Northampton educators at London book launch

Co-authored by Sean Harris, Director of People, Learning and Community Engagement at Tees Valley Education, and Katrina Morley OBE, CEO of Tees Valley Education Trust, the book offers practical, road-tested strategies for understanding and tackling poverty in school settings.

Northampton Primary Academy Trust (NPAT), home of 13 primary schools in Northamptonshire and 1 in Milton Keynes, are delighted to have played a key role in authoring this resource. We have written a chapter on ‘Professional development for poverty’ and it features the work that NPAT do to help understand and tackle inequalities in education and communities.

The book addresses key issues related to both understanding and tackling poverty and inequalities, including:

• Poverty-proofing the classroom and curriculum.
• Developing whole-school cultures to understanding and tackling inequality.
• Breaking cycles of disadvantage for future generations.

The insights shared in Tackling Poverty and Disadvantage in Schools come from a blend of hands-on experience from leaders working in areas of high need and expert research designed to help schools diagnose and address inequalities more effectively.

Sean Harris, whose research focuses on enhancing schools’ understanding of poverty, explains: “We wrote this book to empower educators with the tools to better navigate the complexities of poverty and disadvantage in their schools. It’s about creating systemic change through collaboration, understanding, and practical action.”

Julia Kedwards and Anna Carter (pictured at the official launch of the book in London) also add, “We explore some of the ways in which effective professional development can be designed to support the development of teachers and other adults working in classrooms. We share how professional development across schools can help to develop pedagogical expertise and support staff to better understand and tackle poverty-related barriers to learning”. This comprehensive resource is essential reading for educators, leaders, and policymakers dedicated to fostering equity and opportunity in education.

Tackling Poverty and Disadvantage in Schools is published by Bloomsbury and available on Amazon and at other retailers.