| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Education and Teaching |
| Level | Entry level |
| Reports to | Head of Sports |
| Direct reports | None |
| Experience | Fresher or up to 5 years in physical education |
Physical Education Teacher job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Physical Education Teacher
Department: Education and Teaching
Reports to: Head of Sports
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Physical Education Teacher runs sports and physical education in a school, building fitness, skills and sporting values in students. They plan PE lessons, coach games, organise sports events, and identify and train talented athletes. The role reports to the Principal or Head of Sports. A good PE teacher keeps students active and healthy, runs safe and well organised sports, builds school teams that perform, and instils discipline, teamwork and fair play across all age groups.
Key responsibilities
- Plan and conduct physical education lessons that build fitness and motor skills by age.
- Coach students in games and athletics and teach the rules and techniques of each.
- Organise sports days, inter house matches and tournaments in the school.
- Identify talented students and train school teams for inter school competitions.
- Ensure safety during all physical activity and manage injuries with first aid.
- Maintain sports equipment, the field and facilities in usable, safe condition.
- Assess students' fitness and skill and record physical education grades.
- Promote health, discipline, teamwork and fair play through sport.
- Coordinate with coaches, parents and associations for events and selections.
- Keep records of teams, events, results and sports equipment through the year.
Requirements
- B.P.Ed or M.P.Ed
- Graduate with a sports background is accepted
- Coaching certification is an advantage
- Fresher or up to 5 years in physical education
KRAs and KPIs for a Physical Education Teacher
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Participation | Student participation in physical activity meeting the school target |
| Team performance | School teams reaching the target level in inter school competitions |
| Fitness | Students improving on fitness benchmarks over the year |
| Safety | Zero preventable serious injury during physical education in the year |
| Events | Sports events organised smoothly to the annual calendar |
| Equipment | Sports equipment and facilities maintained safe and usable |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: Sports equipment, Whistle and stopwatch, First-aid kit, Measuring tape and markers, Fitness test records.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Senior PE Teacher, Head of Sports, Sports Coordinator
Interview questions for a Physical Education Teacher
- How do you plan a PE lesson for a mixed ability class?
- How do you identify and develop a talented young athlete?
- How do you keep students safe during physical activity?
- How do you organise a school sports day?
- How do you get less sporty students to take part and enjoy PE?
- Tell me about a team or athlete you trained to success.
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What does a physical education teacher do?
A physical education teacher runs sports and PE in a school, building fitness, skills and sporting values. They plan PE lessons, coach games and athletics, organise sports events, and train school teams. They keep activity safe, maintain equipment and facilities, assess fitness, and instil discipline, teamwork and fair play across all age groups.
What qualifications do you need to be a PE teacher?
Most physical education teachers hold a B.P.Ed or M.P.Ed, and a graduate with a strong sports background is sometimes accepted. Coaching certifications in specific games are an advantage. Employers look for the ability to teach and coach across sports, organise events safely, assess fitness, and build teams that perform.
What is the difference between a PE teacher and a sports coach?
A PE teacher delivers physical education to all students as part of the curriculum, focusing on broad fitness, skills and values. A sports coach specialises in developing players in a particular sport, often for competition. In schools a PE teacher usually does both, teaching general PE and coaching school teams.