Drawing on research evidence, this book addresses the question of how primary and secondary urban schools can be improved in a more inclusive way. The authors argue that urban schools and their communities have within them expertise that tends to be overlooked, and latent creativity that should be mobilised to move thinking and progress forward. They show that new approaches to leadership, various forms of collaborative school-to-school partnerships, and major changes in national policy development are needed to make use of this untapped energy. This book contains the following 12 chapters: (1) The Challenge of Urban School Improvement (Mel West and Mel Ainscow); (2) The Experience of Failure in Urban Schools (Maria Nicolaidou and Mel Ainscow); (3) The Development of Leadership Capacity in a School facing Challenging Circumstances (Andrew Morley); (4) Leading Developments in Practice: Barriers and Possibilities (Mel Ainscow and Andy Howes); (5) Achieving Sustainable Improvements in Urban Schools (Mel West, Mel Ainscow, and Jacqui Stanford); (6) Confounding Stereotypes: Risk, Resilience and Achievement in Urban Schools (Helen Gunter); (7) Moving Practice Forward at the District Level (Mel Ainscow, Andy Howes, and Dave Tweddle); (8) Supporting Schools in Difficult Circumstance: The Role of School-to-School Cooperation (Mel Ainscow, Mel West, and Maria Nicolaidou); (9) Moving Leadership Practice in Schools Forward (Samantha Fox and Mel Ainscow); (10) Collaboration with a City-Wide Purpose: Making Paths for Sustainable Educational Improvement (Andy Howes and Mel Ainscow); (11) Beyond the School Gates: Context, Disadvantage and "Urban Schools" (Alan Dyson); and (12) Drawing out the Lessons: Leadership and Collaboration (Mel Ainscow and Mel West).