TLTP Education is always on the lookout for new and innovative methods to attract talented teachers, support staff and leaders to support them with their career ambitions. 

So, when we came across Jooble; a new and popular jobs site with a difference we decided to give it a try, and we glad we did!

Jooble is a search engine, just like Google and Yahoo, the difference with Jooble’s search engine is it's designed to search only jobs. Their search engine enables you to look for jobs on the major job boards and career sites across the United Kingdom all in one place.

Jooble automatically filters out duplicated jobs, so similar jobs, posted on several career sites, are shown as a single one.

Since we began to feature our vacancies on Jooble we have attracted a high calibre of Education professionals whom we have supported in finding them find their dream job and helping them flourish in their career.
Jooble is constantly updating their features to make it easy for employers to attract potential candidates to their jobs and vice versa. Their overall aim is to help candidates finds relevant jobs in a few seconds and save time.

Everyday schools rely on Supply Teachers to fulfil unexpected vacancies that arise. For over 10 years London Teaching Pool Ltd have built a reputable service in supplying teachers at very short notice to schools across London and the Home Counties. We rely on our supply teachers to consistently be skilled, reliable and deliver a quality service to all of the schools they are assigned to. The title ‘Supply Teacher’ often has negative perceptions associated to it, these include, having an ‘easy life’, being ‘job hoppers’, hold ‘no responsibilities’ and require ‘no planning’. We know this is completely the opposite and in fact supply teaching is far more daunting and stressful than it looks. Walking into an unknown school, into an unknown class and not knowing what planning or work or behaviour problems are ahead of you – it is not an easy way to make a living.  

Supply teachers are an essential part of the education system in the UK; without them the system would collapse. Schools prefer to recruit the same supply teacher particular those that left with a positive impression and often enough are offered much longer term and permanent contracts.  

Here are our top ten tips on being a first-class Supply Teacher

 1. Work closely with your agency

Choose a recruitment consultancy who specialise in teaching roles. It wise to stick to one agency where you can build a relationship with one consultant. Here at London Teaching Pool Ltd we provide supply for Primary, Secondary and SEN roles across London and the Home Counties. Each one of our 40 Education consultants are committed to providing a first-class service ensuring your best interests are always looked after. You will meet with your consultant and communicate regularly to ensure your needs are always met.

2. Be ready and flexible

Schools often rely on supply teachers due to a last minute absence. This means you will often be approached with little or no notice, for example, you may receive a call from your agency at 7:30am about a role that starts at 8:30am. It is important you are always ready and have a degree of flexibility to ensure you gain access to as many opportunities as possible. Let your agency know when you register that you are happy to be called with little notice. It is also important to keep your agency informed with your availability and to call them as well as them contacting you.    

3. Do NOT be late

Lateness of supply teachers is the biggest turn off for schools where timetables are extremely strict. Being late not only makes a bad impression to senior leaders and hiring managers but it will also set you off on the wrong foot with the children you are about to teach. By arriving on time or even better early, you will have the chance to familiarise yourself with the school and the other teachers. It will also mark you out as someone a school can rely on. Ensure you plan ahead before you leave and if you are going to be late inform your consultant so that the school can kept up to date.  

4. Do your research

As soon as you know what school you will be working at, find out from the agency if there is any more information they can provide you with. For example, are there any pupils with special needs that you might need to prepare for or who may require a teaching assistant present? Additionally, check out the school’s website as this can often give you a flavour of the school and tell you if it has any particular specialisms.    

5. Dress to impress

Make sure you always have a professional, clean, ironed work outfit ready the night before. It takes less than 10 seconds to make a first impression, so make sure your clothing sends the right message. Having an outfit ready means less hassle in the morning when you receive a last-minute assignment. Make sure you stand out to ensure you have the best chance of being remembered and called back for future work.     

6. Pack an Emergency Supply Kit

Sometimes the teacher you are about to fill in for may not have left any notes to follow especially if it is an unplanned cover i.e. sickness. It is essential you are prepared for such scenarios by bringing your own resources and activity ideas along with you. As a supply teacher it is always good to have something up your sleeves for the unexpected and always have a back-up plan.  

