Getting your first teaching job

“Netball..? I’d LOVE to coach Netball!”

I’d never played netball. I knew literally nothing about netball.

The Headteacher eyed me suspiciously.

“It’s just… we really want someone who can take the netball club.” she said turning to the equally unconvinced Deputy.

It was 26th June 1996.

Later that day England would lose to Germany in Euro 96.

“Thank you for coming in… we’ll be in touch.”

Getting that first teaching job is HARD.

After 25 years in teaching, I still believe that it is the best job in the world.

If you are reading this then you are about to embark on your teaching career – the noblest of professions. You are literally going to spend your life teaching children how to make the world a better place. There is no higher calling.

Well done for getting this far! Now you need to get that first job – and with a hundred applicants for many jobs – that’s really hard.

But I believe in you!

I have been in the fortunate position to have got every job I have applied for since 26th June 1996. As a Headteacher of 14 years, I have read thousands of letters of application and interviewed hundreds of NQTs. I think I know what it takes to get a job in teaching and I’m always surprised that the ITT Providers give trainee teachers so little by way of tips on how to get that important first job.

So here are my top tips…

1. Do your homework about the school.

Whilst I’d like to believe that NQTs applying for jobs at my school are only interested in working at MY school (it’s what they constantly tell me), I also know that trainees are busily applying for jobs all over the place in the hope of landing that first role.

But whilst I understand this, I also want to know if the person applying to work at our school understands what we’re about, and is able to fully support our ethos and approach to teaching.

I have learnt over many years that schools are surprisingly different. This adds a huge richness to our system. Some favour a knowledge-rich curriculum, others prioritise skills. Some ask for all teachers to follow a similar teaching recipe, others allow teachers to do as they please.

I’m not saying that our school’s approach is better than others, but I do expect you to understand what sort of school you’re applying to work at.

So mine the school website. Look for newspaper reports. Read the last OFSTED. Learn about the school. Do your homework.

Focus on the school’s vision and values. Do you agree with it? Look at how you will be asked to teach. Does this fit with your approach to teaching?

2. If you can visit, use this as an opportunity to gather information.

Although Covid has meant that some schools aren’t allowing visits, as we move into Term 6, more schools are starting to let potential candidates look around in person. Don’t panic if you can’t visit – it’s unlikely the Head will remember who looked round when they come to shortlisting – but if you can, then take this opportunity to get a feel for the place and glean valuable intel.

A couple of quick ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts’ for the school visit:

1. Do look at how the classrooms are organised and ask if there are whole school approaches and policies for this incl. planning, teaching sequences etc.
2. Do ask about the curriculum and the rationale behind its organisation and delivery.
3. Do look for examples of how the school’s vision and values are ‘lived’ day to day.
4. Do ask yourself: “Do I agree with this person’s/ school’s values?”. If the answer is ‘no’, then don’t apply.
5. Do ask about specialisms which the school has (we have a Social Communication Resource Base) and find out how this influences the work of the school.
6. Do ask about intake and how the school serves their specific community.
7. Do ask about how the school has been affected by COVID and how they are organising catch up strategies.
8. Do ask how they support Early Career Teachers.
9. DON’T ask questions which aren’t actually questions but are instead a thinly veiled attempt to signal a skill which you may have. I have lost count of the number of visiting candidates who have asked me whether ‘we teach French?’ (I speak French) or ‘whether I value a piano player?’ (I play the piano). As Homer Simpson once said “Better to say nothing and appear the fool, than open your mouth and have it confirmed.”
10. DON’T feel you need to push your fellow candidates down the stairs so that you can be the one always standing next to the Headteacher on the tour. Yes – I’ve seen this happen.

I am far more interested in the candidate stood at the back who is quietly soaking up everthing about the school, than the one who is wrestling the other candidates to make sure they’re stood at my elbow.

3. Make your letter ‘pop’.

The letter of application is the first thing you need to get right if you are to secure an interview.

I can honestly say that writing my letter of application for Headteacher was far easier than writing to apply for my first teaching job.

When you’ve lots of experience, then you’ve lots of concrete achievements to write about.

When you’re a trainee, applying for that first job, you have far fewer experiences – which makes crafting that all-important letter all the harder.

