The lesson observation at a teaching interview

The observed lesson is usually the part of a teaching interview that decides who stays for the afternoon. You teach a real class, often for less time than a normal lesson, while a senior leader, the head of department or both sit at the back with a notes sheet. They want to see students learn something in that slot and to see how you found out whether they did. A plain, well-timed lesson that you can adjust on the spot almost always beats an ambitious one.

Read the brief, then ask for what is missing

The invitation should give the year group, the subject or topic, how long you have, the number of students and anything you need to know about the class. Good briefs mention prior attainment, students with special educational needs or English as an additional language, and what the class did last lesson. Many leave some of this out.

Email the school and ask. It is a normal request and nobody marks you down for it. Useful questions are:

• what the class has already covered on this topic
• whether any students have SEND or behaviour plans you should know about
• what technology is in the room and whether you can use your own laptop
• whether the school has a lesson plan template it wants you to use
• how many copies of the plan the observers need

If the answer is “teach whatever you like”, choose a topic you know well that a class of that age could plausibly meet in the current term. Avoid anything that needs a lot of prior knowledge you cannot check.

Plan for the minutes you actually get

Interview slots run short. Students arrive late from the previous lesson, someone needs to introduce you, and the observers may want the last few minutes for themselves. Plan for less time than the invitation says and keep one short extension task ready in case you finish early.

A shape that works in most subjects:

1. A starter that students can begin as they walk in, which also tells you what they already know.
2. A short explanation or model, with one worked example.
3. A main task that every student can start, with a harder step for those who finish.
4. A check of understanding at the end, such as a few quick questions, mini whiteboards or an exit ticket.

Write timings on your plan. If the starter overruns, you will know at a glance what to cut. Panels notice when a candidate sees the clock and makes a sensible decision, and they notice when a lesson simply stops at the bell with the main point untaught.

What observers write down

Schools use their own forms, but the notes tend to cover the same things, and most of them come back to whether the students made progress and how you know.

Observers look at whether the aim of the lesson was clear to the students, whether your explanation was accurate and pitched at the right level, how you checked understanding during the lesson and not only at the end, and whether you adapted when something was not working. They watch how you speak to students, whether you learn and use names, and how quickly the room settles. For subject posts, the head of department will be listening for errors and for how confidently you handle a question you did not expect.

Panels do not expect a showpiece. Several activities in a short slot usually means students spend most of the time changing tasks, so one well-explained idea, with some evidence that students grasped it, makes a stronger lesson.

A class you have never met

You do not know these students and they do not know you. Ask for a seating plan with names, or bring sticky labels or name cards and ask students to write their names as the starter begins. Using names from the first minutes makes behaviour easier to manage and shows the panel you can build a working relationship quickly.

Follow the school’s behaviour policy if you have been told what it is. Expect a little testing from the class and a lot of good behaviour because visitors are in the room. Deal with low-level disruption calmly and briefly. Panels pay attention to how you handle it far more than to whether it happens.

Plan for the students with SEND or EAL that the school mentioned. A simplified version of the main task, topic vocabulary with pictures or a partly completed table are enough. If the school told you about a student and your plan ignores them, the observers will see it.

Resources and technology

Print everything. Bring enough copies of each resource for the whole class plus spares, and printed copies of your plan for each observer. Put your slides on a memory stick and in your email so you can open them on the school’s machine if your laptop will not connect.

Have a version of the lesson that works with no screen at all. Projectors fail and logins expire. Moving to a printed sheet or the whiteboard without fuss reads well to a panel.

When it goes wrong

Something usually does: the class finishes the task in half the time, nobody understands the explanation, or a fire drill takes ten minutes. The panel scores how you respond. Slow down, re-explain with a different example, move to the extension, or cut a section and go straight to the check of learning. Say briefly to the class what you are doing. You will get a chance to explain your thinking afterwards, so you do not need to narrate it to the observers during the lesson.

The reflection afterwards

Most schools ask you to evaluate the lesson, either in a short conversation straight after or as the first question in the formal interview. Prepare for it. Say what went well with evidence (“most students got the last two exit questions right”), what did not and why you think so, and what you would do next lesson with that class. Naming a real weakness and a sensible fix is stronger than claiming it all went to plan.

Panels also use the reflection to judge whether you would respond well to feedback as a member of staff. Accept their comments without arguing, and ask a question about the class if you are curious.

Variations to expect

In primary schools you may teach a small group in place of the whole class, or a phonics or early reading session with a specified scheme. Early years interviews may involve working with children in continuous provision while staff watch how you interact. Some schools ask for a lesson to a group of staff pretending to be students, or for a recorded lesson when the interview is held online. The brief will say which.

The observed lesson sits inside a longer day of tours, student panels and a formal interview; our guide to teaching interview day covers the rest, including the safeguarding questions you will be asked under Keeping Children Safe in Education. If you are still at the application stage, see Filling in a teacher application form. Have a couple of questions ready for the end of the interview, and check teacher pay scales in England before the call with an offer comes. Current posts are listed on our teaching jobs page.