Candidates – especially those who haven’t been through a job interview for several years – often ask us what sort of interview questions they might face. Here is a sample list of interview questions to help you prepare:
Introductory questions
Have you enjoyed your visit to the school?
Why have you applied for this post?
Questions about yourself
Tell us about yourself and what inspires you.
What personal interests do you have that could be of value to the school?
What unique qualities can you bring to the school?
How do you know when you’ve had a good day?
How do you handle stress?
Explain your choice of school or local authority
What makes a successful school?
How would you support the ethos of this school?
How could you integrate the community into your teaching?
Handling professional issues in the classroom
What are your particular strengths and weaknesses as a teacher?
Describe the worst or best lesson you have given. What would you do differently? Why it was successful or unsuccessful?
How do you judge the achievement of pupils in your subject?
If we visited your classroom in October, what could we expect to see?
What is the role of target setting?
How would you ensure that you respond effectively to the differing needs and abilities of pupils?
How would you foster equal opportunities in the classroom/school?
How would you accommodate children who have English as an additional language?
How would you raise a child’s self-esteem and aspirations?
How far do children in your classroom direct their own learning?
What are your views on the value of homework?
Which is more important, teaching or learning, and why?
Behaviour management
What are your views about discipline?
How much noise and moving around the classroom would you permit?
How would you cope with a child constantly interrupting the lesson?
How would you deal with bullying?
What would you do if your strategies for behaviour management were not succeeding?
Primary interviews
How would you evaluate the effectiveness of the literacy strategy?
What is the place of topic work in school and what is your experience of it?
Which reading/mathematics schemes have you used?
What are your views on the balance between creativity and basic skills?
How might you use ICT in your teaching?
How would you ensure the continued improvement of numeracy standards in your class?
How would you structure literacy lessons to ensure equal access for all pupils?
Your approach to working with parents and other adults
What is your experience with parents in school? How could this be developed?
How would you deal with a hostile or aggressive parent?
How would you seek to work co-operatively with your colleagues?
What support would you expect from staff as a newly qualified teacher (NQT)?
How would you seek to work with adults other than teachers in your classroom?
Give an example of when you have worked effectively within a team.
Your career development
How will you develop yourself as a professional teacher?
Where do you see yourself in five years?
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