Education
Teacher CV Template UK
Teachers in the UK work across state and independent schools, delivering subject curricula at primary, secondary, or post-16 level within the national framework or specialist examination boards. Employers look for confident subject knowledge, effective classroom management, and a genuine commitment to pupil progress and wellbeing. The strongest CVs demonstrate teaching impact through pupil outcomes — attainment data, progress measures, or examples of pupils exceeding expectations — alongside professional contributions beyond the classroom such as form tutoring, extracurricular activities, or departmental development. For ECTs and early-career teachers, quality placement evidence and professional mentor assessments carry significant weight.
UK teacher recruitment in 2026 remains heavily supply-constrained in shortage subjects (physics, maths, computing, MFL, D&T) and in coastal / rural secondary schools nationally. Recruitment bonuses up to £30k are available in shortage subjects via DfE schemes. MATs (multi-academy trusts) increasingly use centralised ATS platforms like Eteach, TES, or in-house systems that filter explicitly on subject, key stage, and exam board match. The biggest CV gap UK headteachers describe is candidates omitting recent attainment data — even where modest, it consistently differentiates teachers who own pupil outcomes from those who deliver lessons.
Teacher salary bands in the UK (2026)
Indicative UK ranges based on current market data. London and specialist sector roles typically sit at the upper end of each band.
ECT 1 (newly qualified)
£31,650 (M1, outside London)
Inner London M1 £38,766; Outer London M1 £36,413; Fringe £33,075 (Sept 2024 STPCD).
Teacher M2–M6 (UPS, 5+ yrs)
£33,483–£49,084 (M2–U3, outside London)
Progression through main + upper pay range. Inner London tops £58,959 at UPS3.
TLR / Subject Lead
+£3,391 to £8,403 TLR allowance
On top of teacher salary. Head of Department / KS lead roles.
Head of Department / Faculty
£45k–£65k (with TLR + UPS)
Secondary HOD, faculty leadership, or assistant headship route.
Teacher CV bullet examples — weak vs. strong
Real examples specific to this role. Use them as templates for rewriting your own bullets.
Weak
Taught GCSE and A-level Geography to a range of ability groups.
Strong
Teacher of Geography (KS3–KS5), AQA GCSE and Edexcel A-level; class teacher to 6 GCSE classes (192 pupils) and 3 A-level classes (74 pupils) in 2023–24. GCSE 9–4 pass rate 78% (school avg 71%); A-level grades A*–B 42% (department highest).
Why it works: Names key stages, both exam boards, class count, pupil volume, AND comparative attainment data. Schools and MATs cannot calibrate teaching quality without comparative data — this is the strongest differentiating signal on a UK teacher CV.
Weak
Acted as form tutor and ran extracurricular clubs for pupils.
Strong
Form tutor (Year 9, 28 pupils, 2023–24) including weekly safeguarding triage with HoY; ran weekly Geography & Geology Society (~22 pupils KS4–KS5), with 4 students completing extended project on coastal management 2023–24.
Why it works: Names tutor scope, safeguarding involvement, the club specifics, AND pupil-progress evidence beyond the curriculum. Senior teacher / HOD screens look for evidence of contribution beyond timetabled teaching.
Common mistake
Listing curriculum coverage ("taught Year 7–11 Maths across the curriculum") without naming attainment data, exam boards, or pupil progress evidence. UK headteachers and SLT use comparative pupil-progress data as the primary teaching-quality signal — its absence reads as "either bad data or no ownership of outcomes".
Pro tip
For each teaching role, include a "Pupil outcomes" line: "GCSE 9–4 pass rate 78% (school avg 71%) | A-level A*–B 42% (highest in dept) | Year 9 progress: 76% on/above target." Even modest results presented with comparators outperform stronger results presented without context.
Next Step
Check your CV for this role before you apply
Use the ATS checker to compare your CV against a real teacher job description, then rewrite weak sections in the AI CV builder.
What recruiters look for in a Teacher CV
- Subject specialism and key stage experience: the subject, year groups, and examination specifications you have taught
- Pupil progress and attainment: value-added data, exam results, or qualitative evidence of impact on learning outcomes
- Behaviour management approach: classroom ethos, strategies used, and how you maintained a positive learning environment
- Safeguarding and pastoral responsibility: tutor group work, safeguarding training currency, and any child protection involvement
- Curriculum planning and assessment: scheme of work design, assessment for learning practice, and marking and feedback quality
- Wider school contribution: extracurricular activities, leadership of enrichment, departmental roles, or INSET day contributions
Seniority levels this page covers
Tailor your summary, recent experience, and keyword coverage to the level you are applying for. Senior roles usually need stronger ownership, scope, and commercial impact language.
How to make this page useful before you apply
Mirror the right language
Do not rewrite everything at once. Start by checking whether your current CV already uses the same skill and keyword language as the role, especially around Lesson planning, Behaviour management, Assessment.
Prove the right kind of impact
The strongest teacher CVs do not rely on broad claims. They show concrete evidence of subject specialism and key stage experience: the subject, year groups, and examination specifications you have taught and pupil progress and attainment: value-added data, exam results, or qualitative evidence of impact on learning outcomes.
Match your level
This page covers ect through head of department applications. As the level rises, your wording should show more scope, ownership, and decision quality.
Key skills to include
ATS keywords recruiters expect
ATS score tips for this role
State subject, key stage, and exam specification near the top of your CV — "Secondary Geography, KS3 and KS4, AQA A-level" — as schools use these as primary ATS filters when matching candidates to vacancies.
Use "safeguarding" explicitly and include training recency — "Safeguarding Level 1, updated 2024" — as it is a mandatory ATS and application check for all teaching roles.
Include pupil progress or attainment evidence where you have it: "86% of GCSE cohort achieved grade 4 or above", "value-added score of +0.4 above national average in 2024".
For Head of Department applications, make leadership scope visible: curriculum oversight, staff line management, budget responsibility, or examination series management — teacher-level language will not rank for HOD searches.
Name the examination boards you have taught: AQA, OCR, Edexcel, Eduqas — these appear in school ATS searches when a department needs familiarity with a specific specification.
Common questions about teacher CVs
How should I tailor a teacher CV for UK employers?
Start by matching the job description language where it reflects your real experience. For teacher roles, employers usually look for evidence around subject specialism and key stage experience: the subject, year groups, and examination specifications you have taught and pupil progress and attainment: value-added data, exam results, or qualitative evidence of impact on learning outcomes.
Which keywords matter most for a teacher CV?
The strongest starting point is usually the job description itself, but recurring keywords for this role include teacher, lesson planning, assessment. Use them where they accurately describe your work instead of forcing them into a generic summary.
What changes between ect and head of department applications?
ECT applications usually need clearer evidence of core execution and role fit. Head of Department applications normally need stronger ownership language, broader scope, and more visible commercial or organisational impact.
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