Common teacher interview questions

Teacher interview questions and answers

Questions marked STAR want a real example: the situation, your task, the action you took and the result. For the others, follow the steps. Keep each answer to about two minutes.

1. 1

   Reflection

   How do you think your lesson went?

   What they want to hear

   Honest, specific reflection on learning rather than performance: what pupils learned, how you know and what you would change.

   Avoid

   Saying it went perfectly, or being so critical that you lose confidence. Don’t talk only about timing or behaviour.

   How to answer

   Start with

   One thing that worked, with evidence, such as most pupils solving the final problem on their own.

   Then

   One thing you would change and why, for example more time on the worked example before independent practice.

   Finish with

   How you would follow it up next lesson, using what you saw in their work.

2. 2

   Motivation

   Why do you want to work at this school?

   What they want to hear

   That you have researched the school and share its priorities, not that you would take any post.

   Avoid

   Praise that could apply to any school, or reasons that are only about travel or pay.

   How to answer

   Start with

   Something specific: its approach to reading, its curriculum, its inclusion work or what you noticed on your visit.

   Then

   How your experience fits it, such as leading phonics or teaching in a similar setting.

   Finish with

   What you would add, for example a club, a subject strength or pastoral work.

3. 3

   Safeguarding

   What would you do if a pupil told you something that worried you?

   What they want to hear

   Correct safeguarding practice, in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education in England: listen, never promise secrecy, report to the designated safeguarding lead (DSL) and record it.

   Avoid

   Promising confidentiality, questioning the child in detail, or contacting parents yourself.

   How to answer

   First

   Listen calmly, let them speak in their own words, and do not ask leading questions or promise to keep it secret.

   Then

   Report it to the DSL that day, or immediately if the child is at risk, following the school’s procedure.

   Finish with

   Recording exactly what was said and seen, factually, on the school’s system, and not investigating it yourself.

4. 4

   Behaviour

   How do you manage behaviour in your classroom?

   What they want to hear

   Clear routines, high expectations, consistent use of the school’s behaviour policy and good relationships with pupils.

   Avoid

   Saying you never have behaviour problems, or that you run your own system instead of the school’s policy.

   How to answer

   Start with

   Your routines: how lessons start, the expectations you teach explicitly, and praise used well.

   Then

   How you follow the school’s policy consistently and calmly when pupils fall short, without public confrontation.

   Finish with

   How you build relationships, and work with parents and pastoral staff when a pupil needs more support.

5. 5

   BehaviourSTAR

   Tell us about a time you supported a pupil whose behaviour was challenging.

   What they want to hear

   That you look for the reason behind the behaviour and work with colleagues, while keeping the class learning.

   Avoid

   Details that could identify the pupil, or a story that ends with simply removing them from the room.

   An example answer, with STAR

   Situation

   A Year 8 pupil often walked out of your lessons and was falling behind.

   Task

   You wanted to keep him in the room and learning without disrupting the rest of the class.

   Action

   You spoke to his tutor and the SENCo, learned he struggled with reading, adapted his texts, gave him a job at the start of each lesson and agreed a signal for time out.

   Result

   He stayed in most lessons that half term and his work improved. His tutor shared the approach with other staff.

6. 6

   SEND

   How do you adapt your teaching for pupils with SEND?

   What they want to hear

   Practical adaptive teaching for the whole class, use of support plans, and close work with the SENCo and teaching assistants.

   Avoid

   Saying the teaching assistant deals with SEND, or describing lower expectations for some pupils.

   How to answer

   Start with

   High expectations for everyone, with adaptations such as chunked instructions, visual prompts, pre-teaching key vocabulary or scaffolds.

   Then

   How you use pupils’ support plans or EHC plans and the SENCo’s advice in your planning.

   Give an example

   A pupil with speech and language needs supported with a word bank and sentence starters, and how you checked it was working.

7. 7

   Assessment

   How do you know your pupils are making progress?

