Primary PBL Educator and Homeroom Teacher — UK Years 1–2

Years 1–2 / Grades K–1 / Ages 5–7

Full-time | Starting between August and December 2026 | Budapest, Hungary

Are you a passionate, patient teacher of young children who knows that the early years quietly do the most important work — the years where children learn to read, to belong, to wonder out loud, to fall in love with the natural world, and to see themselves as people who can do things? Do you want to teach in a school where one full day a week is spent outdoors with your children, in all weathers, and where nature is treated as a co-educator rather than a field trip? If so, read on.

In this role, you will lead a group of Year 1 and Year 2 children (ages 5–7) through their first formative years of primary school. You will teach early reading and writing with rigour and warmth, build strong number sense, and bring the awe and wonder of science, the natural world, and the arts to life through immersive, play-rich project-based learning. You are the person who teaches a child to read. You are also the person who teaches them that learning is something they can love.

As Homeroom Educator, you are the primary adult in your children's school day - the one who knows each child best, who holds their growth across the whole person, and who is the main point of contact for their families.

This is not a role where you teach from a textbook. Last term, our children learned kombucha making, food fermentation, made sandwiches for the homeless, designed a hedgehog-friendly neighbourhood, and created their very own fermentation booklets to document their discoveries about preserving vegetables.That's the kind of learning you'll be leading — anchored in real questions, real making, and real audiences, but always paced and scaffolded for five- and six-year-olds.

You do not need to be a PBL expert. We will train you. What you must bring is excellent early literacy and numeracy teaching, a deep understanding of how young children learn, a genuine love of being outdoors, and the patience and warmth that this age group needs and deserves.

One full day every week - our excursion day - you and your children spend outdoors. Not weather permitting. Not when it's convenient. Every Wednesday, in sun, rain, mud, cold, and snow. We dress for it, we plan for it, and we treat it as one of the most important days of the school week.

For five- and six-year-olds, this is where so much of the real learning happens — vocabulary in the forest, mathematics in the garden, science in the seasons, social skills around a fire, resilience in the rain. You will plan and lead this day for your children, and you'll be supported by colleagues who do the same.

This means we are looking for someone who genuinely loves being outdoors. Not someone who tolerates it for the children's sake, but someone who feels at home in nature and wants to pass that on. If you find yourself mostly outdoors — walking, gardening, foraging, climbing, noticing — this role will fit you. If the idea of teaching outside in November fills you with dread, it won't.

REAL School Budapest is an international school for changemakers - a place where about 100 students from over 25 nationalities, ages 5–14, learn through real-life, real projects, and real relationships. We follow the English National Curriculum for academic mastery, and our Dream-to-Reality (D2R) programme puts that knowledge to work: students identify real problems, design real solutions, and present them to real audiences.

We describe ourselves as a regenerative school. For us, that means education that doesn't just sustain the world as it is, but actively works to repair and improve it - starting with how we treat each other, how we relate to the natural world, and how we help children see themselves as people who can make things better.

We were inspired by Green School Bali, where our founding team previously worked, and we've built something distinctly urban and European in the heart of Budapest. We run as a TEAL organisation - with distributed leadership, high trust, and very little hierarchy. If you've been waiting for a school where your voice actually shapes things, this is it.

Our mission is to inspire and empower the next generation to dream and build a beautiful world. Everything in the school is built on this.

Lower primary at REAL School is deliberately tech-free for children. No screens, no tablets, no devices in your classroom. At this age, what children need is human attention, physical materials, real conversation, books, time in nature, and play. We have thought carefully about this and we mean it.

For you as an educator, the picture is different. We use AI thoughtfully behind the scenes — for planning, for preparing differentiated materials, for administrative work, for sharpening assessment — so that the time you spend with children is fully theirs. You do not need to arrive as an AI expert. You need to arrive open to learning how to use these tools well in your own preparation, while keeping the classroom itself a place of unhurried, human, hands-on learning.

