This Much I Know about Love Over Fear is a compelling account of leading a values-driven school where people matter above all else. Weaving autobiography with an account of his experience of headship, John Tomsett explains how, in an increasingly pressurised education system, he creates the conditions in which staff and students can thrive. Too many of our state schools have become scared, soulless places. John Tomsett draws on his extensive experience and knowledge and calls for all those...

If we do not ensure, first and foremost, that our teachers are feeling physically and mentally well, they cannot be their best for their students. Consequently, a school which does not prioritise staff wellbeing is disadvantaging its own students. 'Students first' is a misplaced sentiment: the best thing for students is a happy, healthy, motivated, well-trained, expert staff. By putting staff first you are providing for students the one thing which will help them make good progress in thei...

In This Much I Know about Mind Over Matter John Tomsett addresses, with refreshing honesty, the growing problem of the mental health issues experienced by children and young people, offering up a plan for averting a mental health crisis in our schools. Tomsett interweaves his formative and professional experience with strategies for addressing students' mental health issues and insights from his interviews with high profile thinkers on the subject including Professor Tanya Byron, Natasha D...

This Much I Know about Love Over Fear is a compelling account of leading a values-driven school where people matter above all else. Weaving autobiography with an account of his experience of headship, John Tomsett explains how, in an increasingly pressurised education system, he creates the conditions in which staff and students can thrive. Too many of our state schools have become scared, soulless places. John Tomsett draws on his extensive experience and knowledge and calls for all those...

In 1991 Allan Collins, John Seely Brown and Ann Holum published 'Cognitive Apprenticeship: Making Thinking Visible'. Nearly a quarter of a century later John Tomsett encountered their paper and since then, it has influenced his teaching immeasurably. Collins et al. believed that 'domain (subject) knowledge … provides insufficient clues for many students about how to actually go about solving problems and carrying out tasks in a domain'. They believed that you had to make expert subject thi...

Foreword by Professor Rob CoeThrough a series of in-depth case studies, This Much I Know About Truly Great Primary Teachers (and What We Can Learn from Them) by John Tomsett explores the complex and inspiring art of outstanding classroom teaching.Drawing on observations of nine exceptional primary teachers, alongside conversations with the teachers themselves, their colleagues, and their pupils, the book brings to life how great teachers engage, in...

Schools need to have purchase on the curriculum: why they teach the subjects beyond preparation for examinations, what they are intending to achieve with the curriculum, how well it is planned and enacted in classrooms and how they know whether it’s doing what it’s supposed to. Fundamental to this understanding are the conversations between subject leaders and their line managers. However, there is sometimes a mismatch between the subject specialisms of senior leaders and those they line m...

For one reason or another, mainstream education does not suit every young person. Many young people are educated in alternative provision, which is defined by the Department for Education as educational provision 'for pupils who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not otherwise receive suitable education'. As of 2023, over 25,000 young people are enrolled in alternative provision, and those numbers continue to rise.It is essential, then, that the curriculum on off...

Foreword by Professor Rob CoeThrough a series of in-depth case studies, This Much I Know About Truly Great Secondary Teachers (and What We Can Learn from Them) by John Tomsett brings to life the teaching practices of eleven outstanding secondary school teachers.Spanning a diverse range of school types, social contexts, subjects, and age groups, each case study is based on classroom observations and conversations with the teachers themselves, as wel...

Foreword by Professor Rob CoeThrough a set of in-depth case studies, This Much I Know About Truly Great Primary Teachers (and what we can learn from them) by John Tomsett dissects the complex and beautiful art of classroom teaching.Covering a range of school types, social contexts, pupil ages and subjects, it brings to life how nine outstanding primary teachers engage, inspire, nurture and motivate their pupils. Each detailed vignette, based on observing the teach...

Huh is the Egyptian god of endlessness, creativity, fertility and regeneration. He is the deity Mary Myatt and John Tomsett have adopted as their god of the school curriculum. Their first book in the Huh series focused upon how school practitioners design the Key Stage 3 curriculum. Its popularity prompted calls from many quarters for a similar book on the primary curriculum. Supported by their primary colleagues, Rachel Higginson, Lekha Sharma & Emma Turner, Mary and John interviewed over...

Foreword by Professor Rob CoeThrough a set of in-depth case studies, This Much I Know About Truly Great Secondary Teachers (and what we can learn from them) by John Tomsett brings to life how eleven outstanding secondary teachers cultivate great learning in their classrooms.Covering a range of school types, social contexts, pupil ages and subjects, each detailed vignette is based on observing the teachers teach, and discussions with them, their colleagues and pupi...