How to Hire a Teacher

Teacher training programmes are the deepest pipeline, and schools that host trainees see them work for months before a vacancy exists. Build those relationships with course leaders rather than waiting for graduation. Subject associations and curriculum networks reach experienced specialists in shortage areas who are not browsing job boards. Supply and substitute registers are an underused route, effectively a try-before-you-hire arrangement where you watch someone manage your own classes. Career changers with genuine subject expertise convert well when routed through a proper training pathway. Returning teachers, often after caring responsibilities, are a strong and overlooked pool. Publish the [teacher job description](/job-descriptions/teacher) with the timetable and phase specified, and use [job posting software](/job-posting-software) to reach subject-specific and regional boards rather than general listings.

Be concrete about the teaching load. Name the subject, the age range or grade level, the number of classes, typical class size and whether the timetable includes a second subject. Describe the curriculum and assessment approach, because a teacher who thrives under one framework may struggle under another. Explain the behaviour policy and, more importantly, how it is supported when a lesson goes wrong, since that is what experienced teachers actually want to know. State planning and marking expectations honestly. Set out induction, mentoring and professional development. List certification and clearance requirements as conditions to be met before appointment. Schools that describe workload realistically lose a few applicants at the advert stage and keep far more teachers past their first year.

Shortlist on evidence, not on enthusiasm. Look for what the candidate's students actually achieved and how they know, what they changed after an assessment, and how they describe managing behaviour in specific terms rather than in values statements. A short call about behaviour philosophy and curriculum approach filters efficiently, because vague answers here rarely improve in a classroom. Confirm early that certification, registration and background clearance can be completed for your setting, following the rules of your jurisdiction, so no offer collapses at the final check. Then get to the demonstration lesson quickly. Prepare the panel with structured [teacher interview questions](/interview-questions/teacher) so subject knowledge, assessment practice and safeguarding awareness are covered consistently.

The demonstration lesson is the centre of it. Give every candidate the same class profile, objective and timeframe, and observe with a shared rubric covering planning, pace, questioning, checking for understanding, adaptation and behaviour management. Watch what happens when the class does not grasp the first explanation, because that moment separates candidates more than anything scripted. Gather structured feedback from the students afterwards; they notice things adults miss. Add a department conversation about curriculum, assessment and collaboration, plus scenario questions on safeguarding and parental communication. Finish with a leadership interview covering workload, development and fit. Many schools decide the same day, which is reasonable when the rubric scoring was done properly during the lesson.

The academic calendar governs everything. Resignation deadlines and term structures mean most movement happens in defined windows, so vacancies advertised inside the main cycle draw far deeper pools than those appearing late. Plan for known departures early and keep a relationship with strong supply teachers for the vacancies nobody predicted. Track applications properly in an [applicant tracking system](/ats) so a vacancy advertised in a busy period does not lose candidates to administrative delay. Close on the department rather than the school: who they will plan with, what the timetable really looks like, how behaviour is backed up, and what development is funded. Honesty about workload beats a generous package that the first term contradicts.