Again, here are some tips:

1. DON’T send a generic letter. I know you’ll be applying for lots of jobs, and that you don’t have time to write a unique letter to every school. However, I do want to know why you want to work at our school, so find a way of including some of the intel picked up from the website and visit, and keep referring to how your practice matches the school’s values and ethos. However, be careful not to make this too superficial e.g. [insert school values here] – we can spot tokenism a mile off.
2. Keep your letter to under 2 sides of A4. It’s easy to waffle – harder to be concise. If your letter is more than two pages, then it’s too long.
3. To stand out, you need to show passion and belief. Your first line needs to show me that you are dedicated to this profession and the children who you will serve. So start with a statement of belief! For me, this has always been ‘I believe that all children can excel in learning.’. I set out my stall and my educational philosophy in the first sentence. I show what I believe. I don’t expect trainee teachers to know a lot about teaching – no Early Career Teacher does. But I expect them to show me the attitude and passion needed to become an outstanding teacher over time.
4. Follow up a statement of belief with an example from your practice. Beliefs can sound hollow if not backed up by action. So if you claim to (for example) ‘believe in the importance of play in Early Years’ then you need to follow this up with something you’ve done to demonstrate that you’ve put this belief into action.
5. DON’T list all the things which you think make good teaching. Without examples, this can sound a bit thin. Better to choose one or two key areas (linked to the school’s own priorities if possible) and give examples of how you’ve developed these in your own practice.
6. Detail specialist subject knowledge. If you are a history grad, then tell me how you used this specialist knowledge to teach children about history etc.
7. Use quotes from mentors and college tutors. If someone has written something nice about your teaching practice, now is the time to quote them. Someone else saying you’re great always adds gravity to your claims.
8. Claiming to be ‘Outstanding’ is bold for a trainee. I know that some ITT providers do grade trainees ‘Outstanding’ – and if that’s you, then feel free to let me know in your letter. But be aware, it takes a lifetime to become a truly outstanding teacher – so don’t over egg this.
9. Tell me how you can add value. We are always looking for trainees who can bring something interesting to our school. Finish your letter with something which tells me about you as a person – your interests and passions outside of teaching. Very often, some interesting tale or hobby, tips the scales into the ‘invite for interview’ pile.
10. Make sure your current school is your main reference. University or ITT provider references are very bland, and often not trusted by schools. We trust the words of the school where you are completing your practice more, so be sure to have them as your main referee.

4. The interview process.

Been invited to interview? Well done! This shows that your letter is cutting through and getting noticed.

Now you need to think about the interview process – which often has many parts.

You need to overcome each hurdle in turn to win that first job, starting with the lesson task…

A) The dreaded lesson task.

This is perhaps the biggest test of the interview day. It is this that gets you through to the final interview, or (in lots of schools), sends you home at lunchtime.

It’s always a tough task. You have to teach children you don’t know, in a short period of time (usually 20-40 minutes), whilst being watched hawkishly by the interview panel.

This is much harder than the formal interview, so you should put time into getting this right.

Once again, my ‘top tips’.

1. Make sure you understand what you are being asked to do. Many lesson tasks can be quite open-ended, which means that there are a hundred ways to go about them. Make sure you don’t go off on some wild tangent. If you can, get your mentor or class teacher to offer their advice on how to approach the lesson. Likewise, research appropriate pitch for the age and stage of the children being taught. It also does no harm to ring the school and ask about the needs of the children and the resources available.
2. Look at the school’s website for clues as to how they teach this area. Many (primary) schools are very explicit about how they teach reading, writing and maths. If you are asked to teach a 20 minute poetry lesson, then look for information on the school’s website as to how they teach reading. You won’t be expected to be an expert in their approach – but it shows you’ve done your homework.
3. Keep it simple. A common mistake is to try and fit a 60 minute lesson into a 20 minute teaching task. Candidates often say that they thought then needed to show everything that they could do. This isn’t the case. Instead, keep ‘the main thing, the main thing’. Choose what you want the children to learn in 20 minutes and focus completely on achieving that. Don’t confuse ‘task completion’ for learning. I would much rather see children have a deep and worthwhile discussion about a text for 20 minutes, and write little or nothing, than see a candidate skim over the key points in a mad dash to fill in a worksheet.
4. Think about the key elements of teaching. Rosenshine’s Principles set out a clear guide as to what makes great teaching (in my view). Focus on demonstrating great modelling, questioning and sequencing in your lesson task.
5. Show me you like children – and set high expectations for learning behaviours. ‘Clear is kind’. Be warm and enthusiastic with the group you are teaching. Show them that you are happy to be there. But also don’t be afraid to (kindly and warmly) make your behaviour expectations clear from the start.

B) The planning task.

Very often, you will be asked to complete a weekly lesson plan as part of the interview process. This is to assess your ability to pitch and sequence learning. Again, there are a few simple tips here:

1. Check the school website for their planning format. Often the school will have published how they sequence learning. If this is the case, you can use this framework – again, showing that you’ve done your homework.
2. Consider pitch and challenge carefully. The panel will be assessing how you pitch the learning, so think carefully about how you select texts etc.
3. Pay attention to the fundamentals of teaching. As with the lesson, the panel will be looking for a solid understanding of modelling, questioning, sequencing and differentiation. Make sure you make this clear in your plan.

