The Teaching Coach is a platform to help teachers, leaders and support staff by providing a range of quality pastoral, teaching and career resources.
You will find a host of resources here from form times and assemblies through to interview prep, application letters, professional development and guidance. Not to mention, lessons, schemes of work and learning resources.
If you can't see what you need, you can email me at: theteachingcoach@hotmail.com.
The Teaching Coach is a platform to help teachers, leaders and support staff by providing a range of quality pastoral, teaching and career resources.
You will find a host of resources here from form times and assemblies through to interview prep, application letters, professional development and guidance. Not to mention, lessons, schemes of work and learning resources.
If you can't see what you need, you can email me at: theteachingcoach@hotmail.com.
In this resource, you will find a 5 year career planning template specifically created for teachers and those aspiring to leadership.
The template includes 11 pages of space for you to plan your career progression for the next 5 years including space for planning targets, development and training needs as well as space for considering how others will support you and your specific targets for progression.
There is also space for considering your motivation and inspiration and the resource includes guidance on how to use the template effectively.
This is a great resource for anyone thinking about planning their career journey! It can be used by anyone at all and is not specific to any particular role.
In this resource there is both a word document as well as PDF format of the resource.
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Head of Department Application Letter Template Pack
This resource pack includes:
a two page outline of the role of Head of Department
a three page Head of Department application example letter
three pages of suggested sentences to help write/improve your own letter for the role
This is NOT an exhaustive letter or overview of the role of Head of Department
You should never copy a template, but should always write your own letter when applying to a position. Remember to research the policies of the school if necessary and include examples of your own experience.
This resource aims to develop teacher understanding on how to support best learning and revision. It is not specific to exams, but covers ‘learning effectively’ which applies to both exam preparation as well as learning in general in lessons time.
The resource covers:
how the brain works and how the brain learns, including the science behind learning a new skill
how to build new knowledge pathways in the brain
interleaved learning
spaced learning
concept mapping/retrieval practice
failure as a learning tool
collaborative retrieval as a learning tool
This session also includes:
3 videos (not owned by me - included to develop knowledge)
a ‘starter’ and a ‘plenary’ for use in the CPD
a midpoint learning check
an activity for department to spend time thinking about their practice
You can also find a PDF of ‘revision strategies’ attached as a follow up for staff.
This is a great activity for teachers of all experience but would be especially good for RQTs or NQTs who may just be starting to think about how students learn. This could also be good for form tutors of Y11 and Y10 to think about in preparation for exams.
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In this resource, you will find a PDF which includes several pages of guidance on student panels in teaching interviews.
This is not limited to any specific job role and is intended to be good guidance for any post.
It contains top tips, guidance as well 60 questions which you might get asked on a student panel on interview.
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In this resource you will find an example business case for my NPQSL submission.
This is just intended to be used as a guide for completion of your own business case, as I struggled to find many decent examples when creating mine.
My NPQSL write up can also be found on my shop as well as some other supporting documents. Some information has been removed from this business case for anonymity.
My NPQSL scored 26/28 in total.
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In this resource you will find my 7000 word NQPML (middle leadership qualification) write up. The focus for my project was an afterschool intervention which focused on developing growth mindset and resilience for Year 7.
The document references lots of great leadership research for NQPML and took a great deal of time to pull together. This particular pro forma is broken down into the ‘competencies’ assessed and the three parts of the project - planning, evaluation and leading the priority.
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REFRESHED FOR 2025
In this resource, you will find resources to help you prepare for a Head of Year or Pastoral Leader interview.
You can also find two smaller bundles here:
Pastoral Leader Interview Bundle 1: /teaching-resource/head-of-year-head-of-house-pastoral-role-interview-bundle-12348298
Pastoral Leader Interview Bundle 2: /teaching-resource/head-of-year-head-of-house-pastoral-role-interview-bundle-12425576
This ultimate bundle of resources contains everything to help you prepare for almost every area of an interview!
