Creating Excellence in Primary School Playtimes: How to Make 20% of the School Day 100% Better by Michael Follett

Drawing on extensive practical experience, Michael Follett demonstrates how high-quality playtimes can have a transformative impact on children’s social development, emotional regulation and readiness to learn. A former teacher, and leading UK expert in play and outdoor learning, Follet is the founder of the Outdoor Play and Learning programme (OPAL), which supports schools in improving the quality of children's playtimes.

The book challenges schools to consider playtime as more than a break between lessons. Instead, it presents play as a vital part of children’s development and offers realistic, evidence-informed strategies to create a happier, safer and more engaging playground environment.

What makes this book particularly valuable for our schools in Wales is its strong alignment with the principles of the Curriculum for Wales, and Welsh Government’s framework on embedding a whole-school approach to emotional and mental well-being, both of which places a strong emphasis on the importance of play. It reinforces the idea that play is not an optional extra, but a central component of supporting children’s holistic development.

Follet covers a wide range of topics, including improving pupil behaviour, increasing physical activity, supporting inclusion, developing leadership skills and making better use of playground spaces and resources. It is highly practical in its focus, identifying clear steps for implementing positive change and offers an excellent professional learning opportunity for primary school practitioners seeking to enrich children’s daily experiences.

The Emotionally Intelligent Teacher: Enhance Teaching, Improve Wellbeing and Build Positive Relationships by Niomi Clyde Roberts

Niomi Clyde Roberts’ book is a timely and practical read in which she draws on her experience as an assistant headteacher and education consultant to offer a thoughtful and practical guide to managing the emotional currents that run through staffrooms, classrooms and leadership conversations. She emphasises how important it is in education to deal in a compassionate and supportive way with all those with whom we come into contact.

The book translates emotional intelligence into everyday teaching realities such as difficult parent meetings, team dynamics, leadership conversations, and the quieter challenge of managing your own responses under pressure.

It is an honest, encouraging, and relatable read, making it suitable for everyone – from support staff, classroom teachers, middle leaders and senior teams alike. Offering practical strategies for strengthening wellbeing, fostering positive relationships, and creating an emotionally healthy community and cultures. The book provides an inspiring read that speaks to the everyday realities of working in education.

Good Autism Practice for Teachers: Embracing Neurodiversity and Supporting Inclusion by Karen Watson

As we recognise Autism Awareness Month and celebrate the importance of understanding, acceptance and inclusion, Good Autism Practice for Teachers offers a timely and empowering contribution to the conversation.

Karen Watson, an experienced Additional Support Needs educator based in Scotland, draws on over a decade of hands-on work with autistic and neurodivergent learners. Her deep, authentic understanding of inclusive education shines throughout the book, providing teachers with practical, adaptable strategies that can be woven seamlessly into everyday classroom practice. Combining research, classroom experience and thoughtful reflection, Watson equips teachers, trainees and SENCOs with the tools they need to create truly supportive and empowering learning environments.

In Good Autism Practice for Teachers, Watson explores core elements of autism theory, including procedural and semantic memory, executive functioning, sensory integration, expressive and receptive language, and behaviour as communication. She also highlights the essential role of emotional literacy, co‑regulation and resilience in fostering safe and nurturing spaces where pupils can thrive.

What sets this book apart is its focus on flexible, actionable approaches. Rather than offering rigid solutions, Watson empowers educators to make informed, responsive decisions tailored to the unique strengths and needs of their pupils. With clear explanations, relatable examples and meaningful guidance, this book supports teachers in building positive relationships, enhancing learning and confidently embracing autism within their classrooms.

The Neurodiverse Classroom: A Teacher's Guide to Individual Learning Needs and How to Meet Them by Victoria Honeybourne

To mark Neurodiversity Celebration Week, a time dedicated to recognising neurological differences, The Neurodiverse Classroom offers an opportunity to reflect on how education can more effectively meet the needs of every learner. Written by Victoria Honeybourne, an experienced advisory teacher and trainer, the book is informed by many years of professional practice in the field of special educational needs. The author’s expertise is also enriched by her personal experience as a neurodivergent woman, giving the book an authentic and empathetic voice.

