Tim Brighouse

Through revealing interviews with most of the main protagonists in education since the Ruskin speech of Jim Callaghan in 1976, including nearly all Secretaries of State, Sir Tim Brighouse and Mick Waters explore several revolutions in state education. In doing so they extract what we can learn from the observations gleaned and assess where we should go from here to enable teachers and schools to raise the competence, learning and horizons of each and every one of their students, whatever their talents,challenges, advantages or problems. Tim and Mick have both spent a lifetime in state-provided education - first as pupils, then as teachers, and finally in various leadership and policymaking positions, both in and out of schools. About Our Schools is born out of their shared love for education and their appreciation of how schooling can be a transformative element in the lives of children and young people.

This best-selling book takes a practical look at how improvements can be made in any school. It cuts through the jargon of the specialist and shows how ideas and intentions can be turned into direct actions that will help a school improve its performance and effectiveness. As well as addressing headteachers and governors, the book will also provide invaluable guidance for all those who work in and with schools. There are chapters on:*effective schools and how they have achieved their goals*leadership within schools*teaching and learning effectively*making critical interventions to secure improvement*how schools involve others to aid improvement. This is a book that no school will want to be without. It is essential reading for anyone involved in education. Tim Brighouse is Chief Education Officer for Birmingham City Council and is a national figure in education. David Woods is a Senior Education Adviser at the DfEE.

This is not a book about the school system as a whole or how governments can help or hinder school improvement. It is a book about supporting and inspiring leaders and teachers to help schools achieve ever greater success. By combining their extensive experience and knowledge of leading and improving schools, Tim Brighouse and David Woods deliver an authoritative and up-to-date overview of the principles of school improvement detailing the wide range of information, ideas and practices schools need to understand in order to be the best they possibly can. This comprehensive, dip-in A-Z guide introduces the characteristics, approaches and language of school improvement in 138 eclectic and engaging entries, including appreciative enquiry, literacy and student voice. The authors’ unending supply of real school stories and experiences are the basis for the quotations, case studies and 'butterflies' (little ideas with big impact) that illustrate the entries and bring them to life. The A-Z of School Improvement is essential reading for any school leader, teacher or governor serious about improving their school, or indeed any parent eager to understand the ways in which their children’s schools can be improved.

There is universal interest in the 'good school'. Parents want to find one, teachers seek to teach in one and children deserve to attend one. This book makes the assumption that success is possible in every school. The authors have selected material from the original book, "What Makes A Good School?", adding many new ideas from their extensive work on school improvement over the last 15 years, set in the context of the many changes and new agendas that are a feature of schools today.

Politicians, priests, generals and football managers have all long known the value of a good quotation or a stirring comment that really gets people motivated. Teachers know this too: think of Assembly, where a head teacher is trying to get a positive message across to young minds, but can't quite find the words. Well, now teachers can find those words with this uplifting book of quotations and commentaries that will allow educators to wax lyrical and motivate those around them. The motivation behind this books is noble "To unlock the minds and open the shut chambers of the hearts" of pupils.

This best-selling book takes a practical look at how improvements can be made in any school. It cuts through the jargon of the specialist and shows how ideas and intentions can be turned into direct actions that will help a school improve its performance and effectiveness. As well as addressing headteachers and governors, the book will also provide invaluable guidance for all those who work in and with schools. There are chapters on:*effective schools and how they have achieved their goals*leadership within schools*teaching and learning effectively*making critical interventions to secure improvement*how schools involve others to aid improvement. This is a book that no school will want to be without. It is essential reading for anyone involved in education. Tim Brighouse is Chief Education Officer for Birmingham City Council and is a national figure in education. David Woods is a Senior Education Adviser at the DfEE.