In a lot of professions, a job interview is essentially a test of one thing: how good you are at answering questions under pressure. In teaching, however, you need to put your money where your mouth is and take a lesson (usually lasting between 30 minutes and an hour). You say you plan engaging, enjoyable tasks and interact well with pupils? Prove it.
It’s a high-pressure situation, with members of management judging your abilities based on a short session with an unfamiliar group of students. To help you ace it, we spoke to three experts: Carolyn Ellis-Gage, vice-principal of Norwich Road primary academy in Thetford; Steve Dixon, a former teacher and regional director at recruitment agency Servoca Education; and an anonymous assistant principal from a secondary academy in south London. Here are their top tips:
Research the school first
“Remember the process isn’t designed to find out if you are a good teacher, but if you are a bad teacher,” says our secondary expert. “It’s a bit of a game. The lesson will rarely fit neatly into a sequence of lessons, the presence of leadership observing will impact on behaviour and a lack of knowledge about school policies will make it harder than a real lesson.”
So the best thing to do in advance, Dixon says, is research the school. “Make sure you read their Ofsted reports,” he advises. “Have a thorough look at the website and discover everything you can about the ethos. Call in advance and get as much information as possible about the groups you’re going to be working with.”
Ellis-Gage agrees. “Don’t be afraid to ask for details about the class: do any pupils in the group have specific needs? Are any new to English? What is the ability spread like? If you are asked to teach some maths, for example, ask about the curriculum coverage so far. It shows you are organised and well prepared and stops any major hiccups happening in the lesson.”
Keep it simple and plan ahead
When it comes to planning, she continues, it’s best to keep it simple. “Be clear about what you want the pupils to achieve in your session and keep activities to the point and pitched appropriately. If you can show that they can do something at the end they could not at the start, you are on to a winner. However, showing deeper understanding or revision is fine if you make it clear that was your intention.”
Ideally, says Dixon, you should use a lesson that you know well. “You need to show your teaching style. Have a flexible lesson that you know inside out, backwards and forwards – something that you can easily differentiate on the fly if you find you’re pitching too high or too low.
Next, says Ellis-Gage, ensure you have everything you require for the lesson. “Don’t assume a school will have the things you need to hand. If you can’t provide them yourself, contact the school beforehand to ask for them to be put out ready.”
You should also plan for teaching assistants, she adds. “Everyone knows that a teacher’s best friend is their teaching assistant, so get in their good books by having a clear role in your planning for any support staff in the class. They often get asked questions after the lesson observations by leadership, so be polite and friendly.”
Establish rapport, but remain professional
Once you’re in the room, the precise focus of your observation will depend on the job you are applying for, explains our secondary expert. “If you are applying for a leadership role in charge of whole school data, your classroom skills will be less important than if you are going for a role as subject leader”, they say.
“But there are certain things we are always looking for, including the ability to convey enthusiasm, having good basic classroom practice (not allowing pupils to talk over you; clear instructions; objectives; outcomes; opportunities to show progress), high expectations and having the confidence to challenge poor behaviour.”
“You should aim to establish a rapport, but keep it professional,” adds Ellis-Gage. “A big part of the observation is to see how you interact with the pupils and what kind of relationships you form.”
If you do find that behaviour is less than ideal, use the school’s behaviour policy, advises Dixon. “Find out what the policy is and follow it; that comes back to your research,” he says. “But my personal experience is that the kids usually behave quite well in these situations, even when I later found out that their behaviour was a bit more challenging.”
And if things go wrong, use the debrief wisely, advises our secondary assistant principal. “The debrief is a chance to rescue a difficult situation – I have seen lessons that have been poorly pitched, poorly explained and even ones that I have had to stop because of poor behaviour, but if the teacher can recognise and explain why it hasn’t gone well, they can still be in with a chance.”
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