Within its 48 pages, the Summer 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 latest school uniform rules, how to build effective working relationships with your deputy headteacher, and tips for creating a DfE Climate Action Plan by September.
A core topic this edition is inclusion and we carry three articles. We visit four schools which have school-resourced, internal alternative provision in place, while we also hear about a research review into inclusive practice and the nine secrets to inclusion it has revealed. Finally we get some practical tips to make your play-times and break-times inclusive for all pupils.
Other themes this edition include Ofsted reform, safeguarding, leadership advice, CPD tips, breakfast clubs, teaching Shakespeare, primary homework, science teaching, staff wellbeing and more.
And our Best Practice Focus looks at executive headship. Executive leadership can bring many benefits for the schools involved and can be a great next step for experienced headteachers. In the seven-page Best Practice Focus, Paul K Ainsworth considers what an effective executive headteacher looks like, some common structures of executive leadership, and the nine areas where executive heads can have real impact
Edition articles include
- Attendance, fines and parental relationships (pages 1 & 3)
- Inclusion: School-resourced alternative provision (pages 6 & 8)
- Nine secrets to inclusion in schools (pages 10 & 11)
- Three branded items? Affordable school uniform rules explained (pages 12 & 13)
- Primary-specific school inspection? (page 14)
- Ofsted reform: A damning indictment (page 15)
- The most important relationship in your school: Working with your deputy head (pages 16 & 17)
- Nurturing school staff: A safe place to grow (pages 18 & 19)
- Safeguarding: Thinking the unthinkable: Addressing emerging risk (page 20)
- Ideas to make play-times inclusive: (page 29)
- Creating a Climate Action Plan for your school (pages 30 & 31)
- Operational vs strategic leadership (page 32)
- The secret to effective CPD (page 34)
- Curriculum review and oracy education (page 36)
- Breakfast clubs: Learning lessons from the NTP (page 37)
- Creating challenge in primary science (pages 38 & 39)
- Resources to protect the wellbeing of staff (pages 41 & 42)
- Five steps for engaging with Shakespeare (page 45)
- Homework: Purposeful, practical, and positive (page 46)