7. Before you leave

Leave a handover note for the regular class teacher as they will be in the dark about what their class has been doing. Always ensure the classroom is tidy and everything is put back as you found it when you arrived.    

8. Find out about routines

The start of the day is crucial to how well the rest of the day will go, so make sure that you are aware of the daily routine including as fire alarm drills. Children will be reassured those routines have not changed and that you are in command and will prevent you from being caught out whilst in the middle of teaching.    

9. Get to know the class

Before you start the lesson spend five minutes getting to know the children in your class. Introduce yourself and why you are there and go around the class asking all children to say their name and something about them i.e. their hobbies / favourite toy.    

10. Gratitude and feedback

It is courteous to thank the head teacher on your last day and let them know how you got on. As long as you have performed to your best this will greatly increase your chances of being asked back. It is also important to speak to your consultant and let them know if you would be interested in working there again so they can relay this to their client. Be open and honest, when we know what works for you and what does not we are able to tailor the work to you and ensure that your needs are met as well as those of the school. If you are unhappy, do not bottle it up, be honest about your experiences good or bad, we can and will listen and adapt things to help you.      

Supply teaching is a fantastic career choice, one that can provide flexibility and the ability to increase your experience in a short space of time, this is why in particular Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) are encouraged undertake such roles. Hopefully by following these tips you will give yourself the best chance of success. Good luck!  

View all our supply jobs and apply today!

A job as a primary teacher is unquestionably one of the most rewarding careers you can have. You have the ability to inspire young children during some of the most important years of their development. You day to day role is exciting, varied and far from boring. The most satisfying aspect of being a primary school teacher is knowledge that what you are teaching these children are concepts and nurturing their naturally inquisitive minds. You are setting the foundations needed to develop the skills that they will continue to build on for the rest of their lives.      

What does primary teaching involve?

The impact you can have as a primary teacher is immense. You can set children up to succeed from the start, making sure they all have access to a brilliant education.

Primary teachers work with children between the ages of 3 and 11 and are required to teach all of the subjects which are in the national curriculum. This means that anybody looking for a primary teaching role needs to have good, basic knowledge of all these subjects for key stages 1 and 2. You will also be responsible for their educational, social and emotional development while in your care.

As a primary school teacher you will need to be creative, well organised, good at planning and have a lot of patience as working with young children can be very challenging. As well as this you need to be reasonably fit and be able to communicate effectively in written and spoken English. Responsibilities of a primary school teacher include (but not limited to):

• Plan lessons, prepare teaching materials and then teaching what you have organised
• Marking and assessing work which you have assigned
• Working and liaising with other industry professionals • Attending staff meetings and any training courses which may be required
• Manage class behaviour
• Discuss children's progress and other relevant matters with parents and carers
• Work with other professionals like education psychologists and social workers • Attend meetings and do training organise outings, social activities and sports events
• You will need to be motivated, committed and a good sense of humour

Each day is varied as you will be carrying our activities from developing young pupils’ literacy, to teaching them about maths, science, arts, PE, music, and basic computing skills.

Your teacher training will help you build and use all the skills and creativity you need to succeed in the classroom. Remember to always talk to experienced teachers and practitioners as you discover how to create and deliver inventive and engaging lessons. After all sharing best practise is the key to great success.

Teaching the same class over the course of a year means you can gain an in-depth understanding of your pupils’ characters and different skills. This gives you a big responsibility to ensure every child gets the most out of their education – offering unbeatable job satisfaction as you see how they change and grow as individuals.

The opportunity to move between year groups and different stages of learning just adds to the variety of the job – and as your teaching skills flourish, so can your career. As a great primary school teacher, you could progress to key stage head, a position in a senior leadership team, or even become a head teacher. In doing so, you could use your vision and experience to make a difference to the entire school.  

What Qualification are needed for primary teaching?

