Landing a teaching job in the UK starts with a CV and interview preparation that shows schools exactly what you bring to the classroom.

Teaching roles have become highly competitive, with hundreds of applications for every decent position, especially in popular areas like London or Manchester. All the more reasons for your CV to get past the initial screening. Your interview also needs to convince a panel that you’re the right fit for their students.

Fortunately, this guide walks you through building a teacher CV that actually gets read. It’ll also help you prepare for education interviews using methods that work, and how to write your personal statement.

So, let’s take a look at the nooks and crannies of writing an effective CV for your dream teaching job in the UK.

Teacher CV Tips for One That Gets Noticed

Your teacher CV needs to grab attention in the first few seconds, or it’ll end up at the bottom of the pile. From our experience, headteachers and recruitment panels spend about seven seconds scanning each CV before deciding whether to read it properly or bin it.

That’s barely enough time to read your name and personal statement. So everything on that first page catches the eye. Here’s how you can grab that attention:

Writing a Personal Statement That Shows Your Teaching Philosophy

The personal statement sits at the top of your CV and sets the tone for everything that follows. So, start with your teaching philosophy and what drives your classroom approach. Maybe it’s watching a struggling Year 3 student finally grasp long division, or seeing a shy child gain confidence through group work.

Your teaching philosophy should come from real experiences, not what you think schools want to hear. You can try highlighting specific achievements, like improved results or innovative methods you’ve tried.

Pro tip: Make your personal statement brief and skip generic lines about loving children. Every teacher loves children, but schools need to know what makes you different.

Highlighting Teaching Experience and Key Achievements

Schools want to see what you’ve actually accomplished in the classroom, instead of where you’ve worked. List your employment history in reverse order with school names and dates. We recommend you use numbers to demonstrate impact. It can be exam results or student progress.

Add primary education experience and curriculum development work you’ve led before. The reason this is important is that schools hire based on proven results, instead of job titles alone.

Showcasing Your QTS and Teaching Qualifications

Your qualifications prove you’re legally allowed to teach and show your commitment to professional development. Put QTS and PGCE at the top of your education section.

Most state schools won’t even look at you without QTS, so make it obvious. Add NPQ or certifications that match the teaching role requirements you’re targeting. If you’ve completed additional training in SEND support or behaviour management, include it.

Also, state your subject specialisms and key stages you’re qualified to teach. When you do this, it helps schools see immediately if you fit their needs.

Formatting Your Teacher CV for UK Schools

A brilliant CV can get rejected simply because the formatting makes it hard to read or doesn’t pass screening software. It happens more than you’d think. That’s why we suggest you follow these instructions to make your CV stand out:

• Keep It Simple and Readable: Use clean, standard fonts like Calibri, Arial, or Times New Roman, and keep your CV to two pages max. There’s no need to add decorative elements or graphics that make it harder for humans or software to read.
• Use the Right File Type: Always save your CV as a PDF so the layout stays intact when opened on any device. Word files can shift formatting and ruin your carefully organised sections.
• Eliminate All Errors: Triple-check for typos because even small mistakes can undermine a strong application. Read the CV aloud or ask someone else to review it for clarity.
• Make Information Easy to Find: Clear section headings allow recruiters to locate key details within seconds. So try to bold your headings but skip coloured text, complex layouts, or unnecessary visuals.
• Add Photos Only When Requested: Some UK schools ask for a professional photo, but most do not. Include one only if it is explicitly required.
• Keep It ATS-Friendly: Avoid tables, columns, and overly designed templates because ATS software can’t read them well. It’s best if you stick to simple formatting so your CV doesn’t get rejected before a human even sees it.
• Match Your Cover Letter Style: Use the same header, font, and tone across both documents for a polished, consistent presentation. This creates a cohesive professional impression that hiring teams appreciate.

In short, a well-formatted CV doesn’t need to be fancy and eye-popping. All it needs is to be clear, consistent, and easy for both humans and ATS systems to read.

Common Interview Questions for Your Next Teaching Role

Good news for you, UK teaching interviews follow predictable patterns. So, preparing answers ahead of time gives you a major advantage. In fact, most schools ask similar questions because they’re trying to assess the same things.

The interview mostly goes like, “Can you manage a classroom? Do you understand safeguarding? Will you fit their school culture?”

By reading this section, you can practise responses that sound natural rather than scrambling for answers on the spot.

Questions About Your Teaching Experience

We’ve seen that most teaching role interviews want to know how you handle real classroom situations, not just in theory. So we suggest you have examples ready of how you’ve adapted lessons for different learners.

Maybe you taught fractions to a mixed-ability Year 4 class and created three difficulty levels for the same task. You can also discuss classroom management strategies that worked in your last teaching role.

Talk about how you’ve tracked pupil progress using formative assessment approaches. Remember, schools want specifics, and not vague statements about being passionate.

Safeguarding and Student Wellbeing Questions

Every UK school will ask about safeguarding because it’s non-negotiable in education. It’s important to know the latest KCSIE guidance and be ready to discuss safeguarding procedures.

They might ask what you’d do if a child disclosed something worrying. Maybe share examples of when you’ve spotted concerns and followed reporting procedures.

Even if you haven’t dealt with a serious incident, you can discuss how you’d recognise signs and who you’d report to. This shows you take child protection seriously and are knowledgeable about the guidelines.

Preparing for Your Lesson Observation

Some schools might ask you to teach a short lesson as part of the interview process. So we suggest you plan a simple lesson with objectives aligned to the National Curriculum.

But don’t overcomplicate it by trying to impress. A well-executed simple lesson beats an ambitious one that falls apart. Here are some tips for a mock lecture:

• Bring all materials needed and have backup plans for tech failures.
• Ask questions to students and demonstrate your behaviour management approach. 
• Keep timing tight and differentiate for various abilities in the room.

When you do this, schools will get an idea of how you actually teach and manage the classroom, not just how you talk about your teaching method.

Landing Your New Role in Primary Education

As you’ve got the CV sorted and you know what to expect in the interview, now it’s time to put everything into action and start applying.

Don’t wait until every line feels perfect because in UK teaching recruitment, “good enough” genuinely beats “perfect.” Especially when positions open and close as fast as light. What’s more important is tailoring each application to the specific school.

After applying, follow up a week later if you haven’t heard back. Schools actually appreciate candidates who show genuine interest without being pushy. And remember, every interview (successful or not) is a valuable practice.

So stay consistent, stay patient, and keep building experience. And when you need help, The Course Book is here to guide you.