Becoming an Outstanding Primary School Teacher A journey, not a destination

This fully updated third edition of Becoming an Outstanding Primary School Teacher includes new material on blended learning, pedagogical leadership and teaching entrepreneurial skills. It offers comprehensive coverage of all the key topics that engage primary teachers, including planning, meeting curriculum demands, promoting positive behaviour, assessment, engaging with parents, research, and professional development. Throughout, Russell Grigg draws on theory, research, and case studies of classroom practice to discuss what it takes to become an outstanding primary teacher, making this essential reading for raising pupils’ standards of achievement through high quality teaching. How do primary teachers who excel in their work approach topics such as planning and assessment? What strategies do they use to inspire pupils when teaching English, Mathematics, Science, and other subjects? How do they keep on top of everything in managing workload and still get the best from pupils? These are the kinds of questions that this revised third edition addresses. It includes: • more than sixty ground-breaking infographics to convey key points in a highly accessible way • discussion of recent curriculum changes in the UK and the implications for high quality teaching • tried-and-tested classroom strategies, points for reflection and further research to bridge theory and practice • key concepts and international views on topics such as creativity, teachers’ well-being, and assessment • reflections on the lessons from the recent pandemic such as the need for a robust digital pedagogy • extensive references for further research. Becoming an Outstanding Primary School Teacher has been updated to reflect significant changes in the context within which primary teachers operate both in the educational system and broader society. Providing a complete guide to the notion and practices of outstanding teaching, this a vital reference for trainee teachers, NQTs, and more experienced practitioners who aspire to excellence in their teaching.

Chapter 1: How do we define and measure outstanding teaching? This revised chapter will draw on latest research findings on outstanding teaching, published in the last five years e.g. Evidence Based Review (2020) Great Teaching Toolkit Evidence Review. Chapter 2: Know Thyself New material in this chapter will reiterate the importance of teacher dispositions and collective self-efficacy as drivers for improvement. Chapter 3: Professional Values and Practice in Action This chapter will include a focus on pedagogical leadership which supports the learning and development of colleagues and students, reflecting professional values in action. It will also discuss how professional values can be demonstrated in the context of addressing challenging questions and issues, such as educating children about the dangers of terrorism. Chapter 4: Passionate and creative teachers: developing pupils’ thinking skills This chapter will include new material on how teacher can foster entrepreneurial habits such as spotting opportunities, translating ideas into action and risk-taking. Chapter 5: Professional Knowledge and Understanding: Theory, Nature and Scope of the Curriculum New material in this chapter will include updates on the curriculum requirements and knowledge of innovative pedagogies e.g. reported by the Open University series. Chapter 6: Subject Knowledge and Understanding: English, Mathematics and Science The chapter will reiterate what we know about outstanding teaching in these areas, include strong pedagogical knowledge. It will reference recent changes in these subjects, such as the strengthening of literacy and numeracy, in the early years, and discuss the implications for practitioners. Chapter 7: Developing an effective digital pedagogy This revised chapter will include a greater focus on high-quality blended and online learning, in the wake of COVID-19, and its impact on pedagogical practices as children return to school. Chapter 8: The Broader Curriculum: exploring the humanities and arts Revisions will mainly be around strengthening the argument for teaching the humanities and arts, highlighting for example how these subjects have huge potential to meet the needs of learners. Chapter 9: Planning and Preparation This chapter title will be renamed ‘Planning, Preparation and Organization’. It will draw in broader material on the learning environment in and beyond the school. The revisions will focus on the core elements of good planning and preparation. The chapter will also argue that an off-the-shelf and cut-and- paste mentality has eroded both teachers’ creativity in planning. Chapter 10: Promoting Inclusive Practice: Meeting the Needs of Learners The chapter will include a stronger focus on how outstanding teachers promote equity across a whole range of measures. It will also include a more critical discussion over whether concepts such as ‘differentiation’ and ‘personalized learning’ hold up under closer scrutiny. Chapter 11: Language, Literacy and Communication Skills Chapter 12: Behaviour Management The title of this chapter will be renamed ‘Promoting positive behaviour’ to emphasize the importance of promoting desirable behaviours and responsibilities among learners. Chapter 13: The Art of Juggling: Monitoring, Assessment, Recording and Reporting The revised edition will strengthen discussion over creating the right feedback culture to highlight the central role feedback can play in children’s achievement. This chapter will also include a stronger focus on assessment as learning strategies, which feature among the practices of outstanding teachers. Chapter 14: Continually learning: Teacher as Researchers This chapter adopts a broader perspective and the revisions take into account major developments over the last five years in making research available to teachers in accessible formats. It includes greater discussion of the role of social media such as Twitter as a means of teachers’ professional development.

Dr Russell Grigg is Education Inspector at the Ministry of Education, Dubai. His research interests include the history of education and primary schooling. He has extensive experience in teacher training and has written numerous books and articles on the subject of primary education including Teaching Creative and Critical Thinking Skills in School, Tails from the Classroom: Animal-Assisted Interventions, and two bestselling previous editions of Becoming an Outstanding Primary Teacher.