The teaching profession looks for the highest calibre of candidates. To become a primary teacher you will need to have completed the Initial Teacher Education or Training (ITET) and gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). In addition to this you will also need:

• A-C GCSE grades in Maths, English & Science

• Enhanced background checks by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) which must be clear of any convictions You can study for a university degree and gain QTS at the same time by doing one of the following courses:

• BA (Hons) degree or BSc (Hons) degree with QTS

• Bachelor of Education (BEd) degree course In addition to being a qualified teacher, having classroom experience is extremely powerful. Whether it be day supply or temporary work placements all the experience you gain will help to become a higher quality candidate.

Working hours and conditions

A typical working week for a full-time teacher is an average 37 hours a week, with typical class times starting between 8.30am and 9.15am and finishing around 3.15pm to 4pm. Outside of classroom hours, teachers normally will be planning lessons, marking work and also taking part in activities, like as parents' evenings and outings. Teachers normally work 39 weeks a year split over three school term.  

How TLTP can help you find a Primary Teaching job

Whether you are an NQT, or interested in becoming a primary teacher or looking for your next role in teaching, London Teaching Pool Ltd (TLTP) can help you. See our latest primary teacher jobs. Simply register your details or if you prefer a request a call back and one of our experienced recruitment consultants will phone you.

Every school varies when it comes to what they’re looking for in a primary school teacher. The best way to prepare yourself for this is to make sure that you have a strong and up to date CV that is tailored to teaching. See our CV tips which will help you in creating a winning CV. Once you’re through the selection stage we’ve put together some useful interview advice to help you prepare and get through the next hurdle.

Register and sign up to job alerts so that you can keep up to date with the latest TLTP job postings. This means that you’ll be the first to know when vacancies you are interested in arise. This saves you time because instead of you looking for jobs, jobs find you.

Download the FREE TLTP Education App where you can search for jobs and apply whilst on the go. You’ll be able to save your preferences, receive notifications when new jobs are added and access lots of useful information.

Being accepted for a teaching job in London and the south east is a dream both recent graduates and teachers looking to return to the profession after a spell pursuing other interests share.

No matter what stage of your career you are at, in order to get your next job you are going to need to perform well in your interview.  

Here is some interview advice you can be thinking about while you apply for teaching vacancies.

Have a positive mindset

Most people find the interview process to be a bit daunting. It helps if you can relax and focus on what it is designed to achieve as part of the school's recruitment process. Interviewers are not trying to trip you up and look for a reason not to employee you, just the opposite in fact. The interview is there to give you the best possible opportunity to go into more detail about the skills and experience you listed on your application. After all, if the school was not impressed by you, they would never have asked you to come to the next stage. Use the time to demonstrate all of your strengths and achievements, while mentioning other positive aspects such as ambitions.

The interview is also there for you as a candidate. Often it is the first chance you will get to see how you will fit in with heads and other teachers and see how this individual school will help you progress as a teacher.

Be prepared

Plan this interview like a lesson. Be totally familiar with the job description and know how your own experiences in teaching correlate with what the school is looking for. This is the minimum requirement, but to impress you need to research the school. Looking at the Ofsted site to see its latest reports and find out the school's CVA score is a good place to start, but also be aware of less quantifiable information such as the school's ethos or aims. Take time checking their website and get hold of a prospectus. 

If part of the interview process involves you being given an invitation to visit the school, you must take it and make the most of the opportunity by talking to teachers and staff. This will not only help you get an idea of what the school is like, but will also inform your ideas about what sort of candidate the school is looking for.

A final matter you can keep abreast of before your interview is wider teaching issues, such as curriculum and policy changes. These could form the basis of some of the interviewers' questions.

Perfect your interview technique

If you are still on a teaching course, your tutor or mentor will be able to do mock interviews with you, but if you are looking to return to the teaching industry, you will not have this luxury.

There are plenty of ways you can improve on your own, however. List in easy-to-remember bullet points your strengths and how they relate to the role. Practice answers with these strengths in and focus on your delivery and body language. Remember, questions are likely to be open such as: What qualities do you a good teacher needs? What are your major strengths and weaknesses as a teacher? What are your career targets? You can ensure you are not stuck for words by knowing what you want to say beforehand.