A strong and consistent theme throughout the book is its emphasis on emotional wellbeing, with particular attention given to the experiences of girls and young people whose needs are frequently overlooked. By highlighting diverse ways of thinking and challenging widely held assumptions, the book advocates for a more reflective and inclusive approach to teaching and learning.

Rather than centring on limitations or fixed categories, Honeybourne places the individual firmly at the heart of education. She explores how classroom environments can be adapted to foster confidence, belonging and self-belief, offering practical strategies that are realistic for teachers to implement. Complex terminology is clarified through clear explanation, and prevalent myths are systematically unpacked, supporting readers to move beyond stereotypical understandings.

Drawing together research, lived examples and reflective commentary, this book delivers guidance that can be applied directly in everyday practice. It reinforces the message that neurological difference is a natural and valuable part of modern education, making it a highly relevant and empowering resource for educators.

The Muddy Puddle Teacher: A playful way to create an outdoor Early Years curriculum by Sarah Seaman

Drawing on extensive experience in child-led, outdoor learning, Sarah Seaman brings a practical and deeply informed perspective to nature-based education. A former primary teacher, outdoor learning specialist, and accredited CPD trainer, Seaman works closely with schools to embed outdoor learning in meaningful ways. Shaped by her own experience of ADHD and dyslexia, her inclusive approach is designed to reach learners with diverse needs, particularly those who learn best through movement, exploration, and hands-on experiences.

The Muddy Puddle Teacher is packed with imaginative outdoor activities that link naturally to curriculum areas such as Maths, Literacy, Science, and PSHE. Using readily available natural and recycled materials, the ideas are flexible enough to work in any outdoor setting and are both sustainable and affordable. Each activity encourages curiosity, creativity, and active learning, helping children step away from digital screens and reconnect with the natural world.

The Muddy Puddle Teacher approach has already made a significant impact in hundreds of schools across the UK and beyond, supporting children who thrive outside conventional classroom methods, and this book captures its core principles clearly and effectively. Built around the Three Muddy M’s - mother nature, mental health, and getting children moving, it offers inspiration alongside practical guidance. Encouraging children to explore, discover, and play together outdoors, this book is a great resource for educators seeking engaging and purposeful learning experiences beyond the classroom.

Teaching Rebooted: Using the science of learning to transform classroom practice by Jon Tait

Jon Tait is a long-serving educator and current deputy headteacher with over fifteen years of experience working across a range of secondary schools in the UK. Having led on teaching quality, staff development, and whole-school improvement, he brings a practical and well-informed perspective to the everyday challenges faced by teachers.

In Teaching Rebooted, he combines insights from educational research and cognitive science into a clear, accessible guide for teachers who want to improve classroom practice through a better understanding of how students learn. The book is structured around bite-sized summaries, classroom ideas, and reflective prompts that encourage teachers to think carefully about what they do and, importantly, why they do it. Tait explores key principles such as retrieval practice, dual coding, interleaving, and metacognition, pairing each with straightforward strategies that can be applied directly in lessons.

Central ideas around memory, practice, and student thinking are explained in a way that feels manageable rather than academic. Rather than overwhelming the reader with research, Tait focuses on how small changes to planning, questioning, and lesson design can lead to meaningful improvements in learning.

Reflection is a consistent thread throughout the book, prompting readers to revisit familiar routines and evaluate whether they genuinely support long-term understanding. This reflective focus makes Teaching Rebooted particularly valuable for professional development, encouraging discussion and self-evaluation. Clear, concise, and rooted in classroom reality, this book is well suited to teachers at any stage of their career who are looking to refine and strengthen their practice.

