Are you looking to start your teaching career in Kent? Whether you’re a newly qualified teacher (NQT), an experienced educator looking for a fresh start, or considering supply teaching for more flexibility, joining Three R’s is an excellent place to build your teaching career.
At Three R’s Teacher Recruitment, we specialise in helping teachers, cover supervisors and teaching assistants find rewarding roles in local schools across Kent. Our guide will show you how to kickstart your teaching career and why partnering with us as a Kent-based education recruitment agency can make all the difference.
Step 1: Get the Right Qualifications
Before you start teaching or working in schools, you’ll need to ensure you have the right qualifications and certifications.
✔ Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) – If you trained in the UK, you’ll need QTS to teach in most schools.
✔ PGCE or Other Teaching Qualification – A Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) is the most common route, but other training programs are available. We’d always recommend getintoteaching.education.gov.uk for the most up to date information.
✔ L2 diploma or GCSE minimums – Whilst there are various courses and diplomas for teaching assistants, the minimum relevant qualification would be C-grade (or equivalent) in GCSE English & Maths.
✔ DBS Check – A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check is essential to work in schools. This must be a Child Workforce only Enhanced DBS and registered on the Update Service. Three R’s can assist with this if you’re registering with us!
✔ Register your overseas qualifications – For overseas trained teachers, we strongly advise getting your qualifications ratified by ENIC-NARIC to be recognised for an academic equivalent qualification here in the UK. Full information can be found at enic-naric.net.
If you’re unsure what role you can or can’t obtain to work in schools, feel free to reach out to our friendly consultants who can run through your experience and qualifications with you. We have the inside knowledge of our schools to know and understand what they will or can accept. Our in-house Compliance team are dealing with this kind of stuff every day and can help navigate the right way into getting you work in schools.
Step 2: Decide on Your Teaching Pathway
Navigating that way into schools can feel like a vast task given the variety of teaching roles that Kent offers. Your choice will depend on your lifestyle, experience, and career goals.
🔹 Permanent Teaching – A full-time position in a school, providing long-term job security.
🔹 Supply Teaching – Flexible work allowing you to experience different schools across Kent.
🔹 Long-Term Supply & Cover – A great option if you want regular work without committing to a permanent role.
🔹 Teaching Assistant Roles – Ideal if you’re looking to gain classroom experience before obtaining QTS.
One of the biggest advantages of teaching in Kent is the incredible variety of schools available, offering more choice in your career. Unlike many other counties, Kent offers a diverse mix of educational settings which allows the opportunity to find the perfect environment to match your skills, experience and teaching style.
Three R’s work with the majority of schools across Kent including:
🔹 Grammar schools – Selective schools with a strong academic focus, ideal for teachers seeking a structured and high-achieving environment.
🔹 Independent schools – Offering smaller class sizes and unique teaching approaches, these schools provide a fantastic opportunity to explore different educational methods.
🔹 Academies & Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) – With greater flexibility in their teaching styles, academies offer a dynamic and evolving work environment. They can be a great way to network across schools so you can still gain variety whilst obtaining the same school values.
🔹 Comprehensive Schools – A broad range of students meaning this is well suited for teachers who enjoy a diverse and inclusive teaching experience.
🔹 SEN Schools – Providing essential support for students with special educational needs, these schools are ideal for teachers passionate about making a difference in the lives of children with additional learning requirements.
Not sure which teaching pathway is right for you? Contact Three R’s, and our team will guide you through the best options. If you want to experience different schools before committing to a permanent role than supply teaching is a great way explore Kent’s diverse school system while building valuable experience.
Step 3: Build a Strong CV & Register with Three R’s Teacher Recruitment
To stand out to schools, you need a clear, well-structured CV that highlights your skills, experience, and strengths.
Key CV Tips for Teachers:
✅ Keep it concise and professional – no more than two pages and relevant to your education work.
✅ Highlight teaching placements, experience, and key achievements.
✅ Include any additional skills such as SEN experience, behaviour management, or extracurricular contributions.
At Three R’s Teacher Recruitment, we offer CV support to ensure your application stands out to Kent schools. Send us your CV today, and we’ll help you get noticed.
