Readers of poetry are often told to leave poems alone - to learn them by heart or to enjoy how they sound and leave it at that. This is all very well, except for those readers who have to study poetry at school or university. Or other readers who don't yet enjoy poems because they are daunted by their seemingly impenetrable meanings or inaccessible techniques.

In this annotated anthology, Robert Gullifer and Matthew Jenkinson demystify poetry while showing that there are many good reasons to pick poems apart. From Beowulf to the Iraq War, a millennium of poetry is presented to give readers a sense of how poems have evolved since we first started writing them down. 

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This publication seeks to explore in depth the Nine Pillars of Greatness written by the course leaders of the Going for Great programme. It considers the range of characteristics that define great schooling, from a school's values and ethos, leadership and teaching to its curriculum, approach to professional development, learning community and ongoing self-evaluation. Learn More

Helen Woodley's critically-important action research is an investigation into the effect of working on a toxic schools on teacher mental health and wellbeing. Five teachers share their experiences of working in toxic schools across a variety of settings. Learn More

Love To Teach: Research and Resources for every classroom is an exciting book that combines the latest educational research with examples of what this can look like in the classroom. Filled with research-informed ideas to support all teachers and leaders in both Primary and Secondary this book would be great for NQTs to more experienced teachers and leaders alike. The educational research is presented in a format which is accessible, helpful and informative and will help inform educators about cutting-edge research in practical and applicable ways. The practical resources are easily adaptable and ready to be implemented in any classroom and are grounded in Kate's own classroom practice.

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Our body’s clocks make the difference between happiness and depression, health and illness, and even life and death. The brilliant scientist Paul Kelley and renowned journalist Sian Griffiths make a compelling case for all organisations to allow people to work and study the hours that suit their personal circadian rhythms. That way, they argue, we would all be more productive and a great deal of ill health would be avoided. Learn More

The job of a CEO is almost impossible to define. It is the most powerful and influential position in any organisation, yet very little discourse exists that attempts to provide a succinct formula for doing the job, never mind doing it well. In Being the CEO, Michael Pain, the Founder and CEO of Forum Strategy – a national company that focuses on strategy and organisational development consultancy – approaches the subject with delicacy and well-refined insight. This sharp and insightful book sees Michael use his knowledge and work on organisational strategy and development to lay out the six dimensions of the CEO, which reflects the six areas that are key to sustainable growth and success, with a unique look at sustainable organisational improvement and relevant policy and research insights. 'A timely and important contribution to understanding the role of CEO' – Emma Knights OBE Learn More

Words that Win is an insider's guide for student debaters, debate coaches, campaigners, politicians and business leaders and anyone who has to persuade people on the issues that matter to society. The book covers topics ranging from how to think strategically about a case to delivering speeches confidently in a large room. The final section of the book argues why every educational institution and business should invest in this activity. Learn More

In this book, headteacher and professional learning expert Dr Kulvarn Atwal presents a model that maximises both formal and informal opportunities for staff development. Through peer learning, modelling, coaching and mentoring, engagement in research and other professional growth activities, the thinking school creates a dynamic collaborative culture that permeates the entire learning community. Learn More

AVAILABLE NOW: EMAIL AS@JOHNCATT.COM FOR DISCOUNTS ON BULK ORDERS

In this concise new guide, Rosenshine fan Tom Sherrington amplifies and augments the principles and further demonstrates how they can be put into practice in everyday classrooms.

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As part of the discovery of cognitive science, teachers are waking up to the powers of dual coding — combining words with visuals in your teaching. This groundbreaking book is the first to bridge the huge gap between what we know about dual coding and the skills needed to practice it effectively in the classroom.

