Customize your answers. Find out about the school and visit if possible. Talk to anyone you know who works, trains, or studies there.

Mention at least some of your findings in your responses to show your genuine enthusiasm for them as a school or organization. This will help your answers stand out.

Ask someone you know to give you a mock interview for practice, such as a friend, tutor, teacher, or career advisor.

Why do you want to be a teacher?
You should show that teaching is your first choice, not a plan B. Tell them about your motivation and try to show your passion for teaching. Provide good examples of your time in school and the specific teaching elements that you find satisfying. Avoid broad answers like “I’ve always wanted to be a teacher.”

Why do you want to work in our school?
Often one of the first questions in most teaching interviews, preparation is vital to successfully answering this question. Think about why it would be a good option to work or study at school. Tell your interviewers why you are interested in their school and what you know about its ethics, values, demographics, educational goals and objectives, initiatives, or extracurricular activities.

How will you handle challenges at work?
Interviewers will want to know that you are aware of the challenges in your PGCE, teacher training, or NQT year and that you have the stamina and dedication to meet them. Perhaps you describe a demanding situation, giving details of how you successfully handled the different demands. This could be your experience of studying and working at the same time; the experience of preparing lessons and managing a number of teaching cases would be especially relevant.

What experience do you have in schools?
Look ahead to the experience they are asking for and emphasize where you have it. Your interview is where you can provide more evidence to support your CV and your application. Use evidence from your teaching practice, school work, or school observation before your interview. Describe the school and reflect on your learning, as well as what interested or surprised you. You can also talk about experience in other settings and with different age ranges than the ones you are applying to teach, such as daycare centers, youth clubs, or play schemes.

What are the basic skills and qualities that students look for in teachers?
Match the skills you have with the ones you know the school is looking for, as outlined in the person’s job description or specification. Key skills sought in teaching interviews include:

passion for teaching / the subject
good communication and organization
critical thinking
patience
sense of humor
ability to communicate new ideas and concepts
pleasing young people.

Call attention to your assets, no matter how obvious some of the items on this list may seem, by giving good examples of when you’ve successfully demonstrated them.

What qualities do you have that would make you an effective teacher?
Reflect on a teacher you liked in school, college, or with whom you have worked in the classroom. Analyze what qualities made them successful; these may include:

enthusiasm
rhythm
Resilience
knowledge of the subject
a variety of teaching methods
the ability to hold the class’s attention
empathy
encourage children to think rather than be told.

Tell your interviewers about the qualities you have and what they are looking for; This is not the time to be modest. Speak positively of yourself, think carefully about the words you would use here, for example: assertive instead of bossy, or calm instead of relaxed. Talk about what you would bring to her school.

Safeguarding and equal opportunities
In any teacher interview there is always a question about protection, which can take the form of any of the following:

What is the responsibility of a teacher in the protection of children?
Please tell us how you faced a protection problem at school.

What would you do if a child revealed xyz?
Prepare yourself by reading a protection policy, preferably for the school you are applying to or are in. In general, do not handle a protection issue yourself, but turn it over to the school protection officer.

You will also likely be asked a question about equal opportunity, such as:

What does the term “equal opportunity” mean to you?
How would you approach the teaching of a class of students with mixed abilities?
What is your motivation for working in special education?

With any of these, show that you understand the problems for yourself and describe the theory, if you can, with a successful example from your own experience. Be honest: If you haven’t been in that situation, say so, but talk about what you would do if you were.

How would you evaluate [the lesson you just taught] and what would you do different next time?
This is a crucial question. Don’t just describe the lesson, talk about what was successful and how it could have gone better. Be prepared with some suggestions of what you would change in hindsight.

Acknowledge that you have just met the students and probably don’t know them very well. Before the lesson, ask if you can have a seating plan or a list of student names. Consider the progress of the people in the lesson and try to remember some of their names if you can, giving the panel some suggestions on what to follow up on.

If I walked into your classroom during an outstanding lesson, what would you see and hear?
Please provide a complete list as they may have a checklist to see how much you mention. Show your passion for high-quality teaching, but limit your response to two minutes. Your answer will help interviewers see how you would teach an outstanding lesson at their school. If you have a portfolio with you, show any examples of children’s learning and positive comments you have received. You could bring certificates, resources that you have created, sample lessons, things that will help you remember what you have done that is outstanding.

Tell us about a behavior management strategy you have used to help engage an individual student or group.
You could talk about how you have successfully handled a disruptive pupil or student. Give an example of a situation where a strategy you used has been effective in the classroom. Think about the behavior management strategies you have come across or heard of and talk about what you have seen to be effective.

Give an example of when teaching and learning in the classroom has improved and how you knew it was successful.
Think about the evidence before the interview to be prepared with clear examples of success. Consider taking some examples from your work, perhaps comments from others or data on student improvement. Don’t be shy when talking about where teaching and learning has improved, as this is something your interviewers really want to know.