This includes:
3 x sets of pastoral interview questions - 45+ questions questions in total (no answers - just questions!)
set 1, set 2 and set 3 of my 5 big pastoral questions - these each include how to answer 5 common questions or scenarios posed in an interview (15 questions and answers total)
set 1 of my pastoral question and answers series - this details 15 questions with potential responses in bullet point form
NOTE: you may find duplication of questions in the resources above - however, they are all designed to give you breadth and depth of understanding in relation to the questions you may face on interview and the answers you could provide!
2 x data analysis prep tasks to help you hone your data skills - great for practicing data analysis as a pastoral leader
a form time quality assurance form - to help you be able to discuss what you’d look out for in a great form time and how you would quality assure your tutors
example year group planning and improvement planning documents for you to read and be able to reference ideas from
two booklets to read before your interview ‘40 Ideas for…’
a) improving attendance and behaviour
b) working across school and leading a team
guidance on the prioritisation in tray task
a 7 page PDF guide on getting ready for a pastoral leader interview including tips on what to expect, what skills you’ll need to show and what you can practice before the day!
a PDF on student panel guidance and how to ace a student panel - a task which has been included on every HOY interview I’ve attended
an example attendance improvement plan to give you plenty to talk about when you’re asked about how you would improve attendance
guidance on writing a response to a letter of concern from a parent - a common in tray task
a detailed guide to analysing data as a pastoral leader - full of top tips and hints for how to offer your best analysis from a pastoral perspective
my detailed guidance for new heads of year - this will give you a great feel for the role and how you will manage it!
A genuinely awesome bundle of resources to help prepare you for an interview. To aid these, there is also some free resources in my shop which you may want to consider adding to your prep.
In this bundles you will find lots of resources to help you prepare for in tray tasks at a Head of Year interview!
an overview of the interview day, organisation and in trays you can expect on a Head of Year/pastoral role interview - this covers 10 tasks you might be asked to tackle and briefly how to approach each one
a detailed guide on how to analyse data as a Head of Year
2 x example progress/attainment data analysis tasks for you to practice prior to the day (whole year group practice data)
1 x example progress/attainment data analysis tasks for you to practice prior to the day (select focused cohort practice data)
1 x example attendance data analysis task for you to practice prior to the day
a detailed guide on how to respond to a parental complaint letter in tray task
2 x example prioritisation in tray tasks with worked examples and space for your own completion of the task
guidance on a gold fish bowl task and how these types of tasks work
In this bundle, you will find several resources designed to help you practice and develop your understanding of analysing data in preparation for a Head of Year/Pastoral Leader interview. A frequent in tray task for these interviews is data analysis and improvement planning.
You will find:
2 x whole year group practice progress data tasks with hints and tips on how to complete
1 x select student group practice progress data task
A detailed guide to analysing progress data as a Pastoral Leader
1 x attendance analysis in tray practice task
These documents will give you a great way to develop your understanding of data and how to improve progress and understand analysing attendance as Head of Year.
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Head of Year Pastoral Progress Data Analysis Task - In Tray Interview Practice - Year Group Set 1
This resource is my first set of practice data task for Heads of Year/Pastoral Leaders preparing for interview. The resource provides a fictionalised set of progress/attainment data from a fictionalised year group, space to analyse the data yourself and to come up with your three priorities. In addition, I provide the three priorities I would identify in timed conditions as well as the ‘answers’ I would provide in an interview circumstance.
This resource handles whole year group data.
This is the great way to practice your data analysis skills for interview from a pastoral perspective. This resource goes well with my other resources on raising attainment and analysing data as a pastoral leader.
You can find a 2nd example of this in tray here: /teaching-resource/resource-12732369. This is another set of data to provide a 2nd chance to practice prior to interview.
How to analyse data as Head of Year: /teaching-resource/how-to-analyse-data-pastoral-leader-interview-cpd-data-analysis-and-progress-achievement-12436735
How to raise attainment as Head of Year: /teaching-resource/how-to-raise-attainment-secure-progress-head-of-year-house-pastoral-role-interview-cpd-12425572
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In this resource, you will find a detailed guide for answering a parental concern letter when presented as an in-tray task at a pastoral leader interview. This is a common task on pastoral interviews and is usually under timed conditions!
This includes an example letter and a detailed breakdown of how to answer this type of letter. This also includes lots of top tips for completing this task and how to structure your letter.
