Thinking Moves A-Z: Metacognition Made Simple (2019) by Roger Sutcliffe, Tom Bigglestone & Jason Buckley

A practical framework for developing metacognition at all phases, this book summarises the 26 “thinking moves” of the A-Z approach. Each comes with practical examples to help teachers get learners of all ages using the “moves” – providing a complete scheme for teaching and learning metacognition which is “stunningly simple, but remarkably rich”. (Review by NACE team.)

About Our Schools: Improving on Previous Best (2022) by Professor Mick Waters and Sir Tim Brighouse

Ross Morrison McGill wrote “this book would make a fabulous door wedge, it’s a beast of a book, but it’s also a fantastic document written by two education giants”. In this book, Professor Mick Waters and Sir Tim Brighouse bring together interviews with 14 secretaries of state. Read this, and your education knowledge will be at the cutting edge of everything and anything happening across the UK education sector.

Gifted? The Shift to Enrichment, Challenge and Equity (2024) by Morgan Whitfield

Providing a comprehensive summary of the international picture of more able provision, this book aligns closely with the NACE philosophy. It focuses on "challenge for all" as an inclusive approach to teaching, whereby every student is invited and given the tools to reach mastery.

Accompanying webinar:
Equity in education: challenge for all

From Able to Remarkable: Help your students become expert (2019) by Robert Massey

Robert Massey argues that 'remarkabilities' are present, latent and dormant, in many more students than we might at first acknowledge. He shares a rich variety of practical, cross-curricular strategies designed to help teachers unearth and nurture these capabilities, and practical methods to help teachers make questioning, self-review and greater student ownership a staple of day-to-day classroom interaction. The book also explores approaches to whole-school provision for high-attaining students and offers some robust stretch and challenge to educational leaders in considering what widespread excellence in education might look like.

Accompanying blogpost: How to help your students become Expert Learners

Teach to the Top: Aiming High for Every Learner (2021) by Megan Mansworth

A good summary of current thought on high expectations, this draws together some key research on aiming high in teaching and learning, and fits well with the NACE philosophy of cognitive challenge for all. Mansworth writes mainly from a secondary viewpoint, with many English examples, but there is enough in here for primary colleagues as well.

Opening Doors to Ambitious Primary English: Pitching high and including all (2023) by Bob Cox et al.

Part of the “Opening Doors” series, this provides both big principles and a toolkit of strategies, all carefully selected to support the design of a deeper, more creative, and more expansive English curriculum. It includes many ideas to ensure stretch for all learners.

Accompanying blogpost: Opening doors to ambitious primary English: key principles and strategies

Accompanying webinar: Developing an ambitious English curriculum for all

Habits of Success: Getting Every Student Learning (2021) by Harry Fletcher-Wood

Harry Fletcher-Wood shows how teachers can use behavioural science techniques to increase motivation and improve behaviour. He offers clear guidance on topics such as using role models to motivate students, making detailed plans to help students act and building habits to ensure students keep going.

Why Learning Fails [And What To Do About It] (2024) by Alex Quigley

This book explores eight key reasons why learning fails, alongside concepts from cognitive science and research evidence explained concisely and accessibly. Issues include pupils’ limited memory, patchwork prior knowledge, flawed planning, struggles with independent learning, motivation, limits of attention, and more – with real-life examples, steps to success, and practical teaching strategies and tools.

Exam Nation (2024) by Sammy Wright

Despite the title, this book is not just about exams but raises questions about the overall state of the education system today. The Guardian review described it as “[a] journey through the history of English education, its relationship to class, and our exam culture [...] Peppered with anecdotes about young people he has met or taught in his 21-year career, it is rich in analysis of the current problem and in solutions, too.” A great reflective read.

The Teacher Toolkit Guide to Memory (2022) by Ross Morrison McGill

Cleverly designed with infographics, charts and diagrams, this provides clear, visual explanations of how memory works, including short- and long-term, working, semantic and episodic memory. It presents a wealth of original ideas for incorporating this theory into daily classroom practice, with proven methods for aiding knowledge retention and testing recall, to boost learning, support revision and motivate pupils.

Huh: Curriculum conversations between subject and senior leaders (2021) by Mary Myatt and Jon Tomsett

Each of the national curriculum subjects is discussed with a subject leader, providing insights into what they view as the importance of the subject; how they go about ensuring knowledge, understanding and skills are developed over time; and how they talk about the quality of the schemes in their departments.

Challenging Resources for Able and Talented Children (2003) by Barry Tear

Barry Teare has created many resources for more able learners, with a focus on sharing practical ideas and activities to inspire, motivate, challenge and stretch able children. This collection includes ideas suitable for use with all age groups, within and beyond classroom provision. While there is a danger that such “ready-made” resources could be used poorly, they can of course be very helpful for the busy teachers looking for ways to provide stretch in their curriculum.

Diverse Educators: A Manifesto (2022), edited by Hannah Wilson and Bennie Kara

How truly inclusive is your school and how do you know this? Explore this and other questions relating to the current diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) agenda with over 500 pages of content across 10 chapters – one for each of the nine Protected Characteristics with a tenth on intersectionality – featuring over 100 contributors. Framed in theory and interweaving personal and professional narratives, this is an in-depth but accessible and solutions-focused read.

The Working Classroom: How to make school work for working-class students (2023) by Matt Bromley and Andy Griffith

By two authors with extensive personal and professional experience of the ways in which working-class students are disadvantaged by the current system, this book shares practical strategies to help secondary schools close the gap – including building cultural capital, designing learning that is more engaging to working-class students, and harnessing the rich heritage of working-class culture. It includes key questions for reflection, case studies, and suggested lesson plans. (Review by NACE team.)