Within its 48 pages, the Spring 2025 edition of Headteacher Update offers a range of case studies and expert advice for primary school leaders.
There are 15 best practice articles covering a range of useful, important and topical issues including the roll-out of universal breakfast club provision, advice for developing a strategy for the implementation of AI, and a case study from a recent Ofsted inspection.
We have two articles looking at how to build belonging in schools as well as safeguarding articles looking at effective safeguarding governance and the roll-out of Operation Encompass. There is advice too on how primary schools can look after their SENCO to ensure they thrive in their role and a case study of how one school is delivering the teaching of oracy.
Other themes include tips for effective school trips, ideas to make your school library exciting, ideas to decarbonise your school and tips for addressing the use of homophobic language.
And our Best Practice Focus looks at difficult conversations. Every single day school leaders are faced with challenging yet crucial conversations – conversations that if handled badly can damage morale, relationships, trust in your school. In this seven page article, school leader Robbie Burns decodes the structures and principles of good dialogue and offers strategies and examples for getting leadership conversations right.
Edition articles include:
- Preparing for national breakfast club roll-out (pages 1 & 3)
- Belong in schools: A culture of collaboration and kindness in five steps (pages 6 & 8)
- Belong in schools: Ideas for building pupils' sense of belonging (pages 10 & 11)
- Developing and implementing a strategy for AI in schools (pages 12 & 13)
- All change: A case study of Ofsted inspection (pages 14 & 15)
- Circle time: We need to talk (page 16)
- Untangling the SEND mess (page 17)
- Top 10 tips for... Effective school trips (page 18)
- Five ideas to make your school library exciting (page 20)
- Three tips for effective safeguarding governance (page 29)
- Operation Encompass: A legal requirement (pages 30 & 31)
- Addressing the use of homophobic language (pages 32 & 33)
- What science lessons need (page 34)
- Curriculum and wellbeing (page 35)
- Raising Oracy's profile: Embedding good practices (pages 36 & 37)
- Internal alternative provision in schools (pages 38 & 39)
- Looking after your SENCO (pages 40 & 41)
- Top 10 tips for decarbonising your school (pages 42 & 43)
- Introducing reading volunteers to schools (page 46)