​Be Prepared: Interview Questions

interviews can be daunting - we’ve all been through it! What better way to ease your nerves than to prepare with some practice questions. Below we have listed typical questions that you may be faced with in a school.

·         Why do you want to work in this school?

·         How would you contribute to the life and community of the school?

·         Why do you want to be a Teacher / TA?

·         What do you know about safeguarding policies?

·         Give an example of a time when you were faced with a challenging situation? How did you dealt with it?

·         How do you manage stress?

·         What do you know about delivering interventions?

·         What are your strengths and weaknesses?

·         If we sat in on one of your classes, what could we expect to see?

·         How do you measure pupil achievement?

·         What behaviour management strategy have you used successfully in the past?

·         How would you support an EAL student in your class?

·         How might you boost a child’s self-esteem and aspirations?

·         How would you manage a student who was being disruptive in class?

·         Can you tell me a time you surpassed expectations?

·         What is your experience dealing with parents?

·         How would you deal with a parent who is angry with their child’s progress?

·         Give me an example of how you have supported SEN pupils?

·         Can you tell us about how you have successfully worked in a team?

·         What would we be missing out on, if we decided not to hire you?

·         Where do you see yourself in five years? How do you plan to get there?

Please note, this is not an exhaustive list, we would still recommend having a good look at the school's website and OFSTED report before going in for an interview.

Lastly, remember that it’s not just about what you say, but how you say it! Make sure you are providing as much details as possible in your answer, and take a second to formulate you answer before responding. There may also be the chance that they may challenge your answer, so make sure your answers are clear, concise and well thought out.

The below SAR technique is a great way to answer any situation based question.

SAR technique to answer questions:

S – Situation: Describe the situation you were in – this should be a specific example and can either involve work with children or can draw on other aspects of your experience.

A – Action: Describe what you did in the situation. You should be very specific in outlining exactly what you did, not what you might do, or what a team as a whole did, but what you did.

R – Result: Describe the results you achieved. What was the effect of your action, why was it successful, what might you do differently next time, if anything?

 Envision Education are always here to help before any interviews, and we will take the time to prepare you beforehand. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you need support in developing your answer to these questions, we’re here to help!