Unfinished Business is an inspirational read that I would recommend to anyone working in school or post-school education. It celebrates the life of Tim Brighouse, a widely respected and influential leader in UK education. When he died unexpectedly in 2023, three of his closest colleagues combined forces to create a tribute highlighting his legacy and shining a light on what it is an education system needs to do in order to be truly inclusive for all children and young people. 

Tim was a man of great ideas, action and results. He started as a classroom teacher and began his leadership journey as a Deputy Head at the age of 24. He later served as Chief Education Officer for Oxfordshire and Birmingham, and was appointed Schools Commissioner for London in 2003. At the age of 82, in 2022, he and Mick Waters published the book About Our Schools: Improving on Previous Best, regarded by many as a seminal work examining fifty years of English education policy. 
Unfinished Business is packed full of thoughtful contributions from more than 60 individuals who knew Tim or were inspired by his work. The first part of the book serves as a tribute to him; the second part as a call to action on education policy, leadership and accountability, learning and teaching, and school improvement, as well as inclusion, diversity and equity. Although primarily based on the English schooling system (given that education policy is devolved to governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), the chapters from writers who are education experts in the devolved nations show that Tim’s approaches, beliefs and innovations were equally as relevant there.
The book includes insights from educators, former government ministers and others who regard Tim as a thought-leader in school education. They offer reflections on how we can address unfinished business arising from Tim's legacy. Reviewing such a rich collection of essays in less than a thousand words was a challenge, and I have focused on three areas that Tim believed were necessary in order for education to work for everyone.
1. Vision and values – In her contribution Julia Cleverdon talks about Tim’s call for a long-term vision for education, one with a “clearly articulated moral belief and purpose” which he believed professionals involved in schooling would respond to enthusiastically. 
Tim believed that schools should be engines of social mobility, fuelled by optimism and hope, focused on success for all and improving on previous best. Through the Keys to Success initiative in London’s schools, he showed that designing education for those at the margins leads to improvement across the board.
Writing about the values-based principles so important to Tim, Bridget Knight asks us to consider what education is for, what kind of people we want to grow. Bill Lucas challenges us to imagine a world where schools develop head, heart and hands in equal measure. Teaching young people to think and feel were regarded by Tim as important as teaching them to know. Authors in the book conclude that the skills essential to thrive in the world of AI are less about consuming knowledge and more about embracing human skills that will help young people navigate an ever-changing world. 
2. Leadership and belief in teachers – Maggie Farrar notes that Tim, a giant amongst education leaders, never participated in any formal leadership development programmes. He preferred to read widely, be deeply curious, and debate ideas with as many people as possible. Many of the authors highlighted Tim’s relentless focus on the ‘why’, holding firm to your values and regular reflection to build on previous best. Tim inspired all those around him to work together towards shared educational principles.
Leona Cruddas reminds us that Tim believed we should regard crises as the norm and complexity as fun – good advice in this volatile, uncertain and complex period of world history. His advice about how to do this well was through ensuring ongoing engagement with school educators and leaders, pupils and their families, and local partners about the school’s vision and values. He had a deep respect for teachers and everyone who worked in schools.
As for inspiring and keeping young people motivated, Tim reminded us of the basics -- that everyone in the classroom is a person looking for safety, connection, belonging and challenge. As noted by Rachel Sylvester, for Tim, the secret of great teaching was about being human. 
3. Improve on previous best – There are many references throughout the book to Tim’s ask of school teachers and leaders that they build on their previous best. Believing that the best ideas come from teachers, he ensured that they had opportunities to share their practice and learn from others. He demonstrated that a focus on care and empathy was not contradictory to improving performance and equipping school leaders and teachers to use data effectively. David Cameron described Tim as “the romantic who used the data, the statistician who could inspire with passion, the researcher who encouraged dreams.”
While there are few specific references to trauma and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in the book’s 60+ chapters, many of the contributors spoke of Tim’s unwavering commitment to education for all and to designing a system that can achieve this. As education leader in London, he framed the language on the lowest attaining schools positively, as ‘keys to success’, arguing that if we could crack under-achievement in these schools, we could crack it anywhere. 
Finding, supporting and sharing the good ideas and practices he came across, Tim demonstrated that a focus on breaking the link between deprivation and under-achievement was not only possible but that it led to improved educational outcomes for all. He clearly demonstrated this in London, and Mel Ainscow writes of it working at a national level, with Finland’s high educational outcomes linked to progress of lowest performing students. I personally saw this at a local level, in my role as Principal of West Lothian College, when improved outcomes for all our students came as a result of our having adopting a trauma-informed approach that led to above average success for students facing the most barriers.
Unfinished Business really is an inspirational read. Everyone working in education would benefit from reading it. We need to ensure that Tim's legacy continues to play a role in future debates about education.    

Essential reading for anyone interested in continuing Sir Tim’s legacy in education.

Unfinished Business is an inspiring testament to the collective wisdom, dedication, and resilience of those who have shaped education in the UK over recent decades. As a school improvement director who began my journey under Tim’s leadership in Birmingham, I found this book both a nostalgic reminder of what first inspired me and a powerful guide for the future. It is as much a collaborative manifesto as it is a personal reflection, weaving together insights from a wide range of educational champions to explore how we can continue to evolve schools as engines of equity, hope, and opportunity.

