The problem
Teacher cover is arranged in a group chat, and a swap that nobody confirms leaves a class without a teacher. If 6 cover requests a month each take 15 minutes of messages, that's 90 minutes, 1.5 hours.
What the AI does
RotaCloud's pricing page lists a drag-and-drop rota, templates, shift notifications, a free mobile app, shift swapping, staff availability and holiday management on its Standard plan. Put teachers and desk staff on one rota, ask them to enter when they are available and publish the week. Teachers can ask to swap shifts in the app, and you see the result in one place. The page doesn't say whether self-employed teachers count towards the employee numbers, so check that before you pick a price band. RotaCloud is a rota, not a record of teacher insurance or first aid certificates; keep those dates in your main records.
A worked example
A yoga studio in Brighton has 5 people on its rota, including the owner, covering 18 classes a week. About 6 cover requests a month are sorted by group chat.
Before
6 cover requests a month at 15 minutes of messages: 90 minutes, 1.5 hours
After
About 5 minutes each to approve in the app: 30 minutes, 0.5 hours
What it's worth
About 1 hour a month saved (60 minutes), worth about £30 at £30 an hour. For 1 to 5 employees RotaCloud's Standard plan is £120 a year, about £10 a month, and £20 a year more if you pay monthly (about £12 a month, the arithmetic), with a 30-day free trial. Prices for bigger teams are on RotaCloud's team-size selector.
How to set it up
- Start the 30-day free trial, which doesn't need payment details.
- Add your teachers and desk staff, and ask each to enter their availability.
- Build the weekly timetable as a template and publish the rota.
- Agree one rule: all swaps go through the app, not the group chat.
- Keep teacher insurance, first aid and qualification dates in your main records, and check them yourself.
What goes wrong
- Pricing is by number of employees. Check whether self-employed teachers count and what your size costs.
- RotaCloud doesn't chase insurance or first aid certificate dates for you; an expired certificate is your responsibility, so keep those dates in your primary diary with a regular human check.
- A swap approved in the app can still fail if the teacher doesn't see the notification. Confirm cover for classes the same day.
- Prices shown depend on the billing period you choose; compare yearly and monthly.