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A practical guide to pedagogy in the English classroom, supporting the teaching abstract, classic and challenging texts and concepts. Learn More

It's time we reclaimed our mental health, for the sake of everyone in education. This book is the start. Learn More

Michelle Haywood edits a collection of short essays spanning the latest SEND-related research and detailing how practice can be enhanced by that research. Each chapter ends with accessible bullet points on how the research can be integrated into the classroom. Learn More

Including chapters such as ‘Why doesn’t my school’s behaviour system work?’; ‘Why are there so many spreadsheets in schools?’; ‘Why won’t my pupils work hard?’; and ‘Why is teaching making me so sick?’ Learn More

Sonia Blandford takes on a bold task in her latest book, positioning the spotlight directly on the challenges we face in this country to increase social mobility for all. Learn More

Retrieval Practice: Research and Resources for every classroom is a very practical book written by a teacher in the classroom for teachers and leaders in schools. This book combines educational research with examples of how retrieval practice can work inside and outside of the classroom.

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BUY THE FIELDBOOK AND THE LEARNING RAINFOREST TOGETHER FOR JUST £20. ENTER CODE FIELD WHERE PROMPTED ON THE SHOPPING CART PAGE FOR THE DISCOUNT TO APPLY

In this follow-up book to The Learning Rainforest, Tom Sherrington explores how these ideas take shape in the real world of education, referencing the journeys that a range of schools and colleges have been on in recent years.

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PUBLICATION: OCTOBER 2019. 

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.

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Connect The Dots lays out the research worth knowing and applies that research to ready-to-use teaching tools for real classrooms. Including detailed guides to support leadership in creating personalised professional learning sessions to turnkey these concepts to school staff.

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Mike Murray's excellent new book attacks the narrow high stakes accountability and marketized vision which has distorted our education system, the fragmentation of education thinking into warring camps and silos and offers a radical optimistic vision of how we can emerge from the current impasse. Learn More

A Compendium of Mathematical Methods brings together over one hundred different approaches from classrooms all over the world, giving curious mathematicians the opportunity to explore fascinating methods that they've never before encountered. Learn More

The ultimate guide to understanding how a school can be led, managed and run, written by an author with extensive experience, and drawing heavily on research around knowledge-based curricula. Learn More

'A Quiet Education' serves as an unashamed cheerleader for all that is quiet, challenging the myth that collaboration and noise should be at the heart of what happens in schools. Learn More

Craig Barton, maths teacher and best-selling author of 'How I wish I'd taught maths', offers an approach to help all our students think mathematically. It requires the careful sequencing of questions and examples, the role of the teacher, and the mathematical behaviour of our students. It has transformed his teaching.

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Mark Chater's brilliant new book diagnoses the reasons why RE urgently needs radical reform, and looks ahead to a time when the subject will have a new identity based on a clear democratic purpose.

The book shines a light on how key leaders can make this happen, and how the new good practice is already breaking through. It is edited and authored by experts and leading change agents in RE, who offer a well-informed and provocative vision and programme for change.

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Out now!

Tom Sherrington and Oliver Caviglioli team up to present 50 essential teaching techniques, each with five clear and concise illustrations and explanations. It forms a truly unique repository of key teaching methods, valuable to any classroom practitioner in any setting.

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Drawing on the wisdom of those at the top of their game, this book intends to provide just that: a practical handbook for teachers and leaders that can help make the research use revolution a reality. Learn More

Jennifer Webb collaborates with eight expert writers to give real insight into the written form, and offer practical teaching strategies for the English classroom. Learn More

In the ‘CRAFT of Assessment’, Michael unpicks the five key principles to support middle and senior leaders in creating a climate for a meaningful, manageable and motivational whole-school approach to assessment through condense, reflect, assess, feedforward and target-driven improvement. Learn More

How is it possible that a mathematician might talk of beauty in an equation more passionately than an artist talks about a painting? And if mathematics is so beautiful, why haven’t more of us experienced this beauty?