100 Ideas for Secondary Teachers: Revision by John Mitchell

With over twenty years of experience working in secondary schools, John Mitchell delivers a refreshing and practical guide aimed at making revision meaningful. His creative strategies have earned him high praise within his school community, and in 2014 he was named by The Guardian as one of the top five history teachers in the UK.

This book offers a blend of inventive ideas, from brand-new activities to smart reinventions of classic techniques. Whether you’re an early-career teacher developing strong revision habits or an experienced educator looking to revitalise your practice, you’ll find a wealth of adaptable strategies.

Mitchell combines educational theory with strategies that have been tested in real classrooms, helping teachers build a culture where revision is woven into everyday learning rather than crammed into the weeks before exams. With adaptations of popular games like Connect Four and Run-around, this book reintroduces fun, interaction, and creativity into the revision process, building student confidence and improving outcomes. It aims to help maintain student focus while preventing revision from becoming mindless or overwhelming.

This is a great resource for any teacher looking to strengthen their revision techniques, boost student engagement, and bring fresh energy into their classroom. It’s practical and easy to implement approach makes it useful for teachers to apply in any classroom.

Cefnogi Pob Plentyn, edited by Nanna Ryder

To celebrate the Welsh language Commissioner’s ‘Defnyddia dy Gymraeg’ campaign, we are pleased to recommend the Welsh language book ‘Cefnogi Pob Plentyn’. Edited by Nanna Ryder, this publication brings together the expertise, research and lived experiences of a number academics specialising in primary education, social inclusion and early childhood studies. The book provides a comprehensive overview of policies, philosophy and practice in a distinctly Welsh context, exploring specific subjects including learner development, children’s rights, additional learning needs and the importance of play and creativity.

Many of these themes align closely with the standards expected of EWC registrants as outlined in the Code of Professional Conduct and Practice, particularly in relation to safeguarding, professional values and principles, learner wellbeing and professional collaboration.

Each chapter concludes with thought provoking discussion topics, case studies and links to further reading and resources, offering readers the opportunity to reflect on key issues and explore them in greater depth.

‘Cefnogi Pob Plentyn’ has been praised for its insightful content and for supporting the development of appropriate Welsh-language terminology for educational practitioners working through the medium of Welsh. As a proudly bilingual organisation, the EWC is committed to promoting the Welsh language and actively seeks opportunities to do so throughout our work. Read more about our commitment.

Getting the Buggers to Behave by Sue Cowley

Getting the Buggers to Behave by Sue Cowley, internationally bestselling author and renowned teacher trainer, is a practical guide to mastering classroom behaviour management. Drawing on her extensive experience across early years, primary, and secondary education, Cowley provides down to earth, experience-based advice that speaks directly to the realities of teaching.

This updated edition is packed with tried and tested strategies to help teachers create calm, focused, and positive learning environments. Whether you’re preparing for your very first class or navigating the challenges of difficult behaviour, Cowley offers straightforward, actionable techniques that can be implemented immediately without unnecessary complex planning.

Through real-life examples and case studies, she explores how to set clear expectations, shape your personal teaching style, and thrive in even the most demanding school settings. Cowley also takes a close look at the use of incentives, the benefits of restorative justice approaches, and the best ways to handle the ten most common forms of misbehaviour found in classrooms today.

She combines humour, empathy, and professional insight to help teachers feel more equipped and in control. This book is an essential read for teachers, early career educators, and anyone seeking to build their confidence and effectiveness in behaviour management. It is a great resource for ongoing teacher training and professional development.

Fun Games and Activities for Children with Dyslexia: How to Learn Smarter with a Dyslexic Brain by Alais Winton

As we mark Dyslexia Awareness Month this October, this month’s Meddwl Mawr recommendation highlights a valuable resource for educators: Fun Games and Activities for Children with Dyslexia: How to Learn Smarter with a Dyslexic Brain by Alais Winton.

Drawing on her own experiences as both a dyslexic learner and educator from Wales, Winton presents a collection of creative, hands-on activities designed to support children who learn differently. Rather than focusing on challenges, the book offers practical ideas for helping children engage with learning in ways that suit how their brains work best.

