So I’ve written down the approximate versions of the questions from my deputy head interview plus some thoughts on the presentation that candidates for my current job will have to do…. I always think it’s good to practice answers out loud so that your brain gets used to saying stuff, particularly in interviews (as opposed to giving general presentations) because it helps you get over your nerves. My first question was “Name one thing that you’ve accomplished in the last year that you’re particularly pleased with.” I had done some thinking about a leadership /something that I’m good at question and decided this was as good a chance as any to go for that …. I talked about the new National Curriculum INSET that I had led.
I talked about
- how it was a national initiative and that I used my knowledge to take it from national training to our school’s perspective.
- Leading discussion at senior team meetings
- Cascading to subject leaders
- Planning the day
- Coordinating and organising admin/support staff
- Modeling good quality teaching and learning – not just an INSET day of PowerPoints, trying to enthuse staff as we move forward with a new curriculum
- Presenting myself and being confident in this role
- Delegating tasks to others
- Linking the whole thing to clear outcomes for PUPILS
LOTS of power-words, plenty of “I can work with people” and “I know what’s good teaching and learning”. What might you have said, would you have phrased things differently? Start thinking about how you might answer the question “Can you give an example of how you’ve recently managed pupil behaviour?”
This was one where I’d done less thinking in advance (don’t know why I’d thought deputy heads wouldn’t be asked about naughty pupils!