Daniel Pearcy delves into the wonderful world of mathematical beauty to understand exactly what it is, and whether anyone can experience it. With examples, research, insights and years of experience, Daniel provides a refreshing perspective on mathematical beauty which would intrigue a wide range of readers from teachers, students, mathematical enthusiasts and indeed anyone interested in the concept of beauty.

If you’ve ever wondered how you might explain mathematical beauty to someone who has only ever thought of mathematics as a bunch of symbols and equations which don’t make sense, then you’ll find this book truly enlightening.

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The Power of Culture, a follow up to Battle Hymn of the Tiger Teachers, drives at the heart of what makes Michaela a trailblazing school. Their teachers and pioneering Head Katharine Birbalsingh reveal all as they take the reader on a journey through Michaela's alternative ways.

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A free-to-download resource to help your school enhance wellbeing in pupils. 

Click here for the free PDF download: https://www.dropbox.com/s/n3j0an9eh1w1x1u/MBS%202%20for%20download.pdf?dl=0

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This Workbook seeks to further the recent engagement with Rosenshine's Principles in Action by providing a thought-provoking and reflective guide designed to encourage teachers in all settings to become self-aware practitioners.

BUNDLE OF FIVE COPIES FOR £15. SINGLE COPIES CAN BE ORDERED VIA AMAZON.CO.UK

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Thousands of amazing, experienced teachers are choosing to leave the profession, depriving generations of students of their passion and expertise. But it doesn't need to be this way. Preserving Positivity explores the reasons why people are choosing to leave the classroom and draws on the voices of other experienced teachers who tell us how they turned their careers around and give practical, adaptable strategies that will help you reignite your passion for teaching and bring the positivity back into your classroom. Learn More

Teaching is tough, yet its rewards are huge. Every teacher wants to carry on getting better and better at what they do, but when you have so much on your plate already and only so many hours in the day, how can you find time for professional development?

That’s where 60-Second CPD comes in. This book is a compendium of 239 easily accessible ideas and theories for professional development, each digestible in roughly 60 seconds. It’s a book that every teacher and leader, in every primary and secondary school, can return to again and again as the year moves on and their career progresses.

Hanna Beech and Ross Morrison McGill have distilled the million and one ideas out there into one practical, concise and inspiration-packed book designed to build knowledge, provide opportunities for deep thought and reflection, and facilitate the sharing of ideas among colleagues and teams.

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How principals can design a transformative school experience for students, teachers, parents - and themselves

How can you transform the school experience for all stakeholders? SchoolX has the answer: design thinking. Jethro Jones teaches principals how to become designers, not just managers or leaders.

Drawing on the wisdom of the hundreds of leaders he has interviewed for his Transformative Principal podcast and Transformative Leadership Summits, Jones reveals how you can use design thinking to put yourself in the shoes of the people in your school communities, using that empathy to drive radical change.

Crucially, Jones argues that it is only once leaders improve their own experience that they can transform the experiences of others.

SchoolX will empower you with an iterative and innovative way to approach the challenges you face every day.

'Actionable, urgent insights for any principal ready to re-engage in the work that brought them to the field in the first place' Seth Godin

'Jones has illuminated the link between design thinking and principalship in ridiculously helpful terms' Dr. Brad Gustafson

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DISCOUNT ON A BUNDLE OF 10 COPIES OF RUNNING THE ROOM: IDEAL FOR ALL-STAFF CPD

Good behaviour is the beginning of great learning. All children deserve classrooms that are calm, safe spaces where everyone is treated with dignity.

Creating that space is one of the most important things a teacher needs to be able to do. But all too often teachers begin their careers with the bare minimum of training - or worse, none.

How students behave, socially and academically, dictates whether or not they will succeed or struggle in school. Every child comes to the classroom with different skills, habits, values and expectations of what to do. There's no point just telling a child to behave; behaviour must be taught.

Behaviour is a curriculum. This simple truth is the beginning of creating a classroom culture where everyone flourishes: pupils and staff.

