Changing Conversations

The World Education Summit is now in its fourth year. Launching globally across 4 live days with  12 dynamic stages ,  400+ speakers  and 1000s of educators. It is a stimulus for improvement, a catalyst for change where together we learn, challenge and inspire not just for the 4 days but with access for the year.  In this first episode of a short series celebrating #WorldEdSummit we hear from Anne...

Simon's conversations are among our most popular episodes and in this conversation, we chat about why the concept of sustainable improvement might have resonated so much with you. Simon shares some candid reflections following his visit to Scotland in September. He suggests 3 areas we might useful to consider - precision, alignment and sustainability. We then circle back to the sustainability...

In this episode we chat with Hollie Edwards, Director of Mental Health and Wellbeing at a Junior School in Kent. She is also the author of 'Reflective Supervision in Education: Using Supervision to Support Pupil and Staff Wellbeing'. Hollie shares her experience and insight about offering supervision in the schools she works in. She shares the challenges as well as what works and we reflec...

In this episode, we chat with Anne Paterson about rural education. Often considered the 'poor relation', Anne is passionate about helping us see the opportunities of rural education as well as recognising the skillset that leaders require and develop in these settings. *you can access the transcript here Connect with Anne on X

David is the Head Teacher of Dunoon Grammar School. Having recently won 2 prestigious awards in relation to community collaboration David shares their story. It didn't happen overnight, David shares some of the elements that have supported them to get to where they are, how they sustain that and what next. *read the transcript here Connect with David on X

In this episode, we chat with Charlotte Taylor from When The Adults Change. Charlotte clarifies the 3 underpinning principles of relational practice, trauma-informed and nurture-informed. Within this, we also explore some of the misunderstandings and assumptions. *read the transcript here

Sam's curiosity led him to delve into the research on teams and how to create thriving teams. With a little encouragement, he then brought all this together into a book, The Power of Teams. We explore what is a team, the humanity of teams and how we navigate conflict and make the best use of the time we have when come together. *view the transcript here You can connect with Sam on X. His book is T...

James Nottingham is Founder of Challenging Learning and creator of the Learning Pit. James has traveled the world sharing the Learning Pit and supporting educators to embrace challenge. You can find out more at https://www.challenginglearning.com/learning-pit/

In this episode, we chat with Kirsty from the School of Facilitation about the difference between training, facilitation and coaching. Kirsty shares some insights and reflections on the skillset, mindset and observable behaviours of good facilitation. We also unpick the difference between designing and delivering or facilitating. *view the transcript here You can download Kirsty's ebook here ....

In this episode, we chat with Gillian Hamilton, the Interim Chief Executive at Education Scotland. Following on from our conversation with Santiago and the Scottish Learning Festival we were keen to learn more about what where next.

In part 2 of our conversation with Santiago we move to consider how we stimulate change. We know we need change, we have the vision and the will but how do make it happen? This episode has been recorded in collaboration with Education Scotland and the Scottish Learning Festival Conversations. You can access the full programme of SLF conversations ⁠ here⁠. Connect with Santiago on ⁠X⁠ .

In the first of a special 2-part conversation with Santiago we explore his purpose and passion and how that guides his work today. Santiago is passionate about his message and the impact his work is having. One word consistently used to describe Santiago is 'inspiring'. We hope this conversation brings to life the key ideas in his work and why must take action. This episode has been recorded in co...

In this episode, we reconnect with Michael Fullan a couple of years on from our first live podcast where we explored the Right Drivers. We revisit the Drivers and how they are developing and impacting around the world. We also take the opportunity to explore Michael's perspective on Educational Reform here in Scotland. Michael mentions a blog he wrote recently, you can find it here.

In this conversation, we explore what mentoring is and how it can be a resource for young people to help them navigate their school years and beyond. Gill shares how her work has evolved from creative writing workshops and mentoring into more focused mentoring that supports young people to flourish and thrive. Gill's approach is underpinned by listening, trust and creativity and she shares some of...

Joined by Kara, Jeanette and Ashley we explore their new book, Learner Agency - A Field Guide to Taking Flight. Their book really is a resource to help you at whatever stage you are at, to develop learner agency. We reflect on some of the enabling conditions both for children and young people and adults. More about the book here . Connect with Kara on Twitter .

Zahra is the CEO of Winning Scotland. In this episode we reflect on mindset both in schools and in other areas of life and work. Zahra shares her experiences of mindset in life and work and we reflect on how we need to continue to develop our understanding and development of mindset. Zahra is keen to connect with you so please reach out on twitter or LinkedIn . You can learn more about the work of...

As Changing Conversations heads into its 4th year, Sarah and Billy take time to reflect on their experiences so far. We reflect on our favourite episodes to record, we share the most listened-to episode so far and reflect on what we've learned so far. We'd really love to hear from you so please let us know if there is anyone in particular you'd like us to chat with.

Gillian is a Chartered Educational Psychologist who teaches on the MSc in Educational Psychology at Dundee University. In this conversation, we explore how Gillian came to be an Educational Psychologist which interestingly connects with her PhD focus. We take a bit of a deep dive into the focus of her PhD and in particular cultural-historical activity theory. We also reflect on and unpick some of...

In this episode we chat with Bruce Robertson, the Head Teacher of Berwickshire High School and author of The Teaching Delusion trilogy and Power Up Your Pedagogy: The Illustrated Handbook of Teaching. We explore the key principle of the Teaching Delusion, what Bruce wishes he'd known as a new teacher and how we can nurture a culture of growth and improvement in our schools. Bruce’s blog is availab...

In this episode we chat with Gail Preston, Head Teacher and Head of Establishment for Rosehill High School in East Lothian. Rosehill High School is a brand new school so this is a rare and pretty unique opportunity and as I'm sure you can imagine, an exciting one! Gail kindly took time out to share and reflect on the highs, the lows and all the things in between. Although Gail has a unique opp...

In this episode we dive into 'hard conversations' with Jennifer Abrams. Jennifer's work focuses on adult to adult communication and she's written many books and articles on the topic. This is a conversation of insights and reflections as well as practical ideas to consider. Connect with Jennifer on twitter . Find out more about Jennifer's work here .

We were delighted to chat again with Paul Bloomberg and this time he was joined by his colleague and co-write Vivett Dukes. In this conversation we explore their new book, Amplifying Student Voice - through culturally responsive and sustaining assessment. This was an honest and heart felt conversation about their equity work and their process of bringing this book into being. They talk about liste...

Dr Lucy Kelly is an Associate Professor in Education at the University of Bristol. Her research interest is reflective practice as a positive tool for educator wellbeing. She is the Principal Investigator for the 'Reimagining the Diary' project and author of 'Reimagining the Diary' published just last month. Find our more about Lucy's research project here . Reimagining the Dia...

Oliver Burkeman is a journalist and author, whose latest book is Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management For Mortals. This is a book about embracing our limitations, our imperfections and shifting our relationship with time. We explore the key messages from 4000 weeks and the particular nuance of our experiences as educators.  OliverBurkeman.com 

Tracey joins us again to unpack the 'Buzz', there's lots of connection with Ferocious Warmth and our earlier conversation .  Tracey helps us to unpack the architecture of collaboration, both within and across schools.  Tracey Ezard  Amy Edmundson - Psychological Safety   Tim Clarke - The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety