Children of staff may also be educated for free or at a discounted rate. Extra allowances and perks constitute an important part of the overall package and boarding schools generally offer teachers free or subsidised accommodation. In fact the vast majority of public schools are quite small and the pay can therefore more modest than that on offer in a state school. Pay is often a tricky area to navigate as unlike maintained schools, there is no standard pay scale, only a great deal of variation. Class sizes are smaller, too, with between 15 to 20 pupils, which reduces the burden of marking and report writing. The day itself also has more breaks within it with usually at least an hour for lunch, a decent break mid-morning and afternoon. In compensation, holidays are long with four weeks at Christmas and Easter and eight weeks over the summer. Joining the independent sector means your work-life balance will change dramatically and you may need to acclimatise to longer hours.
Additionally, many day schools and all boarding schools have a partial or full working Saturday, and so a five-day week becomes a six-day week. Boarding schools have an extended day that can begin with chapel at 8.15am with lessons finishing around 6pm and further homework sessions that continue until 8pm and beyond. The day begins by 8.30am in most day schools and continues with class lessons until 4pm.
What can you offer in way of extracurricular activities? The one factor independent schools have in common is that they all look for added value from their teachers. So as well as your academic subject, think drama, sport and music. In general, the independent school ethos is about developing the whole person and a rounded individual. With such differences in culture and expectations, candidates considering jumping from the maintained sector to independent need to look carefully at the person specification and the job description, and make no assumptions. Independent schools vary enormously from the quintessential vision of an 'English' boarding schools to independent day schools, diverse international schools and small, specialist colleges.