Step 4: Gain Experience & Build Confidence
If you’re new to teaching or want to explore different school settings, supply teaching in Kent is a fantastic way to do so.
Why Supply Teaching?
✔ Flexible work – Choose when and where you work. The choice is yours over which days and schools you’d like to work and we regularly check in to make sure this is all up to date so we only offer relevant work.
✔ Experience in different schools – Find out what suits you best, explore the variety of working in different schools and learn what works for you and where you thrive. We’ve had so many teachers over the years try out supply in a year group they were nervous in, or a school they would just ‘try once’ and it’s opened doors for future work and helped build their CV’s.
✔ Work-life balance – Perfect if you’re looking for more control over your schedule. Increasingly so, this is the biggest benefit we all seek in our daily lives. Whether you have pre-existing commitments, work, hobbies or childcare we understand that is life. Many of our teachers use supply as a great way to balance job share roles, or just regain some balance in their lives compared to the full-time responsibilities of a permanent planning-and-marking teacher.
✔ Great networking – Build relationships with schools and increase job opportunities. Education is a niche circuit and you’d be surprised how many doors can be opened just through that network. That’s why joining an established, trusted and reputable agency like Three R’s can really hold testament when being introduced into new schools.
By registering with Three R’s, you’ll get access to exclusive supply teaching jobs in Kent, helping you gain valuable classroom experience. We also understand that supply teaching on its own stands as a credible career with its own challenges and we’re here to help you stay established, motivated and progressing through that journey.
Step 5: Prepare for Registration, Interviews & Trial Days
Once you register with Three R’s Teacher Recruitment, you’ll be invited to meet our team in-person at one of our five Kent offices – Dartford, Medway, Tonbridge, Thanet or Ashford. We think it’s vital to meet all our staff face-to-face so we can get a better understanding of you, your experience and what schools we could best match you in to. It’s a work process that we’re proud of, because it’s not about filling vacant roles with someone – this is education, a highly subjective, important and creative experience for both teachers and students that need to feel connected.
As Three R’s matches you into those right schools you may be invited to interviews or trial teaching days. Here’s how to prepare:
✅ Research the school’s values, curriculum, and ethos. Our prior knowledge of schools means there’ll already be that connected match in why we’ve put you forward, but your additional research will always help.
✅ Prepare a strong lesson plan if required. Three R’s will always try to gather as much information for you ahead of a trial lesson so you can feel confident and prepared in the lesson delivery. Having the lesson plan clearly printed out however will allow the school to see your process, teaching style and organisation which they’ll appreciate.
✅ Show enthusiasm and adaptability – Kent schools love engaged, proactive teachers!
✅ Be ready to discuss techniques and strategies as well as ask your own questions to the school. It’s useful to understand what systems, resources or marking procedures they have and find out yourself if you would like to be part of that school too.
Need help with interviews? Three R’s provides interview coaching and support to boost your confidence!
Step 6: Secure Your Ideal Teaching Role in Kent
Once you’ve gained experience and fine-tuned your CV, it’s time to secure the perfect role. At Three R’s, we specialise in:
✔ Resources for both schools and teachers. We provide schools with the resources they need to thrive in way of outstanding teachers and teaching assistants to expert recruitment support. We provide teachers with the resources in terms of priority job listings, CV and interview workshops plus on-going professional development.
✔ Offering exclusive job opportunities in primary, secondary, and SEN schools. We receive a high volume of teaching vacancies, many ahead of them being listed. Our constant ongoing relationship development with schools and speaking to them every day means we’re first in line when vacancies arise.
✔ Our dedicated team ensures a seamless recruitment process from initial enquiry, through registration, to final placement whilst maintaining the highest compliance standards. Our compliance is there not only for schools, but also for you. We believe strong ethics over compliance protect everyone involved, and means you can be proud of joining a highly regarded and reputable team.
✔ As an award-winning, audited agency, we are committed to delivering results – helping schools find exceptional staff and teachers secure rewarding roles that make a difference in classrooms across Kent.
So whether you’re looking for long-term teaching jobs, flexible supply work, or full-time positions, our Kent-based recruitment team is here to help.
Join Three R’s Teacher Recruitment and take the first step toward a successful teaching career in Kent.