Education Cover Letter Example & Expert Writing Tips

Every school wants the very best for its pupils, and every school is forced to operate in increasingly challenging political, social and economic conditions. This means that their motivation to find the right person, with the right values, who fits their school vision, is exceptionally high.  In this post, we’ll share tips & information on writing a cover letter for teaching positions that will help you to stand out – we’ve even included a cover letter example to get you started! 

What are employers looking for?

When you apply for a teaching job it’s important to understand your audience. Your employer will be a Head Teacher, or the Head of a multi-academy trust, so they will have a clear vision of success for their school and know exactly what they’re looking for in their next class teacher. To meet these criteria, you need to show that you match the job description and the person specification as closely as possible – but you also need to demonstrate that you’ve done your homework and you understand the demographics, the mission and the values of their school. In every profession, it’s a good idea to find out a little bit about the employer before you apply – but in teaching it’s essential. Is the school a struggling inner-city establishment with overcrowded classes, or a small rural community struggling to attract the numbers to generate enough funding? Each school faces a unique challenge and demonstrating a clear understanding of that will give you an edge.  The Head Teacher is looking for someone who knows the school’s mission, shares the school’s values, and has a genuine passion for education as an entitlement for every child regardless of circumstance, background, or ability. They will also be looking for specific knowledge or experience that matches their needs, such as SEN teaching, safeguarding, and subject specialism, so do read that job description carefully. 

Using keywords for education

As the section above explains, each school is looking for something subtly different depending on circumstance. You need to look carefully at the job description and pick out the keywords most relevant to your application. Thankfully though there are a lot of skills and values that are common across the whole education sector and you’ll find many of these keywords already used in our example cover letter.  Some of the most common keywords and phrases for teaching and education include… potential, tailored teaching & learning, continuous development, aspiration, inspiration, life-long learning, peer feedback, home-school relations, safeguarding, HSE and of course, understanding the national curriculum.  Write a fresh cover letter for each application using our template as a guide, and make sure your keywords are seamlessly integrated into your text in well-constructed sentences and paragraphs. There’s nothing more obvious than a keyword dump and Head Teachers are looking for engaging letters that provide meaningful insights, not just a series of keyword loaded sentences. 

Tone and style

Before you get started, read the Job Description carefully, more than once, and visit the school’s website. What is their tone and style? Are they a faith school, do they have a strong child-led ethos, are they performance focussed with robust academic expectations, or are they champions of holistic education and the needs of the whole child?  Whatever their individual focus, all schools are looking for passionate teachers, with a strong set of personal values and a willingness to embrace additional training opportunities and continuous personal and professional development. No one wants a teacher who’s stuck in a rut, who believes there’s nothing left to learn, or who comes across as not liking children much. Your tone should be enthusiastic, empathetic and warm. Don’t be afraid to use words like ‘delight’ or ‘joy’- in many sectors this would be over the top, but in education it serves to emphasize your love of the job. At the end of your letter, try to include a subtle call to action that encourages the Head Teacher to pick up the phone and call you. The best way to do this is often to express how keen you are to meet the Head, the team and the children.

Education cover letter example showcasing best practice

Below is a sample education cover letter that puts the tips we've talked through into practice. Go ahead and download the template as a Word Document here and use it as a starting point for writing your own cover letter.

To: [Name of Head Teacher, Name of School, City & Postcode] Re: [Advertised job title] Dear [Joe] [Mr. Bloggs]  I am delighted to apply for the role of KS2 class teacher at XXXX Primary School in XXXX, and to attach my CV for your consideration. With 5 years’ experience as a qualified teacher and Mathematics curriculum leader, I am confident I can be an immediate asset to your team. Children face a wide range of challenges which can impact their education – from socio-economic factors to peer pressure. Your school website demonstrates a real passion for embracing individual circumstances, developing the whole child, and exploring the different ways in which children can learn. I too have a keen interest in optimising the learning potential of every child through tailored teaching and learning – only by inspiring a love of learning at a young age we can promote engagement with life-long learning, which will empower our pupils to have strong aspirations and actively seek opportunities for continuous self-development. My own commitment to continuous personal and professional development is excellent and I am always looking for opportunities to improve my skills, whether through establishing 360 degree feedback with my peers, or sharing examples of best practice with a network of schools in a multi-academy trust. I am a skilled communicator who finds it easy to build meaningful relationships, which I use to create a great team ethos in the classroom and wider school community. I also enjoy engaging parents and carers with their children’s learning and progress and building good home-school relations. In my current role at XXXX, I have enjoyed leading the curriculum as a Mathematics specialist, planning lessons to engage and inspire children with a wide range of abilities, leading an after school chess club and creating a safe, joyful and disciplined classroom environment for learners. I am up to date with current safeguarding practices, preventing extremism, HSE legislation, curriculum requirements and government initiatives.  Thank you for your time. XXXX Primary looks like a wonderful school family and I hope I get the chance to meet you all very soon. Yours sincerely,   Name Goes Here 0123 456 7890