Primary School Leadership in Context: leading small, medium and large sized primary schools
By Geoff Southworth
RoutledgeFalmer pound;22.50

The introduction in September of the national agreement on raising standards and tackling workload entitles teachers to a “reasonable” amount of non-teaching time to support their leadership and management responsibilities. But what is a reasonable amount of time and what are leadership and management responsibilities? Many heads are starting to wonder if their systems of delegating responsibility are adequate and effective.

From its title, Geoff Southworth’s book seems a source for examples of good primary school management. The cover says the book is particularly valuable to headteachers, deputies, subject leaders and others. This is true up to a point. Those with no experience of primary school organisation would gain most.

The title is a puzzle. Why the fuzzy divisions of small, medium and large primaries? Why has Southworth become tangled up with using the number of pupils to differentiate management types? Running a school of 401 pupils (classed as a large primary) is no different to running a medium one of 399 pupils.

Read more in this week’s TES Friday magazine