The Educator Magazine U.K. September - December 2025 issue. - Magazine - Page 46
HOW TO LEAD IT
The new go-to guides for Primary subject leads
‘These short, practical books are like having a mentor in your backpack.’
In many primary schools, subject leadership is the most
important role in school improvement.
they will support you to see what matters most, ask better questions,
make better decisions, and lead your subject with con昀椀dence.
However, anyone who's been given that responsibility knows that it
can also feel lonely and overwhelming. If you’re lucky, you might have
a colleague who’s led your subject before. Someone who knows what
matters and what doesn’t. Who’s made the mistakes already, and can
help you to avoid them.
The 昀椀rst four titles—English, Science, Geography and History—
are out now. Each one is rooted in the real-life substance of the
subject: how it’s constructed, where it goes wrong, and what great
teaching looks like. They’re speci昀椀c, evidence-based,
candid and designed to be genuinely useful even when you’ve
got thirty books to mark and a sta昀昀 meeting to plan.
Unfortunately, for most subject leads in primary schools, this sort of
guidance is pot luck. You’re often asked to lead a subject you didn’t
train in, across six or seven year groups, often with no formal training
and very little time.
And yet, we know just how critical subject leadership is.
For the children in your school, it can be make or break in
igniting a lifelong passion for learning. A role of such importance
deserves high levels of support. And that’s exactly why we’ve
developed the How to Lead It series.
These short, practical books are like having a mentor in your
backpack. Each one distils the experience and insight of an expert
subject leader who’s been through it—and come out the other side
with hard-won wisdom. They won’t tell you exactly what to do, but
In a system where curriculum leadership is 昀椀nally getting the
attention it deserves, we can’t leave support for subject leaders to
chance. These books aim to challenge the quiet isolation of the role
and o昀昀er solidarity in its place.
How to Lead It is for every primary subject leader—new or
experienced—who is driven to make their subject every child’s
favourite. For anyone who wants to lead with purpose, clarity,
and the kind of support that’s usually hard to come by.
We hope these books become the mentor you wish you had.
Words by How to Lead It Series editor Jon Hutchinson, Director of
Curriculum and Teacher Development at the Reach Foundation.
HOW TO LEAD IT
FOR TEACHERS, BY TEACHERS
THE NEW GO-TO GUIDES FOR PRIMARY SUBJECT LEADS
Explore research-led, inclusive best practice across every key aspect of your subject curriculum
BloomsburyEducation
Bloomsbury Ed