Re-read your application form and see if there is anything you would like to clarify or elaborate on during the interview.

First impressions count

No matter how good your application is, you can spoil it in the first two minutes of an interview. Dress as smart as you can, get a good night's sleep and don't be late.

After years of learning the craft, applying for your first teaching job feels like the realisation of a life-long ambition for some people.

The application process itself is the final step and one that you will not want to stumble on after the journey you have already taken.  
 
Know your audience

At this point you are no longer writing to impress university tutors, pupils or even yourself. You are writing to the headteacher of the recruiting school and you will want to tailor your qualities accordingly.

Most headteachers would be far more willing to consider applications who had displayed some level of interest in the school itself, rather than just the specific teaching job on offer. If you have drafted a perfect cover letter that highlights all your achievements, carefully listing the recommendations you have amassed during your training, but then used a near identical copy for every application, you are not giving your employment prospects a fair chance.

Be particularly careful about using templates you find online. They will end up being counterproductive, with many heads admitting if they receive two applications with similar structures and an identical sentence or two, they dismiss both.

Know your objectives

The ultimate aim of your application is to get you a teaching job. However, if you break this down, you'll be able to construct a more tangible checklist of sub aims that you can build your application around.

First, you need to create enough of a good impression to get you to the interview stage. This is basically a process of checking that you include nothing that could discount you - including typos or flaws in your knowledge. 

Next, you'll want to ensure the piece of paper the head and governors are reading is capable of influencing them to visualise you in the role they are advertising. To do this, closely match your experience to their specific details in the job description.

Finally, the application needs to not get you sacked after you get the job, so it must be honest. Sell yourself, don't lie about yourself. 

Know the form

Government advises schools not to ask for CVs - although some may still do. Instead, your initial vacancy search is likely to be meet by an application form. Practice filling it out if this needs to be done by hand and get to know all sections of the form before you start writing anything at all.

Always list any achievements or experience in order of relevancy. This will ensure that your application is not bypassed even though you have the requisite skills.

Most forms are concluded by a statement (and if not you should include the following information in your covering letter).

Pay attention to the guidelines. If the school asks for two pages, it means somewhere between 1.5 and two pages, not a paragraph and type it unless it is specifically stated it should be handwritten. Build your response around the pointers given by the school, but use this as a final chance to emphasise your skills or address any qualities that you may have that you have been unable to document so far.

Be keen to get across why they need you, rather than vice-versa, although you will want to include your positive research about the school at this point.

End on a bright, but formal note and keep a copy of the form for yourself because hopefully, you'll be asked questions about it fairly soon.

The fact that you have got through your teacher training course unscathed and are still enthusiastic about the teaching profession is a landmark event in itself. Now your focus shifts to doing applications, booking in some additional work experience if you have the time. It's all leading up to the inevitable – an interview.

Now, while you've certainly experienced your fair share of interviews over the years, this one is different. This is not just any job, a means to an end, something that pays the bills. No; this is a vocation, the start of a career in education, the very first real opportunity to actually get paid doing something you enjoy.

It goes without saying that while the process of being interviewed is never designed to catch you out, make you feel awkward and unnerve you; they can feel a little strange, irrespective of how confident you are. After all, here you are, suited and booted, sitting in front of a panel of strangers explaining how great you are. It is a little odd.

From the point of view of your prospective employer, interviews exist to determine your suitability for the role and whether you will complement the school's philosophy and approach to education.

As for you, from your perspective, it is about highlighting your strengths and experience (where relevant) and explaining clearly and confidently why you think you are a strong candidate and best suited for this particular school.

Prepare, prepare and prepare

Considering the fact that there are scores of individuals competing for the same jobs and all with similar qualifications – and indeed experience in some respects – you have to demonstrate during an interview what makes you not only stand out, but reveals that you are, by and large, ahead of your peers.

