There’s a comforting myth in school leadership: that with the right strategy, the right systems and enough vision, everything will just work. But schools are messy, human places. Leading them well requires not just action, but reflection.
For me, reading has always been one of the best tools to make sense of the chaos. Not because books hand us a script, but because they help us to ask better questions. And that process can help to remind us why we decided to work in education in the first place.
Here are seven books that I think every school leader should read, whether you’re new to the role or a veteran trying to keep the flame alive.
1. Middle Leadership Mastery: a toolkit for subject and pastoral leaders by Adam Robbins
Leadership can often feel like it’s all about the people at the top. But in most schools the true engine room is the middle leaders: the people trying to turn abstract visions into real practice.
Adam Robbins gets this better than most. His book is a calm, clear-eyed guide for middle leaders navigating the push and pull of managing up and down. It’s practical without being patronising and thoughtful without ever losing its grounding in the day-to-day realities of school life.
Whether you’re a headteacher looking to support your middle leaders better or a department head wondering how to survive the next line-management meeting, this is essential reading.
2. A School Built on Ethos: ideas, assemblies and hard-won wisdom by James Handscombe
Plenty of leaders talk about “ethos”. Far fewer can show how it’s actually built. In A School Built on Ethos, James Handscombe offers a rare and honest account of how a new school (Harris Westminster Sixth Form) was founded not just with structures and systems, but with values at its core.
This isn’t a collection of generic leadership tips. It’s a story of what it really means to lead with intent. Handscombe explores how assemblies, shared language, routines and academic ambition all played a role in shaping a culture that students and staff could believe in.
What stands out is the attention to the small things, such as how a single assembly can ripple through a school community, or how choosing the right words creates belonging. For school leaders trying to rebuild or renew their culture, this is a quietly powerful blueprint. It’s not flashy or buzzword-laden but it is thoughtful, tested and true to the heart of the work.
3. Mentoring in Schools: how to become an expert colleague by Haili Hughes
We’re always told that mentoring matters. But too often mentors are thrown into the role without training, time or support. Haili Hughes has written the book that changes that.
Mentoring in Schools blends research, practical advice and lived experience to show how mentoring can transform not just new teachers but whole-school cultures. Hughes writes with warmth and realism. She knows mentors are under pressure and she offers strategies that work, without adding more to already-full plates.
Leadership is about legacy. Supporting the next generation of teachers might just be the most important thing we do. This book shows you how to do it well.
4. What are we Teaching? Powerful knowledge and a capabilities curriculum by Richard Bustin
Conversations about curriculum often drift into abstraction: all intent and no content. Richard Bustin brings the focus sharply back to the substance. What are we Teaching? is a compelling call for clarity, coherence and integrity in curriculum design.
Bustin doesn’t just argue that we need to know what we’re teaching - he shows how to think about it with purpose. Drawing on classroom experience, subject knowledge and scholarly reflection, he helps leaders and teachers alike to interrogate what’s on the page, why it’s there and how it shapes the intellectual life of a school.
In a time when “curriculum” can often be reduced to tick-box documents and Ofsted-ready soundbites, this book is a reminder that choosing what to teach is a moral act. For curriculum leaders, heads of department or senior teams trying to craft a coherent offer, this is both a guidebook and a provocation. It deserves a place at the heart of the conversation.
5. The Culture Code: the secrets of highly successful groups by Daniel Coyle
We all talk about school culture. But what does it actually look like, and how do you build it?
The Culture Code draws on lessons from high-performing organisations, from sports teams to elite military units, to explore what creates trust, belonging and high standards. Coyle’s central idea is that culture isn’t what you say; it’s what you do consistently, especially when no one is watching.
For school leaders, this book is a powerful reminder that culture is shaped in corridor conversations, in how we handle mistakes and in what we celebrate. If you want to lead better, start there.
6. Leadership for Teacher Learning: creating a culture where all teachers improve so that all students succeed by Dylan Wiliam
Dylan Wiliam is best known for championing formative assessment, but in this book he turns his attention to something even more fundamental: how teachers get better.
Leadership for Teacher Learning argues that the best way to improve schools is to improve teaching, and that means creating the right conditions for staff development. But this isn’t just a call for more CPD.
Wiliam questions how we measure teaching, how we evaluate progress and what really supports improvement.
It’s rigorous, evidence-informed and occasionally uncomfortable, but always useful. Every leader should read this book and then ask themselves: is my team really helping teachers to grow?
7. 10% Braver: inspiring women to lead education by Vivienne Porritt and Keziah Featherstone
One of the great challenges in school leadership is finding the courage to take risks and to step forward, even when the outcome is uncertain. 10% Braver, written by members of the #WomenEd movement, is a rallying call for leaders to be bold and authentic in their practice.
Porritt and Featherstone share honest reflections and practical strategies on how women in education - and, indeed, anyone in leadership - can find their voice, tackle bias and create inclusive, values-driven schools. The title itself is an invitation: you don’t have to transform overnight, just take that one step to be 10% braver than before.
In a sector where confidence gaps and imposter syndrome are common, this book is both empowering and pragmatic. It’s not about “leaning in” or pretending to be someone else; it’s about leading as yourself, just a little braver than yesterday.
Final thought
These books won’t solve all your problems. No book can. But they might change how you see the problems. They might prompt a conversation, a pause or a rethink.
And in the end, that’s what good leadership is all about - not having all the answers but being willing to ask better questions.
Mark Enser is co-author of the forthcoming book How Do They Do It? What can we learn from amazing schools, leaders and teachers?
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