Teacher CV Examples & Guide for the UK

There are some teachers we can recognise across the street after 30 years, and there are those whose names we cannot remember for the life of us. There are teacher CVs that line bins, desk drawers and spam email inboxes. There are also those that get you hired on the spot.

In this article, you'll see a teacher CV that deserves an A grade. The rest of the guide will teach you (oh, the irony!) how to write your own that does not get sent to the back of the class. You'll also learn how to write an expert teaching CV template (based on numerous examples to inspire your creative spirit).

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Need a different CV example? Check these guides:

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Haven't found what you're looking for? Check all our CV examples.

Teacher CV example

That’s the curriculum for a teaching job CV. Now here’s a lesson plan to write your own CV, based on what should a good CV look like.

How to write a teacher's CV?

To begin, add a brief personal statement summarizing your teaching experience, skills, goals, and what you can bring to the classroom. Next, describe your professional experience, including the whole scope of qualifications such as student teaching, curriculum development, and special projects. Then, move to the education part, providing a degree and area of study. In the last section, mention extracurricular activities, memberships, publications and any teacher training programs that you completed.

Here's how to do this step by step:

1. Write a captivating personal statement for your teacher CV

Someone, probably Einstein, Aristotle or Confucius (the jury’s still out, believe it or not), said that to understand something, is to explain it simply. If you cannot explain why you want to be hired on your teacher CV, then do you really believe you should get that job?

Writing a personal statement for a teaching CV is easy. Don’t make a boring laundry list of duties. Instead, make a short summary of your most impressive achievements, teaching skills, and experience. Simply answer the following questions on a teacher CV with one sentence each:

1. Who are you, what’s your experience?
2. What type of teaching are you experienced in delivering?
3. What’s your most impressive achievement?
4. What’s your most unique achievement?
5. What are you hoping to be able to achieve in this job? (Think more for the school than for yourself).

Although you start your CV with a personal statement, you will find it infinitely easier to write it after you have completed all the other sections of your teaching CV (and that's why it's also called a CV summary).

Teacher CV examples: personal statement

A strong CV summary will convince the recruiter you’re the perfect candidate. Save time and choose a ready-made personal statement written by career experts and adjust it to your needs in the LiveCareer CV builder.

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2. Write a strong teacher CV job description

Creating lesson plans. Delivering classes. Offering support. These are all job description entries plucked from poor quality teacher CV examples. They could be summed up in one word: teaching. 

Instead of what you were doing, focus on what impact you were making. How many students did you teach, what improvements did you make, what problems did you solve? What difference did you make?

Answering these questions and listing achievements, as well as cases described by the PAR (Problem Action Result) formula will build an A* CV job description. And that's how you ensure your teacher CV is effective.

List 5 to 9 bullet points for your most recent teaching job, and rank them in order of importance under the following heading:

[Job Title]

[School Name, Location]

[Dates of Employment]

For older positions, keep it to less bullet points.

Teacher CV examples: work experience

3. Highlight education in your teaching CV

Those who want to teach, must show they can. How? By listing their appropriate QTS on a teacher CV. In reverse-chronological order, list your qualifications.

List your PGCE, QTS and other teaching certifications in the following way:

[Qualification Name], (Date)

[School Name]

Record your degree in the following way: 

[Degree Class] BSc/BA [Degree Name](Year Graduated)

[University Name]

If you are low on the teaching experience, in your education section you could add some bullet points to discuss things you excelled at, or experience you got while training or studying.

Teacher CV examples: education

4. List relevant teacher skills in your teaching CV

Unless you are absolutely filling your teacher CV to the brim with experience and achievements, you likely have a little space left and not much idea what to do with it. A skills section can round out your CV by listing additional reasons to hire you in a concise manner.

It can also be reiterating the most important points from your job description. Whichever version you opt for, make sure to limit yourself to 5-10 (a mix of hard and soft skills), and make sure they are highly relevant to the job being advertised.

Teacher CV examples: skills

5. Add optional sections to your teacher CV

82% of managers would rather hire someone with volunteering experience. You may have awards that are an additional reason to hire you. Languages are always worth listing in a teaching CV.

Keep descriptions of your personal life off your teacher CV (unless your hobbies and interests highlight relevant skills and attitudes). Make sure anything you list is relevant to the position you are applying to, or at least it shows your ability to juggle multiple responsibilities or tasks at once.

If you're thinking of adding references to your CV, don't. Recruiters know they can ask for them.

Teaching CV template: additional sections

6. Write a teacher cover letter

Learning is a subjective experience. You can teach the exact same thing word for word to a 100 kids, and they will all learn different amounts and focus on different things. Therefore, there is no better way to show your personal touch than in your teacher cover letter.

For a perfect cover letter structure, make sure you have:

• 1st Paragraph (60-80 words)—Your years of experience, and the reason why you are a unique candidate that stands out. 
• 2nd (Main) Paragraph (120-200 words)—Your key 2 or 3 metrics or achievements that prove you can handle what your new employer expects.
• 3rd Paragraph (40-60 words)—State what you hope to do for them.
• Call to Action (Single Sentence)—Confidently ask for an interview.

Make sure you craft a fresh cover letter for every application that you make.

What else to remember about when writing a teacher CV

Your teaching CV format gets marks for attendance—nothing particularly good happens when you get it right, but when you get it wrong, your teacher CV can quickly become a bin liner.

Make sure your CV layout gets the top marks:

• Use a legible CV font like Tahoma, Garamond, Noto. 
• For a neat teacher CV structure, use simple headings for each section, and space the sections out.
• Apply even margins on all sides of your teaching CV. That's what keeps your CV design clean.
• Unless specified otherwise, save your teacher CV in a PDF format.

How long can your CV be? If you're an entry-level teacher, a one-page CV should be enough. If you've got more experience under your belt, you can go for a two pager.

If you're planning to use a free CV template you found on the Internet, make sure it is ATS-friendly. Visual CVs often are not. View best CV templates (including CV templates in Word) to pick one that suits you best.

Make an Excel spreadsheet with the applications you sent and the date you sent them. Give them each a call after a week or two if you don’t hear back.

That’s all! Now you know what makes a good CV and what to include in a CV document. May the children you teach be obedient and the whiteboard pens always on sale!

You don’t have to be a CV writing expert. In the LiveCareer CV builder you’ll find ready-made content for every industry and position, which you can then add with a single click.

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Did we answer all your questions on how to write a teaching CV? Got any job hunting tips and tricks you’d like to share? Did you find our teacher CV sample useful? Use the comments section below. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

How we review the content at LiveCareer

Our editorial team has reviewed this article for compliance with Livecareer’s editorial guidelines. It’s to ensure that our expert advice and recommendations are consistent across all our career guides and align with current CV and cover letter writing standards and trends. We’re trusted by over 10 million job seekers, supporting them on their way to finding their dream job. Each article is preceded by research and scrutiny to ensure our content responds to current market trends and demand.