This best-selling book takes a practical look at how improvements can be made in any school.It cuts through the jargon of the specialist and shows how ideas and intentions can be turned into direct actions that will help a school improve its performance and effectiveness.As well as addressing headteachers and governors, the book will also provide invaluable guidance for all those who work in and with schools. There are chapters on: *effective schools and how they have achieved their goals*leadership within schools*teaching and learning effectively*making critical interventions to secure improvement*how schools involve others to aid improvement.This is a book that no school will want to be without. It is essential reading for anyone involved in education. Tim Brighouse is Chief Education Officer for Birmingham City Council and is a national figure in education. David Woods is a Senior Education Adviser at the DfEE.

Introduction 1.Effective and Improving Schools: parallel fields of research and how they overlap 2.Leadership 3.Teaching and Learning 4.Interventions 5.Stakeholders and Partners: their contribution to school improvement