Thanks to Simon Harrison, headteacher of Crofton School in Hampshire and member of HA Secondary Committee, for this blogpost. This post is specifically for people aiming to secure their first history teaching post in 2024.

Getting your first teaching post is a big step, one many trainees will be looking to take in the next few months.  However, in truth the recruitment crisis in teaching means you may not struggle to find a post, so getting the right school and the right history department for you is a bigger priority. What follows will, I hope, give you an insight into what a Headteacher will be looking for, and help you to find the right match for your ambitions and values.

Your application is the first chance to engage with your potential new employer. You will want to stand out for the right reasons, so do get the basics right:

• Get someone else to proofread. It is easy to miss an obvious error when you are sending multiple applications. A common error is getting the school’s name wrong, easily done but essential to avoid.
• Show you understand the school. Details such as school values and curriculum intent are easily available on websites and should be central to your letter of application. Everyone understands you will be making more than one application, but if it looks generic it is likely to be overlooked.
• Let them know who you are. Personal experiences of history and the classroom bring a letter of application to life, as does clearly articulating your passion. Whatever fires you up about teaching History, get it in there.

Let’s hope that gets you to an interview. You will then be faced with a wide variety of recruitment activities. One will almost certainly be a lesson. You can already teach to a good enough standard to be employable, if not you have bigger problems to solve than those covered here! However, there are some unique aspects to an interview lesson. You are unlikely to know the pupils you’ll be teaching, and even if you are given information about them in advance it’s rarely enough to be sure of what you will see in the classroom. The best advice is to keep it simple, no unusual tech or overly complex activities. Overplanning is also a good idea, better to have additional activities to build on a successful lesson that progresses faster than you had expected, than be left with nothing and time to spare. I once observed a science interview lesson when the candidate finished 25 minutes before the bell. They valiantly filled by repeating a plenary involving two plastic cups and a piece of string, but by the fifth time through it had somewhat lost its impact.

A good lesson will put you in a strong position, but you will almost certainly face an interview as well. In teaching these are almost always a traditional sit down with the Head of Department and a Senior Leader. This is a chance for you to communicate your values and passion for your subject. Be prepared to talk about this. If you cannot express how you feel about teaching history in a clear and compelling way, it is going to leave an interview panel doubting your commitment. As with the application, individual experiences are gold dust so be prepared with three or four specific examples from your teaching or broader historical experiences to share.

It is just as important that you find out if the school is a good fit for you, so the questions you ask are essential. You will want to know:

• How the school will support your development – not just as a teacher but specifically a history subject specialist.
• The extent to which teachers and departments have agency over curriculum design and pedagogy.
• How leaders proactively support staff wellbeing and reduce workload.

I would advise you to avoid any school where the interview panel cannot give you good answers to these questions on these areas.

Finally, interviews can be nerve wracking and it is easy to forget some of the crucial things you wanted to get across. I was recently asked by a candidate in an interview ‘Is there anything I haven’t been able to demonstrate in this interview that you wanted to see?’ What a great way to make sure you don’t finish getting the feedback on a failed interview that ‘We really wanted you to show us more of…”

You will want to make an impression, communicating your values and passion for teaching history. However, it is just as important to be sure the school you are joining is right for you. The two together will get you to a great school that enables you to make a huge impact on the pupils lucky enough to have you as their history teacher.

My first experience as an interviewee was making applications for university history courses. Sadly, my opening effort was a failure. My teenage self liked to think this was because the dusty academics of the University of Durham were not ready for my unique blend of left-wing polemic and propensity to quote Sisters of Mercy lyrics. On reflection it was more likely to have been a consequence of, in answer to the opening question ‘What is history?’ responding, ‘Well I’m rather surprised you don’t know yourself.’ You will be able to do better, I hope. Good luck!

For more highly practical support as a beginning history teacher, check out the new HA webpage ‘Driving Your Development‘.