BOOKS BY DR SIMON BREAKSPEAR
Ideas that transform how school leaders work
TEACHER COLLABORATION
Elevated Conversations
REDUCING OVERWHELM
The Pruning Principle
TEACHER DEVELOPMENT
Teaching Sprints
MEASURING IMPACT
Lean Monitoring
Reach out to us directly and get the best rate available for a bulk order.
New Release 2026Measuring Impact
Lean Monitoring
Knowing where you are and what to do next
The antidote to hoping your improvement work is on track. Learn to close the gap between launching a strategy and seeing results, the stretch Dr Simon Breakspear calls the messy middle, by building simple, sustainable habits for tracking progress, so you can act on what’s happening mid-course rather than waiting for end-of-year data that arrives too late.
- Three ready-to-use tools: the Impact Canvas, Data Capture Card and Insight Protocol
- Know if what you’re doing is actually working, mid-course
- Stay oriented during the journey instead of hoping you’re on track
- The first book in the Agile School Improvement Series
Release Date 2025Teacher Collaboration
Elevated Conversations
Practical tools to make teacher collaboration count
Transform your school’s collaborative meeting time from draining, unfocused sessions into purposeful, energising discussions. Drawing from years of work with thousands of educators, Simon presents seven field-tested conversational tools that any team leader can implement immediately — with minimal preparation.
- Seven ready-to-use facilitation tools and templates
- Move teams from ‘weary talk’ to truly elevated dialogue
- Strengthen team connections and drive real improvement
- Designed for busy school leaders with limited preparation time
“A book that blends practical simplicity with deep insight. Breakspear brilliantly demystifies collaboration, and provides simple, powerful tools that spark meaningful dialogue and will shift meetings from the mundane to the transformational.”
John Hattie — Melbourne Laureate Professor Emeritus
Also available from
Release Date 2024Reducing Overwhelm
The Pruning Principle
Mastering the art of strategic subtraction within education
The antidote to the add-on mentality that overloads teachers and school leaders. Learn to carefully prune away non-essential tasks and initiatives so your school can achieve better outcomes with less strain — protecting wellbeing while sharpening focus on what actually matters.
- A proven framework for strategic subtraction in schools
- Delay, dump, and delegate with confidence and clarity
- Create sustainable work rhythms for yourself and your team
- Practical decision-making tools you can use from day one
“Subtraction becomes a catalyst for deeper focus, clarity, and actionable impact. Read this short powerhouse of a book and lean into effective change.”
Michael Fullan — QC, Professor Emeritus, OISE/University of Toronto
Also available from
Release Date 2020Teacher Development
Teaching Sprints
How overloaded educators can keep getting better
Grounded in research and field-tested across more than 10 countries, Teaching Sprints offers a professional improvement process that works in theory and in practice. A simple model for short bursts of evidence-informed improvement that teachers can sustain even amid the everyday demands of the job.
- A simple three-phase improvement process for teaching teams
- Sustainable professional growth that fits the school calendar
- Practical protocols for instructional leaders and classroom teachers
- Backed by research, refined in schools around the world
“Once in a while you come across a book that really cuts through the complexity of issues and provides a refreshing and practical approach to improving what happens in schools… Evidence-based, easy to read and full of down-to-earth ideas that busy teachers can implement. I love it.”
Professor Steve Munby