At the chalk-face

At the chalk face: Craig'n'Dave Festival of Computing Sponsor Highlight - VEX Robotics  🚀 Robots, rivalry (the friendly kind!) and reinvigorating computing education 🤖 In this episode of At the Chalkface, we’re joined by Chris from VEX Robotics, one of the main sponsors of the Craig'n'Dave Festival of Computing – and trust us, this is a good one. If you’ve ever thought “robot...

Is Handwriting Still Important in Computing Lessons? 🖊️💻 In a world full of keyboards, screens, and now AI, do students still need to pick up a pen?  In this episode of At the Chalk Face, Craig and Dave dive into the surprisingly important role of handwriting in learning – even in computer science! From GCSE to A-Level, they discuss: Why handwriting helps reinforce learning through the “eyes–brai...

At the chalk face: Copy and paste Ofsted reports?  Is Ofsted copying and pasting inspection reports? In this episode of At the Chalkface, Craig and Dave dive headfirst into one of teachers’ favourite (and most stressful) topics: Ofsted. We discuss the eyebrow-raising claim that large chunks of Ofsted reports are reused word-for-word across multiple schools. Shocking? Outrageous? Or… actually under...

At the chalk face: Schools should be phone-free? Well, it’s official – mobile phones in schools are under the microscope!  In this episode, Craig and Dave dive deep into the latest government guidance, Ofsted expectations, and the storm of public opinion around students, teachers, and mobile phones. From confiscation rules to lockable Faraday pouches, we explore: Why teachers might soon have less...

Are you fed up with coding platforms that appear… then disappear just as you’ve got your scheme of work sorted?   This week At the Chalk Face, we’re joined by two brilliant guests who might just restore your faith in programming platforms. We sit down with Matthias De Witte (Co-founder & CEO) and Peter Dawyndt (Co-founder & CTO) from Dodona Learning Technologies to talk about a seriously i...

At the chalk face: Too much pushback on exclusions Do schools get too much pushback on exclusions – or not enough support to deal with persistent disruptive behaviour? In this episode, we tackle one of the most complex and emotionally charged issues in education: school exclusions.  From short-term removals to permanent exclusions, we explore why exclusions happen, how behaviour in schools has (an...

At the chalk face: Fail an Ofsted inspection for safeguarding | Should mobiles be banned in schools? In this episode of At the chalk face, Dave is joined once again by the brilliant Kat Morgan for a lively, honest and (at times) nerdy deep dive into the mobile phone debate in schools.  From Ofsted inspections and safeguarding to behaviour management, social media, and the realities of modern class...

At the chalk face: Curriculum and Assessment Review - PART 3 | CAR2025  This week, together we’re going into part three of our deep dive into the recent Curriculum and Assessment Review. If you’ve missed parts one and two — where were you?!  We've already broken down the huge 250-page report and the government’s hefty response into something humans can actually understand. 🎓 Today, we'r...

At the chalk face: Curriculum and Assessment Review - PART 2 | CAR2025 Welcome back to Craig & Dave at the Chalkface as we dive into part two of our CAR trilogy. The biggest shake-up in education for a decade is here! 🚨 The Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) has landed – and it’s a whopper!  180+ pages of proposed changes that could redefine how we teach, assess, and support learners acro...

At the chalk face: Curriculum and Assessment Review - PART 1 | CAR2025 The biggest shake-up in education for a decade is here! 🚨 The Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) has landed – and it’s a whopper!  180+ pages of proposed changes that could redefine how we teach, assess, and support learners across the UK from ages 5 to 18. But don’t worry, Craig and Dave have done the hard work so you don...

At the chalk face: High expectations from the first minute  A great lesson doesn’t start when the bell rings — it starts long before!  In this episode of At the Chalkface, Craig and Dave dive into what it really means to have high expectations from the very first minute of your lesson. From meet-and-greet routines at the door to establishing calm, purposeful starts, they share practical strategies...

🎯 High expectations. But what does that really mean? Craig and Dave are diving into one of education’s favourite buzzwords — and giving it a proper reality check! For them, it’s not about piling on pressure; it’s about purpose. In this episode, we unpack how homework can be used as a tool to prepare students for lessons, boost memory retention, and actually make learning easier — not harder. It’s...

Craig and Dave reminisce about the days of CD-ROMs, dot-matrix printers, and mischievous bus networks — and connect those stories to a timeless truth: technology will fail you sooner or later. So how do you keep a Computer Science lesson productive when the Wi-Fi dies? This episode explores practical unplugged activities, quick-print resources, and strategies to stay calm and keep learning moving...

At the chalk face: Non-specialist teachers curse or cure? Non-specialist teachers: The classroom reality no one talks about Did you know a third of Year 7 lessons are taught by teachers who aren’t specialists in that subject? 🤯 Craig and Dave are back on the chalk face to tackle a topic every teacher has an opinion on — non-specialist teaching. From teaching biology with no science background to...

At the chalk face: Why networking matters | Teachers need each other  Are you too busy to network… or just making excuses? Craig and Dave get fired up in this episode as they unpack one of teaching’s biggest missed opportunities — genuine networking between teachers.  From the dangers of staying in your “school bubble” to how their own collaboration began on car journeys to CPD events, this chat d...

Do school libraries still matter in 2025? | Rethinking learning spaces Are traditional school libraries becoming outdated in the age of AI, smartphones, and instant online knowledge? Or do they still play a vital role in inspiring students? In this episode of At the Chalk Face, we dive into: Our own school-day memories of libraries (including date-stamping and dusty books no one borrowed). The “de...

Is reading still essential once students can access the curriculum — or is it just another demand in an already packed timetable? In this episode of At the Chalk Face , Craig and Dave dig into the role of reading across subjects, from vocabulary growth and comprehension to cultural capital and academic performance. We ask: Should reading for pleasure only belong in English lessons? How can short,...

Newly appointed union leader Matt Wrack has caused a stir — not just for stepping into teaching without ever having taught, but for calling out the real pressures in UK schools. In this episode of At the Chalk Face, Craig and Dave unpack Wrack's take on teacher workload, the creeping privatisation of education through multi-academy trusts, and his comments on Ofsted inspectors. From the “no o...

Join Dave and Lesson Hacker, experienced educator and edtech expert Kat Morgan, as they explore how remote subject specialists could help tackle the UK’s teaching recruitment crisis, the benefits for students, and the challenges schools face. They discuss how virtual teaching can bring highly qualified experts into classrooms where staff shortages make it impossible to offer certain subjects, from...

At the chalk face news: Stop teaching this myth. A new year and another new initiative! Are all CPD sessions worth your time? In this episode of At the Chalk Face, Dave and Kat tackle one of education's most persistent myths: learning styles. Despite being debunked over a decade ago, many schools still cling to them — why? We also explore flipped classrooms, the tension between evidence-based...

🎓 GCSE results 2025 – what do they really mean? 🎓 The headlines always show the smiling (and sometimes not-so-smiling) students clutching envelopes, but the story behind the statistics is far more complex. In this podcast, Craig'n'Dave dive deep into this year’s GCSE results: 📊 Which subjects are flying high (hello sciences!) and which are struggling. ✍️ Why English and maths remain a...

In this inaugural episode, Craig and Dave introduce themselves — not just as the faces behind the videos and resources, but as two experienced educators with a deep love for teaching and learning. They reflect on their journey from classroom teachers to national influencers in computer science education, explain the real reason for launching _At the Chalk Face_, and share what listeners can expect...