#Books

#Teaching&Learning, #Curr...

Matthew Evans

Leadership literature is drowning in abstract theories and models of heroic leadership, but an agreed definition of the term is elusive. School leadership suffers from this lack of clarity and consensus. Generic approaches to school improvement dominate the sector, which have left the workforce feeling anything but 'well led'. What exactly should school leaders know and do? How do we put 'substance' back into school leadership?  This book draws on research evidence to explore the specific things that expert leaders know and do, arguing for a notion of school leadership rooted in the realities of leaders' daily experiences. It presents a case for how school leaders can develop their expertise and, in doing so, places domain-specific knowledge at the heart of school improvement efforts.  Leaders With Substance is not a handbook. It sets out to change the way we think of leadership and school improvement. It is both a critique, a manifesto, and a call to arms. What do we think? This book provides practical advice and strategies for leaders to create a vision, build relationships, and lead with integrity. Readers will gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be an effective leader and how to cultivate the substance that is necessary for success.

Michael Harpham

This practical handbook offers a month-by-month guide to the curriculum, assessment, progress, and leadership over the school year. It provides a clear, comprehensive, and coherent structure to the academic year helping school leaders to prioritise their time and workload, supporting them and their team to work as efficiently and effectively as possible. Considering the statutory and key leadership activities from admissions, induction, transitions, and parents’ evenings to coursework, timetabling, assessment, staff performance, and much more, the book provides a clear plan of action to ensure school leaders have prepared their work at the optimal time over the year. Each chapter features tried-and-tested strategies to help schools put robust systems and processes in place alongside guidance on sustaining pace, developing resilience, and exam preparation and technique.  Full of practical tips to help improve progress and including real-world examples of leadership in action from leaders working in primary and secondary schools, this is essential reading for all school leaders that want their students to be as successful as they can possibly be in every lesson, every day.

David Didau

Uncertainty is a fact of life. You can never know enough to make perfect decisions. Understanding this helps us balance an awareness of our tendency towards overconfidence with an acceptance of our own fallibility.  The book discusses two opposed models of school improvement: the deficit model (which assumes problems are someone's fault) and the surplus model (which assumes problems are unintended systemic flaws). By aligning ourselves to a surplus model we can create a system of Intelligent Accountability.  The principles that make this possible are trust, accountability and fairness. While we thrive when trusted, unless someone cares about - and is holding us to account - for what we do, we're unlikely to be our best. Some teachers deserve more trust and require less scrutiny than others, but in order to satisfy the demands of equality we end up treating all teachers as equally untrustworthy. The more we trust teachers, the more autonomy they should be given. To pursue a system of fair inequality we must accept that autonomy must be earned. What do we think? A thought-provoking book that challenges traditional approaches to accountability in teaching in a well written and easy to follow format.

June 4, 2023

A useful list of Blogs to read for leaders