   What they want to hear

   Assessment in every lesson as well as data, and evidence that you change your teaching because of it.

   Avoid

   Talking only about data and tests, or saying you can just tell.

   How to answer

   Start with

   Checks in the lesson: questioning, mini whiteboards, exit tickets and looking at books.

   Then

   How you use tests and the school’s tracking to spot pupils or groups falling behind.

   Finish with

   An example of changing your plan because of what you found.

8. 8

   ReflectionSTAR

   Tell us about a lesson that did not go well.

   What they want to hear

   Honesty and the ability to learn from it, which good teachers do every week.

   Avoid

   Blaming the class, or choosing a lesson spoiled only by something outside your control.

   An example answer, with STAR

   Situation

   An investigation lesson with Year 5 where groups became noisy and little was written down.

   Task

   The class needed to understand fair testing before the end of the unit.

   Action

   You reflected that your instructions were too long, then retaught it the next day, modelling an example first and giving each group member a role.

   Result

   The next investigation was calmer, and the write-ups showed most pupils understood fair testing. You now model before every group task.

9. 9

   ImpactSTAR

   Tell us about a time you helped a group of pupils catch up.

   What they want to hear

   Impact you can evidence: what you did, for whom, and how you know it worked.

   Avoid

   Figures you cannot back up, or results that could identify individual pupils.

   An example answer, with STAR

   Situation

   A group of Year 6 pupils were behind in arithmetic in the autumn term.

   Task

   You wanted them secure in the four operations by the summer.

   Action

   You used a short diagnostic test, ran daily fluency sessions with your teaching assistant and checked the group’s progress every half term.

   Result

   Most of the group reached the expected standard in arithmetic, and the approach was used across Key Stage 2 the next year.

10. 10

    Teamwork

    How would you work with a teaching assistant in your class?

    What they want to hear

    That you plan with your teaching assistant, share objectives and use their time to support learning, not just behaviour or admin.

    Avoid

    Describing a teaching assistant as someone who does photocopying, or who always sits with the same pupil.

    How to answer

    Start with

    Sharing plans and learning objectives in advance, so they know what pupils should learn.

    Then

    Agreeing which pupils or groups they support and how, including during your teaching input.

    Finish with

    Asking for their feedback after lessons and using it in your planning.

11. 11

    CommunicationSTAR

    Tell us about a time you dealt with a concerned parent.

    What they want to hear

    Professional, positive communication: listening, explaining and following up, within school policy.

    Avoid

    Speaking negatively about the parent, or promising things outside school policy.

    An example answer, with STAR

    Situation

    A parent emailed, upset that her son’s reading book was too easy and he was bored.

    Task

    You needed to reassure her and make sure he was reading at the right level.

    Action

    You called her the same day, listened, explained how books are matched to the phonics scheme, reassessed him and added a library book to read for pleasure.

    Result

    He moved up a level, she thanked you, and you began sending a short note home explaining the reading scheme.

12. 12

    Contribution

    What would you bring to the wider life of the school?

    What they want to hear

    That you will add something beyond your classroom: clubs, trips, events, a subject strength or pastoral care.

    Avoid

    Promising a long list of clubs you could not keep up alongside your teaching.

    How to answer

    Start with

    What you have done before, such as running a choir, a coding club or a sports team.

    Then

    What you could offer here, linked to something the school already does or wants to grow.

    Finish with

    That you are happy to support whole-school events too.

13. 13

    Development

    Where do you see your career in the next few years?

    What they want to hear

    Ambition that fits the school: getting better at teaching first, with realistic next steps.

    Avoid

    Saying you want to be head within two years, or that you have not thought about it.

    How to answer

    Start with

    Becoming an even stronger classroom teacher, with one specific area to develop.

    Then

    A next step, such as leading a subject, mentoring trainees or a national professional qualification, if that fits.

    Finish with

    How this school would help, for example through its training or its trust.