Running the Room is the teacher's guide to behaviour. Practical, evidence-informed, and based on the expertise of great teachers from around the world, it addresses the things teachers really need to know to build the classrooms children need.

Bursting with strategies, tips and solid advice, it brings together the best of what we know and saves teachers, new or old, from reinventing the wheels of the classroom. It's the book teachers have been waiting for.

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For bulk purchases, email as@johncatt.com or CLICK HERE for a bundle of 10 copies for £100.

Good behaviour is the beginning of great learning. All children deserve classrooms that are calm, safe spaces where everyone is treated with dignity.

Creating that space is one of the most important things a teacher needs to be able to do. But all too often teachers begin their careers with the bare minimum of training - or worse, none.

How students behave, socially and academically, dictates whether or not they will succeed or struggle in school. Every child comes to the classroom with different skills, habits, values and expectations of what to do. There's no point just telling a child to behave; behaviour must be taught.

Behaviour is a curriculum. This simple truth is the beginning of creating a classroom culture where everyone flourishes: pupils and staff.

Running the Room is the teacher's guide to behaviour. Practical, evidence-informed, and based on the expertise of great teachers from around the world, it addresses the things teachers really need to know to build the classrooms children need.

Bursting with strategies, tips and solid advice, it brings together the best of what we know and saves teachers, new or old, from reinventing the wheels of the classroom. It's the book teachers have been waiting for.

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Thinking Deeply about Primary Mathematics is a comprehensive exploration of the ideas, theories and practices of most value to beginning teachers, as well as any teacher with the desire to improve their practice.

Immediately applicable in the classroom and supported by robust analysis of research into mathematics teaching, this book is designed to provide inspiration for specialised teaching assignments with the power to enhance both the rate and quality of your professional development journey.

Through the use of expertly crafted explanations, examples and tasks, each chapter will guide you step by step through the otherwise intimidating world of primary mathematics teaching.

This book is perfect for teachers driven to become highly effective practitioners. It also serves as a blueprint for school leaders looking to develop the abilities of their teachers and ensure the highest quality mathematics education for all children.

Teacher proficiency is a vast uneven continuum but in taking time to think deeply about primary mathematics we allow ourselves with the opportunity to build a solid base from which a successful, fulfilling career can be constructed.

The insight and expertise provided by Thinking Deeply About Primary Mathematics is essential for anyone involved in the teaching of mathematics.

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Critical and compelling, How to Educate a Citizen galvanizes our schools to equip children with the power of shared knowledge. Learn More

There are a lot of redundant processes in schools. We need to take a hard look at these and consider whether they are adding value to the core purpose of schools.

We need to apply Greg McKeown's 'disciplined pursuit of less' in order to create the time and space to do deep, satisfying work on the curriculum.

This means that there will be some hard choices and recognise that if we cannot do everything, we need to move to a space which acknowledges there will be trade offs.

This is more than a workload issue, it is about focusing our efforts on the most important agenda item in schools today - the development of an ambitious curriculum for every child, in every school.

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How do you create effective lessons? How do you develop and implement what solid empirical research tells us about what works in the classroom? How do we help learners to learn more effectively, efficiently, and enjoyably? These are the core questions of the book Lessons for Learning: 12 Building Blocks for Effective Teaching.

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Generative Learning in Action helps to answer the question: which activities can students carry out to create meaningful learning? It does this by considering how we, as teachers, can implement the eight strategies for generative learning set out in the work of Fiorella and Mayer in their seminal 2015 work Learning as a Generative Activity: Eight Learning Strategies that Promote Learning.

At a time when a great deal of attention has been paid to the teaching and learning from the perspective of effective instruction, Generative Learning looks at the flip side of coin and considers what is happening in the minds of the learner. This book takes a teacher’s-eye view of a range of theories of learning and keeps their application to the classroom firmly in mind through the use of case studies and reference to day-to-day practice.

Generative Learning in Action also discusses key considerations and potential limitations of each of the strategies, as well as how you could implement these in your own practice and more widely across a school.

