At School Leader Books, we review the titles school leaders are reading. These are the nine most recent reviews from the HeadteacherChat community, covering early years behaviour, wellbeing, safeguarding, school improvement and subject leadership.
Childhood Understood by Sarah Emerson
Emerson looks at behaviour in the early years through regulation, belonging and felt safety, and asks what a child is telling us before asking how to stop it. The review picks out the sensory tables, the REGULATE and RESPOND frameworks and the section on masking as especially useful for leaders with nursery or reception provision.
Succeeding as an RE Teacher, edited by Andy Lewis
A practical guide to how RE is staffed, taught, assessed and led in very different types of school, with chapters from eight contributors. The reviewer found it warm and well organised, with the assessment and curriculum chapters standing out, and notes some overlap between chapters.
The Wellbeing Effect by Andy Mellor
Andy Mellor, a former Blackpool primary headteacher, argues that looking after staff and pupils drives school improvement and does not compete with it. The review calls it warm and practical, and singles out the chapter on leader health as the one to hand a headteacher first.
Around the World in 80 Schools by Adam Seldon
Seldon visited schools on every continent and finds no single winning model. Practice grows out of local culture, trust and resources, so copying the visible surface of a successful school rarely works. The reviewer suggests reading it as a mirror for your own school's purpose and community.
Beyond Compliance by Delyth Lynch
A safeguarding book that argues warning signs get missed when safeguarding rests on policies and one named DSL. Lynch looks instead at culture, relationships, judgement and the psychological biases behind poor decisions. The reviewer rated it five out of five, and found it practical and challenging, though dense in places.
The Well Teacher by Ben Levinson
Levinson argues that teacher wellbeing depends on purpose, relationships, boundaries and the design of the work, so personal resilience cannot make up for an unreasonable workload. The review finds it broad rather than deep, and useful for helping leaders ask better questions about workload, culture and retention.
How Do They Do It? by Mark Enser and Zoë Enser
The authors ask what lets some schools stay strong year after year, drawing on school visits and inspection experience. Chapters follow the Ofsted framework headings and set out what goes wrong against what goes right, with reflective questions. The reviewer found it timely, readable and calm in tone.
Authentic School Improvement for Authentic Leaders by Victoria Carr
Carr draws on her time leading a school to argue that lasting improvement starts with understanding the school and with internal motivation, and does not depend on fear of inspection. The reviewer rated it five out of five and called it honest, practical and realistic about headship.
Calm Leadership by Patrick Cozier
Cozier, a former headteacher, builds a four-stage CALM model with eight strands, from imposter syndrome and perspective to honesty, empathy and developing your own style. The reviewer gave it five out of five and found it warm, practical and honest.
What the reviews have in common
Several of these books ask leaders to look at culture, wellbeing and relationships before reaching for another policy. Others offer a framework or a set of questions that a leadership team can work through together. You can find the full set of reviews in the Book Reviews space of the HeadteacherChat community.
