The ‘Leadership Lounge’ is an initiative from the ILA to provide opportunities to discuss current and interesting leadership, management and/or education materials/texts in an informal environment. It is an early evening social event in The Hague designed to provide an opportunity to meet and share experiences and your thoughts with international school colleagues in a friendly and fun evening.

Who is this programme for?

This book club is for aspiring, new and current leaders in education.  This includes teaching and learning staff as well as those in support roles.  Please read the information below to find out more about the text to consider how this may relate to your role.

What’s Involved?

Participants are required to read the text, and in this case listen to the lecture, in advance of the session at the ILA.  Each session is facilitated by a school leader/s.

What is the Text?

#LeadershipLounge ‘The Learning Rainforest: Great Teaching in Real Classrooms' by Tom Sherrington, facilitated by Jared Cawley and Karren van Zoest 

Text Overview

The Learning Rainforest captures different elements of our understanding and experience of the art and science of teaching. It is a celebration of great teaching and the intellectual and personal rewards that it brings. It’s aimed at all teachers; busy people working in complex environments with little time to spare. The core of the book is a guide to making teaching both effective and manageable using a three-part structure: establishing conditions; building knowledge; exploring possibilities. It provides an accessible summary of key contemporary evidence-based ideas about teaching, curriculum and assessment and the debates that all teachers should be engaging in. It’s packed with strategies for making great teaching attainable in the context of real schools. The author’s ideas about what constitutes great teaching are drawn from his experiences as a teacher and a school leader over 30 years, alongside everything he has read and the debates he’s engaged with during that time.

About the Author

My name is Tom Sherrington.  I am an experienced former Headteacher and teacher and, having worked in schools for 30 years starting my training in 1986, I am now exploring the world of education consultancy to see where it takes me.

Through my consultancy – teacherhead consulting – I  am interested in working with teachers and school leaders to explore and implement contemporary educational ideas that help us deliver an excellent all-round education for all young people. Hopefully the range of posts in my blogs will give an idea of the scope of what that covers. I regularly contribute to conferences and CPD sessions locally and nationally and I’m busy working in schools and colleges across the country and around the world.

In May 2014, I published my first book, Teach Now! Science. The Joy of Teaching Science.  It may not be the most comprehensive book you’ll ever read but hopefully it serves as a handy rough guide for new teachers and trainees.

In October 2017, I published The Learning Rainforest: Great teaching in real classroom with John Catt Ltd

Session Facilitator/s

Jared Cawley, Teacher and Assesment Lead and Karren van Zoest, Head Teacher, Junior School Leidschenveen