C) Other tasks.

Whilst the planning and lesson tasks are very common, schools might ask you to do any number of other things as part of the interview process. For example:

1. Write a letter to parents. This is aimed at assessing your communication skills and your ability to build rapport. Show a bit of yourself in this and be clear about what key messages you’re trying to get across.
2. An interview with the school council. This is about how well you establish rapport with children. The balance you need to strike is between being warm but professional.
3. Complete the Y6 EGSP or Arithmetic test. Very common – and used to check your basic grammar and maths subject knowledge. So have a look at these if you are being interviewed for a KS2 job.
4. Mark some books. This is sometimes asked for and looks at the quality of your feedback. If possible, check the school’s Marking policy in advance – and follow it.

D) The presentation task.

A very common task (often completed at the start of the interview, or sent in advance as a video) is the presentation task.

The purpose of this task varies. We have asked candidates to create a range of presentations, including: ‘How are you brave?’, ‘What do you think makes outstanding teaching/ curriculum?’, ‘What achievement are you most proud of?’.

Broadly, the presentation is looking at exploring one of two things:

1. Your personality. Very often the panel use this task to get to know you. For these presentations we are looking for that passion and grit you highlighted in your original letter. We want to know about the experiences which shaped you – and how you have reflected on these.
2. Your knowledge or pedagogy. Alternatively, you might be asked to explain your philosophy of teaching, or your understanding of curriculum design. If this is the case, we are looking for clarity of thinking and the ability to summarise your ideas.

5. The interview – the final hurdle.

If you’ve made it to the final formal interview, then chances are the panel are seriously considering you for the job. Rightly or wrongly, if not, you will have already been sent home!

The best advice I can give you here is to be yourself.

Sitting answering questions in front of a panel of people who have the power to decide your professional future is always stressful.

But still, be yourself. Authenticity is key here.

The interview panel should do everything possible to put you at ease. They want you to do well and feel comfortable, so don’t overthink this. See this part of the process as a conversation about your desire to teach – a chance to show that passion and enthusiasm.

Whilst I’d not advise preparing interview answers (as they could ask you anything). It is a good idea to consider the following:

1. Understand Safeguarding. You will be asked a safeguarding question so read the school’s safeguarding policy. Most candidates know how to answer this. But also think about wider safeguarding – how you keep children safe through your day-to-day teaching as well as via formal disclosures.
2. Visualise your classroom. Imagine that you’ve got the job and you are teaching in your new school. What does the classroom feel like? What learning behaviours have you instilled? How does this match the school’s ethos?
3. Be clear about the fundamentals of great teaching: Modelling, questioning, practice, sequencing learning.
4. Think about catch up. This coming year, catch up will be a priority for us all. The EEF have some good reports which you would be wise to look through.
5. Understand how your values matches the school’s. Refer to the schools vision and how your values allign.
6. Want it more than anyone else. This is the difference between being a ‘close second’ and the one who gets the job. The passion, the clarity of purpose. Show that you REALLY want the job. Don’t be shy – leave the panel in no doubt about this.

THE phone call…

All the task are done and you’re sat by the phone waiting for a call.

One of two phone calls will take place.

Don’t over-think a rejection – and take the feedback.

Many times you’ll be told ‘thanks – but the job went to someone else’. The overwhelming temptation will be to get off the phone as quickly as possible, cry a bit and then inhale a family bag of Cadbury’s Chocolate buttons.

Hard as it is, have a notebook and pen ready and write down all the feedback you’ve been given as to why you didn’t get the job. If you feel strong enough, ask for additional specific advice and dig into the failure so that you can succeed next time.

Then inhale a family pack of Cadbury’s Chocolate buttons.

26th June 1996.

BTW – I also know nothing about football.

One phone call will be different. And you will remember this phone call for the rest of your life.

I picked up the Bart Simpson novelty phone in my crappy rented house.

“Simon, I’m sure you’ll be wanting to get off and watch the football, but we’d like to offer you the job.”

I can see in my mind’s eye every detail of the room. My girlfriend, now wife, hovering in the hallway. The hideous purple wallpaper. Everything.

When I ask my colleagues about being offered their first teaching job they say the same. And you’ll have that moment too.

As for the netball? I learnt netball.

Within a year the school team were winning matches. Within 2 they were winning leagues.

But that’s another story, and another blog – about doing the best you can with every job you’re given.

But first, let’s get you that first foot in the door.

Good luck!