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In this resource, you will find a 4 page example teacher coach/teaching mentor/CPD lead application letter or supporting statement.
These are usually roles which lead on coaching teachers and offering teaching and learning support for staff within school and are often internal positions. These may also be staff who lead on CPD, who audit CPD needs within school and work as a team with the SLT link for learning and teaching. This letter is useful if you are applying for any of these roles and should give you a great starting point.
This resource is full of ideas for your own letter and is a great base for writing your own application. I always recommend making sure your own letter fits descriptions for roles and never send a blanket letter to schools or for internal positions.
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This resource includes a five page example application letter for the role of Assistant/Deputy Head of Year.
This mentions a variety of ideas including attendance, behaviour, data and parental relationships and can be used to create your own letter.
Please note: this is not an exhaustive let but a great starting place for writing your own application.
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In this resource, you will find 2 behaviour contracts and a individual behaviour plan.
The first contract is a student led, informal behaviour contract. This is to get students reflecting on their behaviour as a step prior to having a parental meeting. Students can complete this with their teacher, head of year or form tutor and it doesn’t need parents to be present.
The second contract is parent-carer and student behaviour contract. This is a more formal contract which may be used when behaviour becomes more concerning and parent-carer is invited in for a formal meeting before further measures are put in place. This may form part of a behaviour panel and has space to be signed by parents to make the process more formal.
This is detailed behaviour plan which is useful to reflect on triggers and plans for dealing with behaviour. It’s great for sharing with staff who teach the student with poor behaviour.
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In this bundle you will find different resources to help you monitor and improve attendance.
This is a comprehensive attendance bundle which contains many of the resources any Head of Year would need to track and improve attendance.
A tracking and intervention spreadsheet - this conditionally formatted spreadsheet allows you to track your year group attendance weekly and allows you to track your interventions also.
Attendance interview template - this is a template for used in a school attendance panel or similar meeting and is helpful to identify any concerns as well as formalise the process of monitoring attendance
6 week monitoring card - this is a card which can be printed and handed to students, or stuck into homework diaries etc, this is designed to be completed weekly with attendance and can be used to monitor the 6 week improvement period of students below thresholds of your choice (90/95 etc).
Attendance improvement plan - this an example improvement plan for heads of year to use when trying to target attendance. It provides strategies and priorities for focus - much like a year group improvement plan, but just so attendance.
A guide for improving and monitoring attendance
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In this document you will find an attendance action plan. This includes split the year group into waves and plan actions for each wave of poor attendance.
It includes the actions that should be taken from 100% attendance-90% and includes priorities to be completed by a pastoral leader. It also includes a comment about monitoring and how attendance should be monitored alongside this plan.
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In this resource, I detail a guide to analysing data as a pastoral leader.
This is perfect for practice for an interview setting as data analyse if often given as an in tray excerise or great as CPD/support for a new head of year/head of house etc.
This resource is 4 detailed pages including:
a list of key terms often used in data analysis and their definitions - perfect for those new to data
a step by step guide to analysing data including what sub-groups to explore, what questions to ask of the data, what gaps to look for - especially from a pastoral perspective
a list of suggested actions for an action plan from a pastoral perspective
plenty of top tips on how to approach this task in an interview or in a new pastoral appointment
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This bundle includes 10 resources which are designed to support to professional development and improvement of Heads of Year and/or Pastoral Leaders.
My e-booklet 40 Ideas for Heads of Year on rewards and behaviour and attendance
My 2nd e-booklet on 40 Ideas on Leading Your Team and Working Across School
3 sets of professional development courses which can be taken for free
A PDF guide on how to analyse data
A PDF guide on how to support high ability learners as HOY
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This resource is a bright and colourful weekly desk planner . It has space for planning for each working day of the week - Monday-Friday. It has space for an ‘urgent’ and ‘non-urgent’ to do list as well as space for a list of things to remember. Finally, it has space for ‘doodles’ and any notes you may want to add yourself.
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In this bundle you will find almost 100 questions which you may be asked on an SLT interview.
This includes a range of follow up questions and covers a broad range of areas for questioning!
No answers included.
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