Key responsibilities

• Teach early reading with rigour — including systematic synthetic phonics, decoding, fluency, and a deep love of stories — so that every child in your care becomes a confident reader

• Teach early writing in a way that builds composition, transcription, and the physical craft of handwriting in step with each child's developmental readiness

• Teach early mathematics with strong concrete-pictorial-abstract progression, building secure number sense, mathematical language, and curiosity

• Design and lead immersive, play-rich PBL experiences that integrate literacy, numeracy, science, the natural world, and the arts in ways that genuinely fit how 5- to 7-year-olds learn

• Use careful observation, diagnostic assessment, and conversation — not tests — to know each child as a learner and to plan what they need next

• Plan and lead our weekly excursion day in nature, treating the outdoors as a core teaching environment rather than an occasional extra

• Weave outdoor and nature-based learning into the rest of the week — gardening, walks, observation, seasonal work — wherever it serves the learning

• Lead and co-lead learning excursions and community-based experiential learning

• Use restorative, relationship-first approaches to behaviour, holding high expectations through warmth and consistency

• Plan using the UbD framework and UDL principles to make learning accessible to every child in the group

• Participate actively in our Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to review children's work, refine practice, and develop curriculum

• Document and align your curriculum units in our planning system

• Collaborate across our core programmes — D2R, Regeneration, Wellbeing, and Literacy — and with the primary team alongside you

• Contribute to the ongoing development of our progressive curriculum and our approach to early years and lower primary education

• Lead your homeroom group, holding each child's social, emotional, and academic growth as one connected thing

• Build warm, proactive, regular relationships with parents and caregivers — at this age, the home–school partnership is everything

• Model REAL School's regenerative ethos through how you live, teach, and reflect

• Bachelor's degree in education or a related field, plus a Master's degree in Education or a teaching qualification (PGCE, QTS, or equivalent)

• At least three years of full-time classroom teaching with a strong track record, including significant experience with children in the 5–7 age range

• Demonstrable expertise in early reading instruction, including systematic synthetic phonics

• Strong early mathematics teaching, with a clear understanding of how young children build number sense

• A deep, informed understanding of child development in the 5–7 age range — emotional, social, cognitive, and physical

• Experience with the UbD framework and PLCs, or a clear readiness to work this way

• Strong classroom management built on restorative practices, clear routines, and loving boundaries

• Commitment to inclusive, student-centred, experiential learning

• Warmth, patience, strong communication skills, and genuine care for young children and their families

• A genuine love of being outdoors and of helping young children build a real relationship with the natural world — and the readiness to teach outside one full day a week, in all weathers

• Alignment with our school values, including support for our plant-based meal approach, a commitment to equity, and genuine care for the environment

• PBL planning and delivery experience, particularly with early primary age groups

• Montessori, Reggio Emilia, or other progressive child-centred training or experience

• Experience with competency-based assessment and UDL

• Forest school training, outdoor education, or experience teaching outside on a regular basis

• Music, art, or storytelling skills that bring the classroom to life

• Experience with EAL learners or culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms

• You live the values of Passion, Equity, Authenticity, Care, and Excellence (PEACE)

• You have deep patience and genuine delight in young children — the kind that doesn't wear thin in the third week of November

• You can hold high expectations and unconditional warmth at the same time

• You are calm under noise, mess, big feelings, and the productive chaos that 5- to 7-year-olds bring

• You feel at home in nature and want children to feel that way too — you notice the seasons, you don't mind mud, and you light up when a child shows you a beetle

• You are an empathetic, reflective communicator who builds real trust with children, families, and colleagues

• You are adaptable, growth-oriented, and genuinely excited by the opportunity to co-create something new — not just deliver something already built

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply. REAL School Budapest is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening, including references from previous employers. An International Child Protection Certificate or equivalent will be required for all countries lived in prior to taking up the role.

We champion a culture of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Belonging (DEIJB). REAL School Budapest is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of race, gender, nationality, religion, disability, or sexual orientation.

Budapest is one of Europe's most lovable cities. In 2024, the Economist Intelligence Unit named it the most liveable city in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as one of the top five most improved cities on the planet.

A rich cultural life, excellent food, and easy access to the rest of Europe are all part of everyday life here. The city has a growing international community, a vibrant arts and tech scene, and a warmth that surprises most newcomers. It is safe, beautiful, and endlessly interesting. Many of our team came for a year and are still here.

Click Apply Now, upload your CV, and share an unlisted YouTube or Vimeo link to a short video (up to 3 minutes) telling us why this role excites you and what you would bring to it. The video is important to us — it is the fastest way for us to get a sense of who you are. It doesn't have to be polished. It just needs to be you.

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. The closing date is when the position is filled.

For questions, reach out to us at careers@realschool.hu