The right move - primary

In this age of heightened focus on the continuing professional development of teaching staff in schools, it's fair to say that at any one time, many teachers are considering a career move. The need to keep up to date with the ins and outs of successful progression is arguably greater now than ever before.

Find the Job

Finding a suitable vacancy is the first step, and the internet is the place to start searching. TeacherNet has gathered together all the links to where jobs are advertised online.

Once you have located a suitable vacancy, find out about the school from its website, Ofsted report and any local contacts you have. Read the application pack closely and ensure that you can match your skills and experience to what the school is looking for.

The next step

Make sure you are applying for the right job! Maggie Brackley, headteacher of Thomas A'Becket First School in West Sussex, has received applications that are addressed to the wrong headteacher, and some that focus on the wrong job. "It doesn't matter how experienced you are," says Maggie, "these mistakes are still made. Always write a new application letter for every job you apply for. Don't rehash a generic letter because it will be obvious that you're not serious about getting a job in that school."

When writing your letter of application, cite your experiences and illustrate with examples, but take care that the tone isn't over-confident. And don't make it too long! Maggie suggests that anomalies in applications should be explained, otherwise short listers will draw their own conclusions.

Finally, if possible, visit the school in advance. This is an increasingly important part of the application process.

The big day

Want the job! If you're indifferent, that will come over in your interview. Although you can't predict exactly the questions that will be asked, make sure you know what's happening in education. For example can you answer questions on Every Child Matters, curriculum delivery, inclusion or differentiation?

Many headteachers also consider a professional portfolio to be important. Maggie's advice is to include plenty of photographs, but watch what's in the background! "Photographs tell me a lot about classroom organisation and atmosphere," she says.

The inside story

One teacher reports the experience of being an internal applicant:

"I was the successful internal candidate for a promotion post in my school. There was one other internal candidate. I talked to them about how things would be if one of us got the job, so I thought I was prepared either way, but the reality was quite different. There was an atmosphere between us and it has been awkward. I appreciate that it must be very difficult to be the unsuccessful internal candidate, because you can't disappear into anonymity.

"The hardest thing about being an internal candidate was assuming that the interview panel knew nothing about me when I knew every person who was interviewing me. It's still important to spell out and make explicit what might otherwise be implicit in what you say. It's tough when you're known by the panel, though. External candidates can embroider what they have achieved in their current post and no-one would be any the wiser, but as an internal candidate everyone knows what you have achieved."

Words: Elizabeth Holmes