Invited to a Year 5 interview! I’m a EYFS teacher, freaking out! Should I turn it down?

[Se12345]

They have asked for an observation lesson on a reading lesson to inspire love for reading, I found an idea and used chat gpt which suggested The explorers by Katherine Randell. But I’m just scared in general about their age and behaviour - I’ve only ever taught upto year 1 max before!

Someone please give some advice! I’m thinking of even not going just because it’s in year 5!

I think some people can teach any year group and some people are KS1 OR KS2!

I currently teach EYFS, Y1 and Y4! I cover PPA.

Give me the younger kids any day.

But....you might love it!

Presumably there's a reason that you're looking to leave your current job, so I would definitely say go for the interview! But if you are sure you don't want to teach KS2, make this clear at interview and if they don't respect this, take it as a sign that it's not meant to be.

Teachers who have taught lower down the school have so many skills that transfer to KS2. Personally, I feel behaviour is much more manageable in Y5 compared to EYFS, but it's different for us all!

The Explorers is a really great book but long. You could definitely use an extract from it. Though not all lessons have this structure anymore, interview lessons may work well if structured: hook them in, teach them something new, get them to complete a task, celebrate outcomes.

As an alternative suggestion, you could use a picture book; these can be easier for an interview than using a small excerpt from a longer text. The Promise is my all-time favourite picture book for older children; I've used it in all KS2 years.