Would You Send Your Child Here?: Whatâ s really going on inside our schools.

From the highly acclaimed column The Secret Supply Teacher as featured in the Times Educational Supplement

'If the thought of teachers swearing offends you, this book is not for you!' Schools Week

'Succinct, pithy, and informative' - Times Educational Supplement

'A must for all parents and educators' - Zoe Neil Redhead, founder of Summerhill School


No one pays any attention to the supply teacher – and we’re not just talking about the kids!
Unlike the parents who visit on open days, or the Ofsted inspectors who only ever see a carefully stage-managed version of a school, the supply teacher gets an all-access pass to see schools as they really are – and the Secret Supply Teacher has seen a lot of them!

Based on the highly acclaimed Times Educational Supplement columns, this is a funny, thought-provoking look at the education system in 21st century Britain. Would You Send Your Child Here? reveals all the things they definitely won't tell you about in the Ofsted report or the school prospectus.

Would you send your child to a school where the Year 7s have unsupervised access to the tenon saws, the headteacher hides during the school day, or the students are made to sit for an hour in silence for the crime of “not standing properly"? Come with the Secret Supply Teacher for a behind the scenes tour of the nation’s classrooms, staffrooms and school canteens to see what’s really going on.

This is a book for teachers who want to know they’re not alone, parents whose children have to cope with dysfunctional schools, and anyone hoping to make the system work a little better. Would You Send Your Child Here? is a light-hearted look at a serious issue.

'The book is divided into two sections. Part 1, the bulk of the text, contains the author’s introduction which narrates his reasons for becoming a roving supply teacher, his published columns for the educational press, and others that have not been previously published. The latter will be a draw to those who are familiar with his material and on the look-out for more.

The second part of the book, a ‘reimagining’ of the English education system, is based on the SST’s longevity, scope of experience, and their optimistic imagination. Here, they focus their attention on our system’s constituent parts: leadership, policies, systems and school rules, buildings, teachers, and students.

A word of warning to the easily offended: SST’s columns are prone to the use of expletives. If the thought of teachers swearing offends you, this book is not for you. Step away! For my part, I particularly enjoyed their writing style, which is succinct, pithy, and informative. What’s more, there is plenty of verifiable data to support what they observe and experience throughout these witty and well narrated experiences of day-to-day supply.'
Schools Week

“This insider’s tale of our schools is a must-read for all parents and educators. It shows how some schools are getting things right, how many lessons we still have to learn, and reminds us that it’s the children who should always be at the heart of education.”
Zöe Neill Redhead, daughter of A.S. Neill and principal of Summerhill School