Teacher CV example and writing guide for 2026

Use a clear, easy-to-read layout and keep the document focused on the post. Two pages is a sensible target for most classroom applications in England, although relevance matters more than squeezing text into a rigid limit. List employment and qualifications in reverse-chronological order. Put your personal statement near the top, followed by teaching experience, relevant skills, education and concise additional information.

Put work experience on the first page. For each role, give the school type or a generic description, your title, location and dates. Follow this with short achievement bullets. A graduate teacher CV can draw on placements, tutoring, youth work and teacher aide experience with the age range the candidate wants to teach. Recent candidates should also record teacher-training placement details and grades received. Experienced teachers can devote more space to pupil progress, curriculum work, behaviour, mentoring and responsibilities beyond their own classroom.

Tailor the opening paragraph to the vacancy. A useful teacher personal statement names the setting or age range, gives one or two relevant strengths and adds a defensible result. Avoid broad claims such as "passionate educator" unless the next words prove what that means.

Keep the skills section selective. Assessment, curriculum knowledge, lesson planning, adaptive teaching, behaviour management, communication and organisation are relevant only when the employment section shows how you used them. Education should be brief once you have substantial experience, while a new teacher can give training and placements greater prominence.

Relevant voluntary teaching, leadership, IT capability and languages can strengthen the final section. Include a reference quote only when you have permission and it adds information that is not already obvious. A returning teacher seeking classroom experience in England should send a short cover note with the CV; for a secondary application, that note may state previously taught stages and main teaching subjects.

Treat each bullet as a small piece of evidence. Start with a decisive verb, describe the teaching action and scope, then state the result. The strongest figures have context: class size, number of groups, time period, starting point or comparison. Use only records you are entitled to discuss, remove identifying pupil information and choose figures you could explain at interview.

A practical pattern is: action + teaching context + measured result. For example, "Redesigned retrieval practice across four Year 9 classes, increasing the average end-of-unit score from 61% to 70% over two terms." The number works because the reader can see what changed, where it changed and over what period.

The stronger versions do not inflate the teacher's role. They specify the intervention and give a bounded outcome. Where a result depended on colleagues, write "co-developed", "contributed to" or "worked with" instead of claiming sole credit.

Useful opening verbs include planned, taught, adapted, assessed, analysed, improved, introduced, redesigned, coordinated, mentored, coached and reduced. Match the verb to your actual authority. A trainee might write "planned and taught a six-lesson sequence under mentor supervision"; a senior teacher might write "coordinated a revised assessment approach across eight classes".

Cover the main strands of the vacancy rather than repeating attainment figures. One bullet might show pupil progress, another behaviour or inclusion, and another collaboration or curriculum work. Teachers use formative and summative assessment, relevant data, targets, and oral and written feedback to monitor and support progress. They also adapt teaching for pupils at different developmental stages and with differing needs. Your bullets should show those practices in action, not merely list them as skills.

Present education and training in reverse-chronological order. Give the qualification, provider, subject and completion year; add a short line on relevant placements or assessed work when you are early in your career. Recent applicants should include teacher-training placement details and the grades received. Once your teaching history is substantial, reduce older education to the information needed to understand your route.

For training to teach in primary or secondary schools in England, the stated entry route requires a bachelor's degree in any subject and GCSEs at grade 4 (C) or above in English and maths. Primary teacher training in England also requires a GCSE at grade 4 (C) or above in science. Some training providers may set a condition of a bachelor's degree class 2:2 or above, so describe this as provider-dependent rather than a universal threshold.

Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) is required for teaching in maintained primary, secondary and special schools funded by local authorities in England. State Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) clearly when it applies to the role. If you hold a Teacher Reference Number (TRN) and are seeking classroom experience in England, include it with your contact details. Do not display somebody else's number or imply that an application is incomplete when the condition does not apply.

A postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) is optional for becoming a qualified teacher in England, although it can develop teaching skills and knowledge. Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) is not required for teaching in further education or early years in England, so tailor the qualifications section to the setting rather than copying a generic teacher CV template.

A Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) course can be conditionally required for candidates who lack sufficient subject knowledge on certain UCL secondary PGCE courses. Keep that narrow scope if it is relevant; it is not a blanket condition for every teacher or training route.