Writing the Teaching Statement / Cover Letter
Appearance
It should be no longer than one page and similar to a letter with contact details at the top, brief paragraphs of valuable information with a signature sign off.
Structure
Your personal contact details should be aligned in the top left-hand side corner. Always double check the details are correct, the last thing you would want is to miss out on an interview offer because your contact details are wrong.
- Opening paragraph and introduction
Your cover letter should always be addressed to the attention of a person, (this is usually mentioned as the contact in the advert). If no details of the person to contact are included in the advert, check with the recruiter or call the school to find out. Failing that, a simple to sir/madam or hiring manager will suffice.
Start with including details of the position you are applying for, which school it is with, where you discovered the job listing, and to accept your documents as application for the position.
Next include a short paragraph which is an introduction to yourself, what your current position is and the course you are currently studying. Briefly cover any career gaps, or if you’ve had a career change. This will avoid any unanswered questions floating around in the recruiters’ mind.
About the position and why you are suitable for it
Here is where you can be really clever and show you’ve done your homework.
Analyse the school and vacancy to work out their recruitment priorities; the job advert, school website and the Ofsted report will be the best place to start with. Then identify your key strengths that match them to the school’s needs. ECTs often worry that that they haven't got much to offer as experienced teachers, but if you've gained experience of working with parents, or insights into differentiation techniques, during a placement, these will definitely work. If you are able to visit the school or call them to get a feel for the school. The main thing you are trying to do here is aligning your reasoning to the information you have learnt about the school and the vacancy.
Participating in extra-curricular activities will always go look appealing and more favourable.
Your statement should change according to the school - there's no room for a template approach in today’s competitive job market. The more effort you put into it, the more opportunities you will receive.
It’s important you show why you are the best person for the role. Schools are looking for examples that explains what has been done in a previous role and how that matches their specification. They also look for the candidate to be able to focus on the outcomes they’ve achieved as a result of their action.
This can be done easily by picking two or three points of the responsibilities that you can fulfil and address how you can meet each one. These can be anything from behaviour management, educational philosophy, subject expertise, pedagogy, personal organisation skills and enrichment activities.
A popular technique to use to ensure you effectively cover all the key points is the STAR model.
S First describe the Situation you were in
T Describe the Task that was involved
A Next describe the Action you took and skills used (be certain to say 'I' not 'we' when explaining this - employers want to know what YOU did, not the wider team)
R Finally, explain what the Result was and how long it took to achieve
What if I don’t have a lot of examples to use?
If you find yourself with not much skills and experience right now, describe how you would work to satisfy these points. Remember, it’s all about tailoring your documents to the application and demonstrating (with evidence) that you are a suitable candidate.
Teaching Areas to Mention
For the recruiter / school to understand your values, beliefs and characteristics you could include some elements around behaviour management, educational philosophy, subject expertise, pedagogy, personal organisation skills and enrichment activities into some of your examples.
Keep it structured and to the point.
The statement should also include something personal in terms of your outside interests to indicate that you live an interesting and well-balanced life.
Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling and Proof Reading
Use formatting programs such as, Microsoft Word to run spelling checks. Use online tools or apps to check for grammar.
Finally, have a friend, parent or a mentor proof read your documents to ensure it is structured logically and reads well.
Then you can feel confident in submitting your applications.
Writing your statement / cover letter can be tricky, take your time with it, be prepared to receive constructive feedback from peers and write a few drafts before you send it off.
