1. Teacher CV Example & Guide for the UK

Teacher CV Example & Guide for the UK

LiveCareer Editorial Team
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There are some teachers we can recognise across the street after 30 years, and there are those whose names we cannot remember for the life of us. There are teacher CVs that line bins, desk drawers and spam email inboxes. There are also those, that get you hired on the spot.

This teacher CV example is of the latter kind, a top-of-the-class one. The rest of the guide will teach you (oh, the irony!) how to write your own that does not get sent to the back of the class.

In this article:

  • A teacher CV that deserves an A grade.
  • How to write a teaching CV that attracts attention.
  • Expert teaching CV examples to inspire your creative spirit.
  • A ready-made teaching CV template you can adapt with ease.

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Teacher CV example

Danielle Watkins

86 Southlands Road

Pontwelly

SA44 7PN

070 0738 6497

danielle@watkins.com

Personal Statement

Energetic Art & Design teacher of 5+ years with Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 experience, with class sizes up to 31. During my time at Clapham Academy, it rose to an ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted rating. Commanded several times for lesson planning and delivery. Fielded several KS4 students in regional art competitions, bringing home several podium finishes. Seeking a bigger challenge in a more dynamic inner-city school.

Work Experience

Art & Design Teacher

Clapham Academy, London

September 2015–Present

  • Delivered KS3 and KS4 national curriculum including GCSE in Art & Design to classes of up to 31.
  • Planned creative lessons within the confines of the curriculum allowing for more free expression at KS3, which resulted in 21% more students choosing to study Art & Design at GCSE.
  • Engaged KS4 students with a mix of energetic in-field group sessions as well as quiet individual sessions. 
  • Increased the number of students achieving an A*-C grade in GCSE Art & Design from 72% to 91%.
  • Collaborated with colleagues to identify at-risk children and create a programme of break-time and after-school Art sessions to let them explore their talents.
  • Established a regular line of contact with the person through the school portal, reducing absences by 35%.
  • Negotiated a discount on a bulk purchase of drawing tablets and Photoshop licenses, saving £3,500.
  • School moved up to an ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted rating at this time.

Education

PGCE Art and Design, QTS, September 2014–June 2015

University College London (UCL)

BA Fine Art, September 2010–June 2013

Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London

Skills

  • Outdoor Teaching
  • Lesson Planning 
  • Digital Art
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Classroom Management

That’s the curriculum for a teaching job CV. Now here’s a lesson plan to write your own CV.

How to write a teacher's CV?

To begin, add a brief personal statement summarizing your teaching experience, skills, goals, and what you can bring to the classroom. Next, describe your professional experience, including the whole scope of qualifications such as student teaching, curriculum development, and special projects. Then, move to the education part, providing a degree and area of study. In the last section, mention extracurricular activities, memberships, publications and any teacher training programs that you completed.

Here's how to do this step by step:

1. Write a captivating personal statement for your teacher CV

Someone, probably Einstein, Aristotle or Confucius (the jury’s still out, believe it or not), said that to understand something, is to explain it simply. If you cannot explain why you want to be hired on your teacher CV, then do you really believe you should get that job?

Writing a personal statement for a teaching CV is easy. Don’t make a boring laundry list of duties. Instead, make a short summary of your most impressive achievements, teaching skills, and experience. Simply answer the following questions on a teacher CV with one sentence each:

  1. Who are you, what’s your experience?
  2. What type of teaching are you experienced in delivering?
  3. What’s your most impressive achievement?
  4. What’s your most unique achievement?
  5. What are you hoping to be able to achieve in this job? (Think more for the school than for yourself).

Although you start your CV with a personal statement, you will find it infinitely easier to write it after you have completed all the other sections of your teaching CV (and that's why it's also called a CV summary).

Personal statement for a teacher CV

Energetic Art & Design teacher of 5+ years with Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 experience, with class sizes up to 31. During my time at Clapham Academy, it rose to an ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted rating. Commanded several times for lesson planning and delivery. Fielded several KS4 students in regional art competitions, bringing home several podium finishes. Seeking a bigger challenge in a more dynamic inner-city school.

A strong CV summary will convince the recruiter you’re the perfect candidate. Save time and choose a ready-made personal statement written by career experts and adjust it to your needs in the LiveCareer CV builder.

Create your CV nowcv builder

2. Write a strong teacher CV job description

Creating lesson plans. Delivering classes. Offering support. These are all job description entries plucked from poor quality teacher CV examples. They could be summed up in one word: teaching. 

Instead of what you were doing, focus on what impact you were making. How many students did you teach, what improvements did you make, what problems did you solve? What difference did you make?

Answering these questions and listing achievements, as well as cases described by the PAR (Problem Action Result) formula will build an A* CV job description. And that's how you ensure your teacher CV is effective.

List 5 to 9 bullet points for your most recent teaching job, and rank them in order of importance under the following heading:

[Job Title]

[School Name, Location]

[Dates of Employment]

For older positions, keep it to less bullet points. 

