Landing your first job as a qualified teacher

Guest blogger Mark Attwell from Future Education shares advice to get you ahead when applying for your first teaching post…

 

Whether you’re in the final year of your BA, or you’ve just started the PGCE, the daunting task of finding your first job, will come around very quickly.

This blog contains useful information which will help you focus on the key things that will make your interview successful.

A good CV

Prior to being invited to an interview, lots of schools and academies, will want to see a copy of your CV. A good CV, will contain information about your teaching placements and any relevant experience that relates to working in schools, prior to starting your training. Here at Future Education, we can show you examples of what a good CV looks like, offering various templates, which will help you focus on key information that the senior leadership team will be looking for.

Find out about the school

Researching the school before an interview is imperative. At the formal interview stage, head teachers and the senior leaders will ask questions to establish if you’ve done your homework.  Please research previous OFSTED reports which highlight the schools strengths and weakness and ask questions based around your research. You should visit the school prior to interview, take the bus, drive if you have a car and introduce yourself to the Head, or Deputy. Explain that you will be coming back for an interview at a later date. This will impress any potential employer.

Interview demonstration lesson

You will need to plan and teach a lesson where you are able to show off your skills as a teacher and how you interact with the children. The lesson will last between 30-60 minutes, depending on the school. Preparation is key here. It’s important that your lesson is both engaging and interactive. Make sure you call the school to find out what topics, or areas they are covering and request the levels of the children in the class. This knowledge will help support the planning and enable you to pitch your lesson at the right level.  If you’re asked to teach a “stand alone” lesson, why not teach a lesson that you’ve had good feedback from, or speak to the class teacher at your placement school for some ideas.

Make sure you have a detailed lesson plan that is left on a chair in the classroom, so whoever is observing you can see exactly what you want to achieve.  In regards to lesson plans, follow university and school guidelines. Alternatively, ask someone at Future Education for examples. You must have a clear learning objective with differentiation.

After the lesson, the leadership team, will question you on how you think the lesson went. Try to identify at least 2 positive aspects of the lesson and 2 areas for improvement. Schools like to see teachers that are able to evaluate their own teaching.

And finally, try to enjoy what you’re teaching. It’s good to feel nervous, it means you care. Try to channel that energy in a positive way and keep smiling.

Support from Future Education

Here at Future Education, our qualified and experienced teachers, can support you through the whole interview process by:

• Helping you to write a good CV.
• Looking over your lesson plan and offering feedback from one of our qualified teachers.
• Organising a 1-1 meeting with an experienced head teacher who will look in detail at your plan and offer advice in regards to the types of questions that may come your way during an interview.
• One of our senior teachers will visit you in your first term and offer advice on Teaching and learning, planning and assessment, behaviour management and classroom organisation.

 

Article by Future Education , Supplying teaching vacancies to teachers and Nursery Nurses in and around London and the South East  www.futureeducation.co.uk

Pictures: Guillermo via Compfight

 

 

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