I feel very lucky to have been gifted Unfinished Business. It is an inspirational tribute to Tim Brighouse but perhaps more importantly, as part of his legacy, it is a clarion call to action. The range of contributors is impressive, from the great and the good, to the ‘ordinary’ who have just as much wisdom to share. There are contributions from friends and colleagues as well as those who never knew Tim but are inspired by his philosophy and genuine belief that education can do better.

I first heard of Tim Brighouse when I was a student teacher in the late 1970s. I confess his views meant nothing to me at that stage as I was idealistic, probably naive and blissfully unaware of what schools were really like, or how researchers and educationalists could support schools. I know now.

I have spent all my life since I was five years old in schools. As an HMI, I have inspected schools in every local authority in Scotland, and many more abroad. I share the book’s view that we can and must do better. There are many schools and teachers going the extra mile for children. There are schools where children blossom. There are inspirational headteachers who lead their schools with energy, vision, and compassion. The challenge however, is that not every school inspires and not every child has their needs fully met. The call to action is clear. Every learner matters and matters equally.

My thoughts having finished the book are that it confirms my own philosophy; that Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs comes before Bloom’s Taxonomy. Whilst not making direct reference to either framework, the book strongly reinforces the idea that connection must always come before curriculum. Unless we meet children’s most basic needs, learning will be unlikely to succeed.

The range of issues the book identifies is huge, from accountability, governance and the use of data to breaking divides and placing joy at the heart of learning. The leadership section challenges school leaders to think differently and place humanity at the heart of their work.

The inclusion section is particularly poignant with very thought-provoking comments from key figures like Chris Kilkenny, a campaigner and activist working to end child poverty. Whilst the book offers, at times in harrowing detail, the impact of adverse childhood experiences and exclusion, it is ultimately a very hopeful book.

There is a wonderful short section called ‘Twenty things that teachers do.’ If only it were true – that all teachers ‘did’, then our schools would be better places to be nurtured, to thrive and to learn.

At its heart, this book has made me do three things: reflect, rethink and commit to doing better.

There is much unfinished business in education. Too many children are out of school, disengaged, marginalised, failing to achieve, stuck in the learning pit, unhappy or disillusioned. The book offers no snake oil solutions or silver bullets. There are none. However, it offers real rays of hope for those who are willing to think differently, to put children right at the heart of learning in schools. It helps us understand some of the important questions without necessarily, and simplistically, offering solutions. That is appropriate since solutions need to be tailored to each school’s unique context. Where the book succeeds is in showing what alternative structures and approaches might look like.

Unfinished Business is a book about hope while recognising that hope alone won’t change anything. It needs to be combined with action.

By being more like Tim, we can make some progress on that journey. For those of us who keep trying, this book offers renewed energy and optimism. We can and must do better. We can do this.

The contributions to this book reads like a ‘who’s who’ from the world of 21st Century educational experts and as such demonstrates the remarkable reach, respect and ultimately regard with which Tim was held.

Unfinished Business does what it says on the cover. It is a celebration of Brighouse’s life and achievements and a call to action. But it’s more than that too. It’s a source of visionary ideas to adopt, adapt (and debate) – and that ensures it a legacy of its own.

This is a legacy of a lifetime’s work. And he never stopped. As a result, we are left with the tail-end of his last years, his unfinished business; this book should give us confidence that he has many, many champions and acolytes, ready to carry on.

Throughout the book, contributors draw inspiration from Tim’s work to offer advice and guidance on their various areas of expertise. It is full of ideas and insights that will inspire readers to continue the work to which Tim devoted his life.

This is an extraordinary story of quiet, practical change, led by one man who had ideas about how he could make the world more just for the children in his care. It is story that reminds all of us that we could do that too, if we wanted.

I have just finished reading "Unfinished Business: The Life and Legacy of Sir Tim Brighouse," and I have to say, it’s a fantastic tribute with much to provoke future education thinking akin to the many conversations I enjoyed having with Tim during the time I knew him. However, this book isn’t just a collection of memories; it’s a powerful call to action for anyone who cares about education.

What I loved most is how it captures Tim's vision for schooling. He had such a knack for cutting through the noise and getting to the heart of what really matters in education. His ideas about creating a fairer system for all children and young people—especially those who need a ‘louder’ voice—are more relevant than ever. The book dives deep into his thoughts on rethinking exams and focusing on what will help our current and future generation thrive, both academically and personally.

The contributions from various educators, politicians, and friends add so much richness to the narrative. It feels like a heartfelt conversation among people who genuinely want to make a difference.

"Unfinished Business" is not just a tribute; it’s an inspiring roadmap for transforming education. I believe it’s a must-read for teachers, school leaders, and anyone involved in shaping the future of our schools.This book will spark conversations and motivate action—just like Tim would have wanted!

Highly recommend it!

“Tim always had a new idea to share. A few days before he died, he rang me from his hospital bed. ‘Bloody boring in here,’ he said… ‘But, look, the reason I rang was to try out on you a devilishly fiendish plan I’ve thought up to finally deal with Ofsted!’”

“We need more Tim Brighouse’s and, above all, we need to learn the lessons of Tim’s success and inculcate it, in any way we can, into the future of excellent teaching and the routing out of failure.”