In recent years, Wales has made progress in improving support for learners with dyslexia and broader Additional Learning Needs (ALN). This is reflected through the Additional Learning Needs Code for Wales 2021, which offers guidance on early identification and provides a clear framework for creating personalised Individual Development Plans (IDPs) tailored to each learner’s needs.

Winton addresses this through exploring a variety of learning styles such as visual, musical, physical, and social, providing activities that feel natural, engaging, and easy to implement in both mainstream and neurodiverse classrooms. These approaches not only help children absorb information more effectively but also foster confidence without adding pressure.

The activities range from spelling games, to memory-enhancing tasks involving rhythm, repetition, and movement. Each one is designed to make learning more accessible, enjoyable, and personalised. The book’s clear structure and adaptable format makes it helpful for teachers to modify activities to suit different age ranges, abilities, and classroom dynamics.

A Manifesto for Excellence in Schools by Rob Carpenter

Rob Carpenter’s A Manifesto for Excellence in Schools is a passionate and inspiring guide for educators and leaders. Drawing on his extensive experience as an Executive Headteacher, educational speaker and CEO of the Inspire Partnership, Carpenter shares his journey in transforming underperforming schools into thriving learning communities. He offers a practical, values-driven roadmap for creating inclusive, high-performing environments where every learner is nurtured and encouraged to succeed.

Combining principle and practice, the manifesto highlights real-life examples, and thoughtful reflection, and outlines how teachers and leaders can create meaningful learning journeys that connect with learners' lives. Firmly believing that the quality of teaching and leadership is the key factor in raising standards, the author shares a wealth of actionable strategies to help educators and leaders design learning experiences that promote collaboration, and cultivate critical thinking to foster long term meaningful engagement. Rather than focusing solely on attainment, Carpenter advocates for a more holistic approach in education, putting collaboration and creativity at the heart of school improvement.

A Manifesto for Excellence in Schools is a compelling read, which ignites thought provoking discussions with its insight and evidence-informed practice theories. Suggesting new ways to ensure that all learners succeed, the manifesto advocates that learning journeys are connected to moral purpose and positive learning habits which are integral to learners and young people in understanding the world around them.

Educating Outside: Curriculum-linked outdoor learning ideas for primary teachers by Helen Porter

This book is aimed at helping teachers to embrace the concept of outdoor learning, arguing that this type of learning is more relevant and memorable, potentially leading to deeper learning experiences. Though outdoor learning is widely recognised for its benefits, its consumption often declines as learners and young people progress through their education. One reason for this is that educational practitioners frequently experience expansion within their roles with growing workloads and mounting accountability pressures. The requirement to implement a growing range of new initiatives, while simultaneously embedding the Curriculum for Wales often allows little time for strategic thinking and planning. Educating Outside seeks to offer a practical solution to this by outlining a variety of outdoor learning ideas, the strategies behind them and their desired outcomes to enhance and enrich the typical classroom experience across the whole of the curriculum.

The book offers clear, structured lesson plans tied to specific curriculum goals, allowing easy implementation. Each includes a list of required resources, including the logistics that need consideration, the desired learning outcomes, including the development of softer skills, as well as photos to guide the process. All activities are designed to be carried out within the school grounds, eliminating the need for extensive risk assessments, unnecessary time consumption, and additional costs. Integrating the natural environment into various areas of learning and adopting a learner-led approach, the author argues that this further encourages curiosity, autonomy and engagement. The aim of this style of learning is to support learners deepen their understanding of core subjects beyond the confines of the classroom through holistic practices fostering self-awareness, sustainability and an understanding of the environment in which they live.

For teachers looking to infuse their classroom techniques with more outdoor learning opportunities, this book is a great resource that not only provides innovative lesson ideas but also supports the Curriculum for Wales’s vision of outdoor learning as a key pedagogical approach.