Teacher Skills Audit Pack

A quick-and-easy pack to audit the skills of a classroom teacher. This pack contains concise guidance to support you in effectively utilising the skills audit, whether you're line managing a teacher, ECT or other teaching role, or whether you're a teacher yourself who's wanting to evaluate their strengths and areas for improvement.  

Included is a 16-page template covering the different areas of skills that a classroom teachers needs, which are based heavily on the Teachers' Standards. These are split into handy sections, such as promoting good progress and outcomes by pupils, adapting teaching to the strengths and needs of all pupils and managing behaviour effectively to ensure a good and safe learning environment. Alongside a short section on subject leadership for those teachers who also have some subject leadership responsibility, the questions can be used flexibly. Questions include:

• Do you analyse the essential learning elements needed to develop intricate skills and knowledge, ensuring comprehensive learning is embedded in every pupil's long-term memory?
• Does your planning and utilisation of assessment for learning strategies optimise the use of lesson time, enabling pupils to gain a clear grasp of how to enhance their understanding?
• Do you utilise your extensive comprehension of children's development to adapt instruction so that it's customised to each child's developmental stage?
• Do you offer pupils insightful feedback, utilising both oral communication and marking? Do pupils consistently utilise this feedback to enhance their work and rectify misconceptions?

The pack is aimed at supporting teachers and can be used by anyone who line manages a classroom teacher, such as a key stage lead, phase leader, head of department, assistant head, deputy head or a headteacher. This can help to inform appraisal and performance management processes, as well as identify CPD needs for the classroom teacher. 

For classroom teachers who also have a subject leadership responsibility, there is a separate skills audit which goes into far more detail on the skills needed for this subject leadership, whereas this pack is more heavily focused on classroom and teaching practice. For support with auditing the skills of a subject leader, why not take a look at this pack too:

• Subject Leader Skills Audit

Whether staff members are new-to-role or have vast experience in their area, skills audits are a valuable self-evaluation tool. When a staff member reflects on their competencies and expertise, they’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of the strengths they bring to their role while identifying opportunities for growth or next steps. This self-awareness can boost confidence and self-belief, as well as enabling individuals to articulate their unique contributions to the team. 

When skill gaps are identified, performance targets can include specific objectives aimed at addressing these gaps, allowing those with line management responsibilities to support the staff member through professional development and further training. Skills audits can also help school leaders to create balanced teams, prepare for change, support staff retention and assist in succession planning. 

Key questions answered:

• Why is it important for staff to utilise skills audits?
• How should a skills audit be conducted?
• How can skills audits inform performance management targets?
• How can leaders identify individual staff training needs?
• What other ways can skills audits be used?

Skills audits can be used as a valuable part of the induction process when a new staff member joins your team. Find out more about how to craft staff induction procedures that allow staff to get off to a flying start in your setting with the following pack:

• Staff Induction Pack

If you know that your staff have training and development needs, and are looking to enhance your CPD planning, this pack will support your thinking: 

• CPD Planning and Preparation Pack

If you're thinking about recruiting a teacher, and want to use the skills audit as part of that process, then you'll find the following packs and pages useful too:

• ECT and Class Teacher Interview Pack
• Class Teacher with Subject Leadership Interview Pack
• Head of Year, Phase or Key Stage Interview Pack
• Recruitment, Interview and Employment Compliance Guidance Pack
• More information on our job interview packs for different roles
• More skills audits for different roles