Writing a CV for working in education isn't always straightforward. Based on our experience as one of the UK's largest education recruitment agencies, along with feedback from headteachers, we've put together this easy guide to help you write a successful CV.

1. How to write a successful
teaching CV
Protocol Education’s guide to CV writing
November 2014

2. Writing a Protocol Education CV
When it comes to CVs, we’ve
seen a few in our time – both
good and bad!
Your CV is a vital tool for
securing an interview, so we
want to help you make as good
an impression as possible with a
potential school.
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3. Writing a CV – Tips and Tricks
We asked headteachers,
deputy heads and our own
consultants what they like
to see on CVs.
Take a look at some of their
dos and don’ts:
• Show your impact on children's learning
with specific examples
• No need to say that you like children or
enjoy being with children
• Don’t have unexplained gaps in employment
• Highlight your skills from volunteering,
community work and other organisations, as
initiative is important in any setting
• Make sure you mention your leadership
skills if you’ve had this experience
• If you are looking for a leadership role,
create a clear narrative of career journey
which shows 3-5 years in each job
• Avoid using teaching quotes or clichés
• No need to include your photo
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4. Writing a CV – Key Points
1. Know your audience
2. Duties vs achievements
3. SPaG
4. Keep it snappy
5. Stay up to date
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We’ve boiled all the
advice down to five
key points for you.
Keep these points
in mind and we
promise you can’t
go wrong!

5. Writing a CV – Key Points
You don’t need to be a
mind reader, but it
helps...
1. Know your audience
Put yourselves in the shoes of a busy
headteacher. What things will they
be looking for on a CV?
Some things that might interest a
headteacher:
- Ofsted experience
- Exam group experience and success
- Monitoring, assessing and
reporting on pupil attainment
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6. Writing a CV – Key Points
2. Duties vs achievements
Just listing your previous responsibilities
might not be enough to make your CV
stand out.
Use specific past accomplishments to
show what you can contribute to a
school:
OK: Taught Year 6 class
Better: Improved Year 6 Sats results
Best: Increased Year 6 Sats numeracy
attainment levels by 20%
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It can be tough to
see your own
strengths
sometimes...
Speak to one of our
consultants for help
with finding your
highlights.

7. Writing a CV – Key Points
3. SPaG (Spelling and
Grammar)
Check, check and check again. Give your
CV to a friend to read, and don’t rely solely
on spellcheckers – they don’t catch
everything!
After all, this sentence looks fine to a
spellchecker:
“I taut very affectively in my previous
roll...”
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A new set of eyes on
your CV always helps!

8. Writing a CV – Key Points
4. Keep it snappy
Your CV might only have a few
moments to impress, so don’t hide
your best points.
- Keep it to two A4 pages
- Use an easy-to-read typeface
- Make sure you have a logical
structure with clear headings
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Make it count!
There’ll be time to
explore things in more
detail once you get to the
interview.

9. Writing a CV – Key Points
5. Stay up to date
Make sure your CV reflects who you
are right now, not six months ago.
Keep track of professional
development courses and new
classroom achievements, and use
the latest terminology.
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If you are missing key
skills or experience, one
of our professional
development courses
could be the answer.
Take a look at our
website to see
what’s on offer in a
branch near you.

10. Now you’re ready to start writing!
Here’s the structure that we
recommend. If you need help with
formatting, download one of our
popular CV templates from our
website.
Writing a CV – Structure
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Summary
Career History
Other Relevant Experience
Qualifications
Additional Skills and Achievements
Supporting Statement
So, what goes in
each section?

11. Writing a CV – Structure
Summary
Start with a short, clear summary of who you are and
what you do – people don’t want to have to work it out.
 Check your lingo, especially with abbreviations. It’s
fine to say SENCO, GCSE or NVQ as they are
commonplace, however beware of abbreviations
relevant to a specific sector and potentially less
known.
 You should include:
– Your name
– Relevant qualification / Job role
– Specialist areas (e.g. subject areas, specialist age
levels or skills)
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Summary

12. Writing a CV – Structure
Career History
This is the most important part of your CV, so take some
time to get it right.
 Start with your most recent position and work
backwards
 Briefly summarise the school environment (such as
school and class size, range of special educational
needs etc), e.g. ‘Outstanding Ofsted’, ‘one-form entry
primary school’
 If newly qualified, give details of your practicum
experience
 Teachers: If possible, give specific examples of how
you helped pupils to progress at the school, and
highlight any additional responsibilities or extra-curricular
involvement
 Support Workers: If possible, describe specific ways
that you contributed to improving the quality of
learning at the school, and highlight any additional
responsibilities or extra-curricular involvement
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Career History

13. Writing a CV – Structure
Career History FAQs
 How far back should I go in my CV?
You probably don’t need to go further back than 10 years.
It is important to remember relevance to the job you are
being put forward for.
 How can I reflect daily supply work in my CV?
If you were to list every school you have worked in you
could very easily go over two pages! One idea is to block
the work together, for example Supply Teacher, Protocol
Education, Leicestershire, September 2013 to July 2014.
 I have had time away from work. How do I account for
these gaps?
If it’s only a matter of few weeks or a month then there
isn’t much need to worry.
Think about how you can sell your career break, for
example first time mum, travelling experience, etc. What
transferable skills did these give you? Did you carry out
any voluntary work during this period?
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Career History

14. Writing a CV – Structure
Other Relevant Experience
 If you have previous employment experience you
consider relevant to your work in education, briefly
describe the role and how the skills involved apply to
your current practice.
 This section can help you to cover gaps in your
employment – but remember, keep it relevant!
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Other Relevant Experience

15. Writing a CV – Structure
Qualifications
 List your qualifications, along with where and when
you qualified.
 Remember to keep it brief and to the point,
highlighting the most relevant qualifications. You
don’t need to include your entire school history in
this section.
 What did you write about qualifications in your
summary? Make sure it says the same thing here.
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Qualifications

16. Writing a CV – Structure
Additional Skills and Achievements
 Use this space to list important achievements,
experiences, awards, or any other details (e.g.
professional development) relevant to seeking work
in education that you haven’t been able to
incorporate into your career history.
 This is a good place to highlight any additional skills
that could be useful to a school – e.g. ICT, musical, or
sporting ability.
 Make sure to include dates, where possible.
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Additional Skills and Achievements

17. Writing a CV – Structure
Supporting Statement
 If you’re including a supporting statement, outline
your key experiences as a teacher/support worker,
your motivation, teaching style, approach to
behaviour management, and the ways you have
improved pupils’ learning.
 This should convey a sense of your personality and
outline areas of education that you are enthusiastic
about; the language style used should still remain
professional throughout.
 Remember to avoid using clichés! Stay away from:
– “I’m very enthusiastic”
– “I’m an excellent team-player and can work
independently”
– “I’m dynamic”
– “Highly motivated”
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Supporting Statement

18. What do I do next?
Well done! You should now have the
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beginnings of a fantastic CV.
Remember our five key points:
 Have you kept it relevant to your audience?
 Have you used specific examples of
accomplishments?
 Has it been checked thoroughly?
 Have you kept it to two pages? Is it easy to read?
 Is it up to date? E.g CPD, SEN skills, etc.
Once you’ve checked all the above,
send it to your consultant or upload it
to your Candidate Lounge account.
Now you’re ready to land that
interview!