Book Nook - Outstanding

Teaching is arguably one of the most demanding professions of our time. Staff are consistently overworked, undervalued and under constant scrutiny. The pressure is relentless, expectations sky-high, and the day-to-day realities of the job, while often chaotic, are sometimes downright absurd.

Steve Baker’s debut fiction title, Outstanding, captures the realities of the everyday stresses and pressures of teaching with a careful balance of laugh-out-loud comedy and sharp social commentary. Set against the backdrop of a struggling school in the UK, Outstanding tells the story of a downtrodden headteacher facing school inspection. A reality TV company have been invited in to film a documentary about the cash-strapped school and just happen to arrive at the same time as the inspectors – producing hilarious results. With an outlandish and vividly drawn cast of characters, the book offers much-needed comic relief for teachers while also shining a light on the wider issues that plague the education system.

As a semi-retired teacher and behaviour specialist in the UK, Steve has first-hand knowledge of the pressures and chaos that teachers face in their daily work life. He writes: “I taught Drama and English for 17 years, and for ten of those years, I was a Head of Year. All my grey hairs and wrinkles can be traced back to that period. Naturally, I have a few things to say about the way things are."

Educators and former students alike will feel right at home in Steve’s world of larger-than-life personalities and brilliantly crafted satire. Amidst the chaos and hilarity, Outstanding offers touchingly poignant and thought-provoking moments, as Steve leads the unhappy protagonists towards a magnificent and heartwarming climax. His flair for writing is well-known to readers of his award-winning non-fiction title, That Behaviour Book.

Fundamentally, Outstanding is an outrageous comedy with fascinating characters in absurd situations. But behind the story lies a truth that every teacher will recognise; sometimes, the only way to survive the chaos is to laugh at it.

Steve Baker lives in Anglesey, North Wales with his wife Sian. After a long career in education, from which he is semi-retired, he wrote his highly acclaimed non-fiction title, That Behaviour Book, which won book of the year in the Teach Secondary awards in 2023.