In short, do your homework and then do so more. Planning is vital in demonstrating why your employers should hire you. You'll want to show that you're well aware of the ins and outs of the school you are applying for (read their Ofsted reports, check out their website and look at their CVA score); familiarise yourself with the latest press releases from the Department of Education and acquaint yourself with current topics of debate.

Be yourself and make an impression

It may seem rather hackneyed, but first impressions really do count. Teaching isn't just about possessing knowledge and skills pertaining to your subject specialism. It is also about communication, building up a rapport, inspiring people and engaging with them in an effective way.

Your temperament and body language should make obvious these qualities. More often than not, interviewers are looking to see what you're like as a human being. Yes, it is an interview and you may be nervous, but sincerity of character will still shine through. Be polite and let conversations flow. Think of interviews as a discussion and you'll feel more comfortable.

Questions to prepare for

It is better to have a more meaningful, eloquent and effective answer prepared ahead of an interview than to fire off some answers that have come off the top of your head. You want to express authority, and this will come from a well-prepared answer.

Some questions to look out for:

• Why do you want to be a teacher?
• What qualities do you think a teacher should have?
• How do you think colleagues would describe you as a teacher?
• Give an example of how you would make a lesson diverse and inclusive?
• Describe your teaching style?
• What policy areas are you interested in?
• Do you have any weaknesses in your subject specialism?
• How do you plan and structure lessons?
• Outline how you would deal with a disruptive pupil/class?
• How would you contribute to the school as a whole?

Trainee teachers are candid in how difficult their experience of a PGCE is, a fact that is drilled home before they’ve even sat their first class. When being interviewed, one of the key points that is put across to prospective candidates is that it is no small undertaking: it will be hard going, both physically and mentally.

Everyone hits a hurdle, but, with the right kind of support and attitude – a high level of motivation is required – everything starts to fall into place. That’s not to say it gets any easier, but certainly, the more accustomed to a learning environment you become, the more self-assured you are in your own skills and knowledge.

Which is good news in terms of timing, because, about now, there is a slight shift in your focus. While you are still in the throes of your training, you’re now advised to start looking ahead, to finding your first job. This is why you are here after all, and although it can feel like a daunting time, with some thorough research and planning, you can feel confident that you can secure a post in a school that is beneficial to all stakeholders.

Search effectively

The likelihood is that you are not going to find the perfect job straight away – it’s just wishful thinking. Now, that said, you shouldn’t be any less ambitious. You need to secure a position that makes the most sense to you at you start your career.

Key things to consider when looking for a job include finding the best recruiters around (online and in person), scrutinising job adverts effectively and gauging whether prospective schools and yourself are compatible.

Know what you want and are most suitable for. This means tailoring your searches to meet your demands, your experience and your particular skill-set. After all, the last thing you want to do is waste time browsing through loads of jobs that are irrelevant. This can be time-consuming, and as all PGCE students know, time is a luxury.

Applications are about what you can offer

When it comes to penning an application letter, you have to sell yourself, convey in easy to understand and persuasive language everything about you that says, “I have potential”.

What is it, for example, that makes you not only a great investment, but distinct from all your competitors? You application is about “showing off”, although in a more tactful way of course. You want your potential employers to not only be intrigued enough to give you an interview, but be keen on securing you as a teacher.

As general rules go, when it comes to your personal statement, demonstrate how you meet the criteria outlined and, moreover, back up each point with solid examples. Everyone can say that they hit the specifications, but without evidence, it carries no weight and no authority. It has no substance.

Demonstrate flair at the interview process

All the usual rules of interviewing apply – look presentable, be polite and come across confident – but one of the key distinctions with teaching interviews is that you will very likely have to carry out a mock (interview) lesson.

Now, this can be extremely intimidating. Sure you love to teach, but being observed by strangers and within the context of an interview, well, it changes the nature of things drastically. Still, with the right kind of prep, this needn’t be a frightful experience.

Analyse the brief to establish what the objectives are and what is expected of you. Adapt your learning to meet these requirements. You may not carry out the lesson you want to – in-tune with your own educational philosophies – but, for now, it’s a small compromise. Creative freedom can emerge when you’re teaching properly.