A FORMER Hartford High School teacher has had his latest book published, offering advice to senior school leaders.

Based on his experiences in teaching and leading schools, David Hughes' Future Proof Your School focuses on leadership and change management in 21st century schools.

David taught at Hartford for a decade, going on to work on educational programmes with NASA astronauts and staff.

He said: "Hartford High School was a happy school. Those were fantastic times, with a committed and talented staff providing a well-rounded and quality education for all the pupils.

"There were terrific children at the school and I am still in contact with a few who have gone on to make successes of their lives and contributed fully to their communities."

Published by Critical Publishing, Future Proof Your School looks at education from primary to university level.

David said: "Although cultures can be very different, the basic task remains the same – to have a clear and shared vision of how to improve education and well-designed mechanisms to make sure every member of staff is working in a focused way to ensure every pupil gets the opportunity to develop their talents both within school and in their life beyond it."

David, who says he is 'disappointed' by government cuts to education – which show 'little vision' – has more recently spent time at the Kennedy and Johnson Space Centres with NASA staff.

He said: "I was able to quiz them about how they went about managing improvement and there were lots of parallels with what we try to achieve in schools in terms of clarity of procedures and teamwork."

The book is designed to be accessible for all teachers, featuring writing with cartoons, key issues, and ‘notes from my case files’.

The objective was to come up with a practical primer that all schools could use to plan projects and changes to the way they operate to give pupils a richer education.

David is already working on a follow-up, moving from leadership to curriculum content and delivery.

n criticalpublishing.com