Or are all the teachers in bed?

[harecare]

I need help with a job application. I posted the following in "going back to work", but I'm hoping if I post here too I may get some help.

Hi, I've been out of teaching for a while but have been doing things relevant to my subject.
I have the application and there is a big space to put "Further details in support of application". Is that where I put all the info about my knowledge skills and experience that I would have put in a letter?
The person spec says that it will assess my suitability based on my application form, CV, letter and references. So do I put together a great letter showing how I meet the person spec? If so what do I put on the big space in the application form.
Or do I put all the stuff meeting the person spec on the application form and keep the letter super brief?

I'm not great at job hunting, but the letter should be about you, why you want the job & how great you are, in general terms, e.g. 'I have always loved young children and have spent many years ... which has taught me ...'
include something about your 'philosophy of teaching' - ie your general approach (high on discipline, or subject knowledge, or working with challenging kids etc). max 2 page (including addresses)

the cv should list experience as briefly as possible, in some kind of table/bullet points. i do a table with dates, school, then 'chief responsibilities & skills' so I'd list positions held & work covered under that. include references & contact details. max 2 pages

further details - i usually put clean driving licence, insured for work (if it is relevant).
and other hobbies that are relevant, e.g recently i did a project at my daughter's school where we exchanged letters with a school back in the UK. Wasn't really 'work' so not on the CV, but showed an ongoing interest. if you do sky-diving, and could realistically offer it as a club/activity then that would fit in there.
i also put that i belong to a book club & am widely read in UK & US lit. (teaching english in the US currently)

but then, i'm much better at teaching than i am at job hunting - once i'm 'in', they LOVE me! it's getting through the door to start with that seems so hard.

You need to use the big White space to show how your experience fits the person spec. On no more than 2sides of a4. Make sure you cover each one of the essential qualities in the person spec or u will not be short listed. The letter can be brief and say why you want to apply to that school hope that helps

Thanks to both!

Just to add (as I agree with what has already been said), but if you are filling the form in by hand, I have always simply written 'Please see attached statement.' in the big white space and then included the 2 x A4 sheets of typed stuff separately. (And I am generally good at landing the interview! And did just land a job too.)

In the big white space I always just wrote 'please see attached letter of application' and put everything in there.

You need to get over to the TES site, look at the jobseeker's forum, and read all Theo's advice. Very clear, and very good!

Thanks so much. Am off to TES site now. Can I ask another question?
I left my first teaching job at the end of my induction year as truthfully I was not supported. I was observed twice in the whole year despite asking for help to manage behaviour, when I mentioned towards the end of the year that I should have had more observations and support the person who was filling in my induction form said that if he wrote I'd only had 2 observations I wouldn't be able to pass the year, so I was effectively blackmailed to keep quiet!
Anyway, I don't want to dwell on the negative, but I do want to be honest, so shall I just write that I left due to lack of support? My next job was not a teaching post, I'm a drama teacher and I acted afterwards, then got a maternity contract teaching drama and then set up my own drama in education business.
I could say I left as an acting job came up, but this is not true and I don't want to be seen as flighty and prefer to act than teach.

Gosh, that's a tough one, I really don't know. If you say lack of support you could be seen to be a non team player and someone who wasn't supportive of the school.

Were you there recently enough for them to be contacting the school as a referee? If not you could say the job was a temporary contract. If they will be contacted then you might have to say lack of support. Or you be a bit more bague - 'the job wasn't the right fit' perhaps? Did you move area? You could say you were relocating.

harecare - I'm not a teacher but I've done quite a lot of hiring. I don't know the sector but I would have thought "I left due to lack of support" would do your application no good. I'm sure some schools will understand that it can be like that for new teachers, but it's not what they're looking for is it? They need to know that you have gained the skills you were supposed to gain in that first year and that you are capable of managing your career. You should perhaps talk about it in terms of leaving in order to gain experience rather than focusing on what you didn't get at that school.

Maybe something along the lines of "I needed to hone my craft/gain more experience outside the classroom/etc. in order to be a more effective teacher"? Since you went back to teaching you can make it pretty clear that's what you wanted. In your cover letter etc. you can focus on what the non-teaching jobs have taught you that is relevant to teaching and how they made you a better teacher.

Thanks for that. Good advice. I only have a short space to write the reason so I think I'll put "To improve drama techniques".
That is actually true too as once I left I became a much better teacher, even in just a short maternity cover at another school!
They won't be contacting the school for a referee and if they did my head of department got sacked and the head at the time left so there wouldn't be anyone to ask.