Written by two people who walk the walk every day, this book pulls together real expertise from across the system to help us truly understand poverty and its effects, but most importantly offer us a host of practical ways schools can make things better. This is a book every teacher and leader should read.

Jonny Uttley, CEO, The Education Alliance Multi-Academy Trust, Visiting Fellow at The Centre for Young Lives, Co-author of Putting Staff First: A Blueprint to Revitalise Our Schools

The authors' relentless determination to drive opportunities for all children shine through in this book, which is both inspiring and of huge practical value. This is an essential read.

Baroness Longfield, Executive Chair and Founder, Centre for Young Lives

It strikes a rare balancing act between being academic, accessible and actionable at the same time. The work the authors do, and the exemplars from schools and trusts, are really strong and shine through, so that this book proves useful to busy school leaders working hard to make a difference.

Alex Quigley, education consultant and author

Every page reaffirms my belief that we must close any gaps early, because those gaps widen quickly and affect children's life chances in profound ways.

@Hellins_headteacher

This extremely knowledgeable and very readable book provides a 'can' do approach with powerful examples of the ways in which schools can tackle the impact of poverty that can create disadvantage for so many children. Harris and Morley draw on their own extensive experience, and that of chapter authors, to provide insight into the challenges that face schools and strategies found to be successful.

This book is an essential read for all education professionals in schools, universities and the wider education community. It provides guidance for schools to aid reflection on issues within their own context and suggests a wealth of evidence-informed strategies for developing whole-school culture and professional learning. We have been trying to 'close the gap' for years, with mixed success. Harris and Morley's valuable contribution to fostering equity provides readers with an abundance of ideas for inspiring practice to increase opportunities for all our children.

Gill Richards, Nottingham Trent University, British Journal of Special Education, Volume 53, Issue 1 - March 2026

Essential reading […] An important and accessible resource that challenges educators to examine their assumptions, audit their practices and commit to meaningful change.

Dr Lisa Cherry, Book review, Psychology Teaching Review Vol. 32 No. 1, 2026