INSPIRATION AND ASPIRATION Jaz Ampaw-Farr Independent Thinking Press July 2025 If what you鈥檙e looking for in a holiday read is a poignant, inspirational reminder of why you do this job, then look no further. Jaz Ampaw-Farr reveals her heart-rending personal story, singling out the teachers that made a world of difference on her unlikely journey to success. Bound to make you rethink your pupils and your role in their lives. Steve Baker Crown House April 2025 If you missed Stephen Lockyer鈥檚 review in these pages recently, then here鈥檚 your second chance to get your hands on what is likely to be your most cathartic reading experience this summer. A satirical send-up of the sector by a former school leader with nothing to lose. Maybe you even make an appearance. TEACHING AND LEARNING John Tomsett Crown House July 2025 John Tomsett returns with not one but two books looking at what makes for great teaching. Less emotional and more practical than Ampaw-Farr鈥檚 effort, the books draw on Tomsett鈥檚 observations of nine primary and eleven secondary teachers to set out what we can all learn from their enthusiasm, skill and dedication. Written with Tomsett鈥檚 usual deft touch, it promises to challenge any one-size-fits-all model of classroom approach. Kirsten Colquhoun Routledge July 2025 Scots pastoral lead, Kirsten Colquhoun follows up her successful Practical guide to pupil wellbeing with a set of resources for an often under-utilised part of the school day. The book promises to help more teachers make the most of tutor time鈥檚 potential to switch pupils on to learning and create the culture of belonging all schools aspire to. INCLUSION AND BELONGING Ian Timbrell Independent Thinking Press July 2025 With such focus on SEND inclusion in the policy sphere these days, it鈥檚 easy to forget other groups still face marginalisation. Indeed, many in the LGBTQ+ community are concerned that wider social trends could be leading to a roll-back in efforts to increase their representation. Here鈥檚 the antidote to that. Zahara Chowdhury Bloomsbury August 2025 Whether it鈥檚 SEND, race, gender, religion or other protected characteristics, the common challenge in tackling marginalisation is the need to have difficult conversations 鈥� with pupils, parents and each other. Zahara Chowdhury鈥檚 book sets out to help with precisely that, in order to create classrooms where every pupil feels seen, heard and safe. POLICY AND SYSTEMS Nick Gibb and Robert Peal Routledge August 2025 Who better to give the inside account of over a decade of school reforms than the long-serving schools minister who oversaw them almost consistently from 2010 onwards? And who better to co-author it than a teacher whose career has been defined by what those reforms enabled? Agree or disagree with it, this book is set to define the Conservatives鈥� educational legacy. Hilary Cremin Routledge July 2025 And for a diametrically-opposed view of what schools could and should be, who better to turn to than the head of Cambridge University鈥檚 faculty of education, Hilary Cremin? Here, she calls for 鈥榓 radical, system-wide reinvention of education as an adaptable ecosystem鈥�. Agree or disagree with it, it won鈥檛 be enough to dismiss this as the revenge of 鈥榯he Blob鈥�. DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH Rachel Lofthouse, Trista Hollweck, Jasen Booton John Catt July 2025 Professor Rachel Lofthouse was making the case for coaching as an effective tool for professional development long before it became the buzzword it now is. Here, she returns to the topic with two esteemed co-authors to set out a variety of approaches that come under the coaching banner, and a range of case studies on its effective use. Kemi Oluyinka and Caren Onanda Sage October 2024 If you missed this earlier this year, then given all the evidence published since of race-based systemic barriers to the profession, this may be the most useful book you read this summer. That it鈥檚 billed as a survival guide says enough. Will you take this chance to move from a culture some survive to one where all can thrive?
Steven Parnell 22 July 2025 For heavens sake鈥et teachers have a rest! Teaching is not a life鈥t鈥檚 a job. Those that let it consumer their life almost always end up being signed off sick or being reviled by the staff at their school.