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Teacher Job Description

Primary schools, secondary schools, colleges, and universities all hire teachers and your educational establishment, and its students deserve the best educators. If employers recruit poorly, they risk their students’ future and the school’s reputation. The seeds for receiving applications from poor-quality candidates are usually sown in the job description, so creating an outstanding teacher job description is vital.

When writing a teacher job description, there are many things to consider, including teaching responsibilities, soft skills, practical skills, qualifications, and interpersonal abilities. Most recruiters or head teachers will use one of our job description templates. A teacher job description template will vastly improve the number of quality teachers that apply while reducing applications from individuals who are not quite the right fit for the job.

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What Does A Teacher Do?

A teacher is responsible for maintaining a positive learning environment where children or adult students can learn as the teacher relays their subject knowledge. Teachers may deliver lesson plans alone or with the support of teaching assistants. They are employed in educational settings such as community schools (local authority-maintained schools), voluntary and foundation schools, academies, free schools, grammar schools, and independent schools.

Teacher Role

There are several kinds of teachers, and the teaching methods reflect these. For instance, primary school teachers are responsible for foundation stage education, administering learning across a range of foundation subjects. On the other hand, secondary school teachers are usually responsible for educating students in one or two subjects. Examples of compulsory national curriculum subjects include English, science, mathematics, geography, history, design and technology, art and design, physical education, and computing.

The different teacher roles include:

  • [Subject] Teacher
  • Primary School Teacher
  • Special Education Teacher
  • Teaching Assistant
  • Head Teacher

Teacher Responsibilities And Duties

Your teacher’s job description will include the teaching role’s responsibilities, duties, and tasks. Although responsibilities may vary depending on the subject, setting, and the student’s age, typical responsibilities, duties, and tasks include:

  • Creating lesson plans in line with national curriculum guidelines
  • Preparing lessons following school guidelines
  • Organising the classroom and learning materials
  • Presenting lessons leveraging different teaching methods, such as giving lectures, facilitating discussion and debate, interactive learning, and demonstrations
  • Monitoring student behaviour, maintaining discipline and ensuring a good classroom experience
  • Documenting progress and liaising with parents to give feedback
  • Assigning homework
  • Marking work and grading tests
  • Running school clubs or participating in school events
  • Showing empathy and giving personalised instruction
  • Answering students’ questions
  • Motivating pupils and encouraging student participation
  • Attending continued teacher training
  • Meeting with professionals such as educational psychologists and education welfare officers
  • Working with other teachers, school governors, or parent councils

Teacher Skills

Your teacher’s job description should include not only responsibilities but also soft skills that support education and the learning environment. Employers can use these to screen CVs and cover letters and test for them during teacher interviews.

The top teacher skills include:

  • Written and verbal communication skills
  • Confidence in public speaking
  • Active listening
  • Interpersonal abilities
  • Good judgement and initiative
  • Enthusiasm and energy
  • Patience, stamina, and resilience
  • Self-discipline and dedication
  • Creativity, innovative thinking, and imagination
  • Time management and good organisational skills
  • Team working skills
  • Supervision, leadership, and conflict resolution
  • General teaching skills – breaking complex subject matter into smaller pieces
  • Administrative skills
  • Basic computer proficiency

Teacher Qualifications And Education

The place of work and subject dictates the type of teaching degree or professional qualifications candidates need to be considered qualified to apply for the role. Primary school teachers, secondary school teachers, and government-funded academy teachers require GCSEs grades A to C.

These teachers also need to achieve Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). Qualified Teacher Status can be achieved by earning a Bachelor’s degree (Bachelor of Education degree (BEd) or Bachelor of Arts (BA)). QTS can also be achieved by attaining a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), allowing teachers to study for their Master’s degree.

Primary school teachers can enrol in Primary Teachers Training (PTT) at an undergraduate or postgraduate level, which results in a certificate, diploma, Bachelor’s degree, or Master’s degree.

Early Years Teaching Status is the equivalent of QTS for teachers who primarily teach students under the age of five. All teachers in education require a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. Independent and free schools can offer employment to a teacher without QTS, although this rarely occurs.

Teacher Training

University and school teachers are required to undergo teacher placement, which forms part of their Initial Teacher Training (ITT). Placement delivers valuable teaching experience ahead of entering the paid workforce. As Student Teachers on placement, classroom teaching is practised under the supervision of a mentor.

Required Teacher Experience

Whether your job description asks for teacher work experience largely depends on the teaching role, subject, and setting. Teacher experience might be paid work or volunteering.

Teacher Job Description FAQs

WHAT IS THE DESCRIPTION OF A TEACHER?

A teacher is an educator who provides learning to students following the national curriculum guidelines for their subject. Their duties include preparing lessons, teaching the class, setting homework on a regular basis, grading tests, and updating parents with students’ progress.

WHAT ARE THE QUALITIES OF A GOOD TEACHER?

A good teacher is enthusiastic and passionate about delivering educational content and is an expert in their subject area. They are motivated to give the best teaching experience through well-thought-out lesson plans. They should be confident public speakers, able to handle poor student behaviour, and can explain concepts to students struggling with the subject matter.

WHAT SHOULD YOU LOOK FOR ON A TEACHER CV?

Advanced degrees, such as Master’s degrees and awards, are two indicators of a classroom expert. Employers can also look for candidates that have stayed at one school for several years, indicating that they are dedicated to the student community.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A TEACHER AND A TEACHING ASSISTANT?

Teachers have the primary classroom role, developing lesson plans, setting assignments, and marking students. Teaching assistants are subordinate to teachers, who delegate tasks to them, such as setting up the classroom and preparing learning materials and supplies.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A TEACHER AND A TUTOR?

The main difference between a teacher and a tutor is that a teacher delivers learning following teaching methods that suit the skills and learning styles of most of the class. Tutors offer learning on an individual basis, which means it is more personalised to the student.

WHO DOES A TEACHER REPORT TO?

Who a teacher reports to depends on the size and type of school. Most teachers report to the head teacher, deputy head, or year head.

Teacher Job Description Examples And Samples

Our advice is to create your teacher job description using one of the samples and examples below.

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