The Book · Coming 2026

Not My Finest Lesson

This book is for the teacher in their first five years who’s lying awake wondering if they got it right.

(Spoiler: they did. But it helps to hear it from someone who got it very wrong first.)

Fifty-two chapters. Fifty-two honest reflections on the mistakes, miscalculations, and moments where I thought I knew what I was doing and absolutely didn’t! The classroom management disasters. The lesson plans that bombed spectacularly. The times I said the right thing for completely the wrong reasons. And what I learned from all of it.

(01) — Who this book is for

Three readers. One honest book.

Not a guide to perfect teaching! It’s a guide to surviving the gap between who you thought you’d be and who you actually are in that room.

For NQTs & Early-Career Teachers

The conversation no one else is having with you.

Not a guide to perfect teaching: a guide to surviving the gap between who you thought you'd be and who you actually are in that room.

For Experienced Teachers

Recognition. Mostly, that's what this book is.

Recognition of a career built from the moments that didn't go to plan, and the slow realisation that those moments were the most important ones.

For School Leaders & CPD Leads

A thoughtful gift. A conversation starter.

A book that makes the people in your school feel less alone in their craft and more willing to talk honestly about what they're actually experiencing.

Enquire about the Early Career Teachers keynote →

(02) — The connective tissue

Every mistake in this book leads back to one of the 7Cs.

This is a genuine thread throughout the book because the 7Cs to Thrive (Curiosity, Creativity, Collaboration, Compromise, Communication, Courage, and Community) aren’t just a framework for young people. They’re the conditions under which adults do their best work too.

The book is the evidence. The 7Cs are the connective tissue that runs through all of it.

Curiosity

Ask better questions

Creativity