engaging way.