The Subject Leader'S Toolkit,Used

Product Description The role of a subject leader is one of the most important in any school, second only to that of the head teacher or principal. Subject leaders are working in the 'engine room' of school life, expected to turn the vision, values and ethos of a school into reality. However, most teachers went into education because they wanted to be teachers, not leaders, so they often haven't had any training into how to lead a subject area. This book seeks to deliver a whole range of practical solutions to the challenges that the role presents. The areas covered range from setting and communicating your vision, delivering high quality learning across all classes and developing rigorous and effective systems of self evaluation to understanding and developing a transformational leadership style. Hugely accessible and realistic, the book also tackles some of the other critical issues that sometimes face subject leaders. Practical solutions are offered around the issues of working with underperforming colleagues as well as managing the stresses of the role. Review As a primary teacher I came at The Subject Leader wondering whether it was going to be just as applicable to (for example) a KS2 music coordinator as the head of a history department in a large secondary school. It is. The Subject Leader contains principles and advice to ensure you focus on the things that matter and just give a cursory nod to the things that don''t. If your subject department was run along the lines Steve Garnett sets out, amongst other things your pupil targets would be more meaningful, staff meetings would contain less waffle and your department would be a place both teachers and pupils would want to be. If you put into practice the methodology of The Subject Leader, you can lead effectively as opposed to doing what we so often do a muddle through.Paul Wrangles, illustrator, author www.sparkyteaching.comFew people enter the teaching profession with the intention of one day becoming a subject leader it''s a natural career progression, of course, but one that can be either extraordinarily rewarding or utterly souldestroying, depending on how it''s handled. This slim and assured volume aims to ensure that anyone who reads it and puts Garnett''s advice into practice will be able to take on the role and turn it into one that is both professionally effective and personally fulfilling. The structure is clear and logical, there is an admirable absence of circumlocution, and clever cartoons by Les Evans keep a mechanical theme running that naturally complements the text with a touch of humour. It''s a common complaint from newly promoted subject leaders that despite the managerial aspect of the job, leadership training can be sorely lacking; this book is prime, nonpatronising CPD material, and well worth an investment.Teach Secondary MagazineIf you were to set an educational book a challenge perhaps none would be greater than to ask it to be so compelling that it manages to make exciting reading at the very end of the summer term. Steve Garnett has achieved this in The Subject Leader, I read the book on the first weekend of the summer holidays and found myself itching to put some of the ideas into practice. This is a book written with a deep understanding of what the task of a subject leader is and of how it can become the most exciting and fulfilling role in your career. All too often good teachers are promoted into this responsibility and left to fend for themselves; little recognition is given to the new challenges that the job brings and to the new skills that the subject leader needs to do the job really well. The Subject Leader addresses that need beautifully, clarifying the priorities for any subject leader and providing suggestions about how to make that really important thinking a shared vision across the whole team. The book is well structured, taking the reader from the fundamentals of context and vision, through the essentia