Teacher CV example: work experience section

Art & Design Teacher

Clapham Academy, London

September 2015–Present

  • Delivered KS3 and KS4 national curriculum including GCSE in Art & Design to classes of up to 31.
  • Planned creative lessons within the confines of the curriculum allowing for more free expression at KS3, which resulted in 21% more students choosing to study Art & Design at GCSE.
  • Engaged KS4 students with a mix of energetic in-field group sessions as well as quiet individual sessions. 
  • Increased the number of students achieving an A*-C grade in GCSE Art & Design from 72% to 91%.
  • Collaborated with colleagues to identify at-risk children and create a programme of break-time and after-school Art sessions to let them explore their talents.
  • Established a regular line of contact with the person through the school portal, reducing absences by 35%.
  • Negotiated a discount on a bulk purchase of drawing tablets and Photoshop licenses, saving £3,500.
  • School moved up to an ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted rating at this time.

3. Highlight education in your teaching CV

Those who want to teach, must show they can. How? By listing their appropriate QTS on a teacher CV. In reverse-chronological order, list your qualifications.

List your PGCE, QTS and other teaching certifications in the following way:

[Qualification Name], (Date)

[School Name]

Record your degree in the following way

[Degree Class] BSc/BA [Degree Name](Year Graduated)

[University Name]

If you are low on the teaching experience, you could add some bullet points to discuss things you excelled at, or experience you got while training or studying.

Teacher CV example: education section

Education

PGCE Art and Design, QTS, September 2014–June 2015

University College London (UCL)

BA Fine Art, September 2010–June 2013

Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London

4. List relevant teacher skills in your teaching CV

Unless you are absolutely filling your teacher CV to the brim with experience and achievements, you likely have a little space left and not much idea what to do with it. A skills section can round out your CV by listing additional reasons to hire you in a concise manner.

It can also be reiterating the most important points from your job description. Whichever version you opt for, make sure to limit yourself to 5-10 (a mix of hard and soft skills), and make sure they are highly relevant to the job being advertised.

Teacher CV skills section example

Skills

  • Outdoor Teaching
  • Lesson Planning 
  • Digital Art
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Classroom Management

5. Add optional sections to your teacher CV

82% of managers would rather hire someone with volunteering experience. You may have awards that are an additional reason to hire you. Languages are always worth listing in a teaching CV.

Keep descriptions of your personal life off your teacher CV. Make sure anything you list is relevant to the position you are applying to, or at least it shows your ability to juggle multiple responsibilities or tasks at once.

If you're thinking of adding references to your CV, don't. Recruiters know they can ask for them.

Teaching CV template: additional sections

Volunteering

  • Volunteer Carer — Eames Home for the Blind — (2014-2018) 

Languages

  • Urdu (Intermediate)
  • French (Basic)

6. Write a teacher cover letter

Learning is a subjective experience. You can teach the exact same thing word for word to a 100 kids, and they will all learn different amounts and focus on different things. Therefore, there is no better way to show your personal touch than in your teacher cover letter.

For a perfect cover letter structure, make sure you have:

  • 1st Paragraph (60-80 words)—Your years of experience, and the reason why you are a unique candidate that stands out. 
  • 2nd (Main) Paragraph (120-200 words)—Your key 2 or 3 metrics or achievements that prove you can handle what your new employer expects.
  • 3rd Paragraph (40-60 words)—State what you hope to do for them.
  • Call to Action (Single Sentence)—Confidently ask for an interview.

Make sure you craft a fresh cover letter for every application that you make.

What else to remember about when writing a teacher CV

Your teaching CV format gets marks for attendance—nothing particularly good happens when you get it right, but when you get it wrong, your teacher CV can quickly become a bin liner.

Make sure your CV layout gets the top marks:

  • Use a legible CV font like Tahoma, Garamond, Noto. 
  • For a neat teacher CV structure, use simple headings for each section, and space the sections out.
  • Apply even margins on all sides of your teaching CV.
  • Unless specified otherwise, save your teacher CV in a PDF format.

How long can your CV be? If you're an entry-level teacher, a one-page CV should be enough. If you've got more experience under your belt, you can go for a two pager.

If you're planning to use a free CV template you found on the Internet, make sure it is ATS-friendly. Visual CVs often are not.

Make an Excel spreadsheet with the applications you sent and the date you sent them. Give them each a call after a week or two if you don’t hear back.

That’s all! Now you know what to include in a CV. May the children you teach be obedient and the whiteboard pens always on sale!

You don’t have to be a CV writing expert. In the LiveCareer CV builder you’ll find ready-made content for every industry and position, which you can then add with a single click.

Create your CV nowcv builder

Did we answer all your questions on how to write a teaching CV? Got any job hunting tips and tricks you’d like to share? Did you find our teacher CV sample useful? Use the comments section below. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

How we review the content at LiveCareer

Our editorial team has reviewed this article for compliance with Livecareer’s editorial guidelines. It’s to ensure that our expert advice and recommendations are consistent across all our career guides and align with current CV and cover letter writing standards and trends. We’re trusted by over 10 million job seekers, supporting them on their way to finding their dream job. Each article is preceded by research and scrutiny to ensure our content responds to current market trends and demand.

About the author

LiveCareer Editorial Team
LiveCareer Editorial Team

Since 2005, the LiveCareer Team has been helping job seekers advance their careers. In our in-depth guides, we share insider tips and the most effective CV and cover letter writing techniques so that you can beat recruiters in the hiring game and land your next job fast. Also, make sure to check out our state-of-the-art CV and cover letter builder—professional, intuitive, and fully in line with modern HR standards. Trusted by 10 million users worldwide.

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