This book is the next in a series that began with Tom Sherrington’s Rosenshine’s Principles in Action (2019).

Tom Sherrington is the editor of the In Action series.

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When the teaching profession places the curriculum at the heart of what it does, transformative change can take place. Curriculum reform is now at the forefront of every school agenda; in spite of this, there is a danger that its message may become lost in translation. When curricular change is poorly implemented, teachers experience a complete detachment from their sense of purpose, autonomy, and capacity to become curriculum designers of the future.

Employing an astute blend of theory and practice, Claire Hill and Kat Howard offer a methodical approach to designing and delivering a curriculum, to ensure that all feel part of a collective curricular journey. At a time when work on the curriculum can be politicised, monetised and overcomplicated, Symbiosis: The Curriculum and the Classroom provides a series of practical strategies for curriculum designers at every level, in order to not only keep and develop the skilled and professional teachers desperately needed in schools, but also to provide a world-class curriculum to students.

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Interdisciplinary Thinking for Schools: Ethical Dilemmas MYP 4 & 5 continues on from Interdisciplinary Thinking for Schools: Ethical Dilemmas MYP 1, 2 & 3 and like the first book it is not your average textbook resource.

Innovative ethical design projects illustrated with spectacular artwork will connect students to exciting and purposeful learning.

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Curriculum to Classroom is the ideal book for senior leaders and curriculum leads who are in the process of establishing, refining and reviewing their school curriculum. It provides an overview of the curriculum design and delivery process in the Primary phase in its entirety.

This book will enable you to consider the many facets of curriculum design and support strategic decision making so your curriculum is meeting and exceeding the expectations of the National Curriculum as well as being unique and bespoke to your school community.

An easy-to-read handbook to prompt thinking and reflections on your school's curriculum and provide practical tools and strategies to take it forward.

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AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER

Education Exposed 2 follows on from Sam Strickland's first book, Education Exposed. The book is a pacy, punchy and forthright critique of how to drive the curriculum, behaviour and teaching within a school and the pivotal role that leadership plays in pursuing the halcyon dream. The book is neatly laid out, with each chapter identifying common curricular misconceptions, posing lots of key questions to consider and offering multiple practical ideas that you can take away. Every chapter ends with five key takeaway points for you to carefully consider.

The books neatly interplays theory, research, Sam's expertise and experience coupled with a practical and real-world approach. The first section of the book champions the importance of the curriculum and knowledge. The second section examines behaviour and how this can be driven by senior leaders coupled routine driven approach to learning. This section also takes you through a series of curriculum tools and teaching approaches that will assist you in thinking about how to implement and drive the curriculum. The third section of the book examines leadership; how leaders can champion the teacher as the expert and how a school culture can be supported and monitored carefully.

Education Exposed 2 is relevant for anyone working in a school, irrespective of their position or role. It is designed to be an accessible, versatile and quick read. Equally, it can be used as a dip-in and dip-out guide. Multiple practical approaches and strategies are offered as key take-away points.

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PUBLISHED OCTOBER 2020. AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER

Built on the foundation of all learning, the human memory system, Cognitive Load Theory details the exact actions that teachers can take to maximise student outcomes. Written under the guidance, and thoroughly reviewed by the originator of CLT, John Sweller, this practical guide summarises over 30 years of research in this field into clear and easily understandable terms.This book is the next in a series that began with Tom Sherrington’s Rosenshine’s Principles in Action (2019).

Tom Sherrington is the editor of the In Action series.

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What is the best approach for helping students to understand higher level concepts? How can specific subject knowledge be implemented in lessons?

Ready to Teach: Macbeth brings together the deep subject knowledge, resources and classroom strategies needed to teach Shakespeare’s tragic play, as well as the pedagogical theory behind why these ideas work, helping teachers to deliver a knowledge-rich curriculum with impact. 

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