A Teacher’s Guide to Resigning: Dates and Resignation Letter Etiquette

Resigning from a teaching role is quite a different beast to resigning from most other jobs. You’re not just leaving behind an office full of colleagues; you’re saying goodbye to classes of young people (and their expectant parents, to boot).

Teachers are also bound by the particular conditions of service contained in the official Burgundy book that stipulate, among other things, the dates you can resign and your notice period.

These factors can conspire to make teachers tread more carefully around resignation than their peers in other professions. But at some point in your career, you’ll probably feel that it’s time to move to a higher level of seniority that just isn’t available to you at your current school. Or perhaps you’ll simply develop a sense that you’d be better suited elsewhere.

If you’re in this boat, don’t get to work on that resignation letter just yet. Read on to find out all the moving parts that go into a teacher’s resignation, and how you can make a success of it.

Before you even begin the process of looking for your next job, let alone resigning from your current one, you should give some thought to how you can boost your comparative advantage in the eyes of employers.

Whatever role you come to apply for, you’ll be vying with various other well-qualified candidates. It’s worth considering what you can do to make yourself more employable as a teacher in a relatively short space of time.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses are built for this very purpose. Investing just a few hours on an online course can develop your talents and boost your skills in the most important parts of modern education, providing you with an accredited certification you can then point to on your CV and personal statement.

At Teaching Personnel, we give all our registered educators access to a wide range of heavily-discounted training courses through our CPD Academy. Thousands of teachers use these materials to grow their career options.

As part of your eventual application process, you’ll probably undergo a lesson observation. Before applying to a job, it’s worth finessing the lesson you plan to deliver. Some schools will require you to teach a particular topic, while others will allow you to pick your own theme for the lesson. Preparing a few lesson plans to cover a range of potential lesson themes will stand you in good stead. 

Once you’ve scoured some teaching job vacancies and found one that seems like the perfect fit, it’s time to throw your hat in the ring.

Many full-time teachers might not normally think to look towards recruitment agencies when jobhunting. But at Teaching Personnel, we help thousands of permanent teachers move into new positions every year.  

As the UK’s leading educational recruitment agency, our consultants have a wealth of specialized knowledge about every pathway in education. Whether you’re looking for posts at primary, secondary or special needs schools, we will work with you to find a teaching job you’ll love. All you have to do is register with us for free, and we’ll be in touch. 

Most teachers will submit their resignations during the summer term in order to take up their new posts in September. In order to leave your job at the official end of the summer term, 31 August, you would have to submit your resignation no later than 31 May.

This three-month notice period is reduced to two months during the other two terms. If you want to leave your post at the end of the spring term, you would have to give notice by 28 February. For those aiming to make the autumn term their last, your letter has to go in by 31 October and no later. 

Your resignation letter doesn’t need to be an elaborate affair. It should be short and straight to the point, letting your headteacher know your final date of employment and your last date of attendance.

It is customary to express your thanks to the headteacher and the wider school for their support over your period of employment, and to wish them the best for the future. You should also name the school you will be going to.

Your tone should be polite and thankful and the letter should not extend beyond a few paragraphs. Your resignation letter is neither the place to be mawkish, nor the place to air any grievances. If you are leaving because of issues with the school as an institution or particular staff members, it is better to discuss these concerns in an exit interview.  

While it is not obligatory, it is always best practice to deliver your resignation letter by hand to your headteacher. As they will already be aware of your intention to leave - and will have provided references to your new employer – this needn’t feel like an ambush.

Make sure to pick a time where they aren’t about to rush off to deliver a lesson or meeting, so that you can talk over your resignation politely.

There is no requirement to follow up with an email, but it might be useful to do so for your own records. 

Once your resignation letter has been served and accepted, all that’s left to do is to see out the rest of your notice period gracefully, working to the best of your abilities.  

Break the news as soon as possible to your colleagues, your pupils and their parents too; they will all be sad to see you go.

Those last few months in post are your chance to leave a positive last impression on senior leaders, consolidate some friendships and store up some potentially valuable goodwill with the school. Remember, whatever your real feelings towards any particular staff members, nobody wins from leaving on bad terms.

Resigning from a teaching job is a challenge in itself, but one that most teachers will come to in their careers. It’s more than possible to make a success of it, moving to a new post while leaving behind colleagues who think highly of you.

For more expert advice on making your next move, register with Teaching Personnel.