Education Matters

Hannah Wilson and Lucy Neuburger return with humour, honesty, and big ideas. This episode imagines what education could look like if teachers ran the system – from the perfect Education Secretary to rebuilding trust, creativity, and sanity in schools. Teacher Rest & Recharging Hannah’s post-Ibiza glow sparks talk of real rest. The pair joke about “teacher retreats” where everything is organise...

This week’s Teaching Matters explores three pressing stories shaping education right now. Paul Hazzard hosts alongside Dr Shauna McGill, Lucy Neuberger and John Gibbs. 1. Imposter Syndrome in Teaching The panel begins with Mark Roberts’ TES article highlighting how 62% of teachers report experiencing imposter syndrome. Its effects, loss of confidence, reduced motivation and even attrition, exert s...

Paul Hazzard is joined by Dr Rachael Jefferson , Dr Shauna McGill and John Gibbs for a rich conversation about: – How teachers handle controversial classroom issues – The debate around teacher educators and the “science of learning” – What makes a great teacher, inspired by John Tomsett’s research And, as always, Banana Time. Handling Controversial Topics Prompted by Thomas Michael’s TES article (...

John and Paul discuss three pressing education stories: pupil unhappiness in secondary schools, the dominance of privately educated elites in UK leadership and the growing crisis of primary school budget deficits. Pupil Unhappiness in Secondary Schools Parentkind research shows unhappiness doubles at secondary level.• The Transition Shock: Paul and John recalled their own move from nurturing prima...

🌟 The Scene The focus for Hannah and Lucy this week is the mysteries of directed time calendars - something many teachers have never even seen. 🕒 What Is Directed Time? • Teachers in England can only be directed for 1,265 hours per year across 195 days. • This is a legal limit, not a target. • Directed time should cover: teaching, meetings, registration, duties, inset days, parents’ evenings and...

🌍 Knowing Pupils’ Real Needs Do schools really understand the lives of their pupils? Research shows many schools don’t know if pupils are in unsuitable housing, have a parent in prison or face other major challenges. 🔸 Lucy noted that much depends on what parents share, but weaker home-school links post-Covid make this harder. 🔸 John stressed teachers often discover hidden truths only when pupi...

“Sport is NOT a luxury.” The perceived impact of the cost of living crisis on sport and physical activity opportunities for children and adolescents in Northern Ireland (NI): A cross sectional survey Dr Maria O'Kane & Dr Angela Carlin, from Ulster University, talk to Education Matters about the cost of living's impact on children's ability to play sport and the consequences that ar...

In this reflective episode Hannah and Lucy mark World Suicide Prevention Day with a conversation many might avoid, yet one that’s urgently needed across schools, colleges and universities. This episode explores:The unspoken pressures that teachers and lecturers face around mental healthHow institutional policies can silence or flatten real conversations about distressThe difference between safegua...

This week’s episode features John Gibbs and Lucy Neuberger alongside host Paul Hazzard. The panel takes on three education stories:1. A retiring teacher’s heartfelt “love letter to teaching”.2. The growing school refusal crisis.3. A teacher who spent $2,000 decorating her classroom. ❤️ A Love Letter to TeachingThe first story centres on Caroline Derbyshire, who retired after 36 years and wrote a r...

Hannah and Lucy return with their trademark mix of humour, honesty and sharp reflection. This week’s episode tackles:• The ASICS campaign for girls’ school sportswear 👟• The good, bad and ugly of Inset days 🗂• Why icebreakers should be binned ❌• Staff camaraderie, wellbeing and what really matters in teaching 💙 👟 Rethinking Uniforms: Comfort and ConfidenceThe episode opens with praise for ASIC...

The Ant and Dec of Education Are Back! In this episode, Hannah and Lucy explore two hot-button topics:⏰ Later school start times for teenagers📆 Four-day teaching weeks ⏰ Later School Starts for TeenagersThe debate begins with whether schools should shift to a later start time.🌙 The case for later starts• Teenagers’ body clocks naturally shift, making early mornings tough.• Research suggests la...

Rustout is the hidden twin of burnout, hitting lecturers, academics and teachers, when work is busy but meaning and challenge are missing. In this episode, host Paul speaks with Dr Sabrina Fitzsimons (DCU) about her new research, along with Dr David Smith (RGU), into rustout, its impact on teacher educators and universities and what leaders can do to tackle it. The study of 154 participants showed...

Room 101 - What We’d Banish from Teaching From minor irritations to major frustrations, Hannah and Lucy, the Ant and Dec of the Education World, chat about the serious and the ridiculous. No topic is too niche or too well-trodden. Whether it's forced fun, motivational mug culture or the tyranny of laminated displays, nothing is off-limits. But these aren’t just throwaway complaints. Each “bani...

What the Lionesses Teach Us About Teaching, Reflection, Resilience and Real Change Hannah and Lucy turn their attention to the Lionesses, England’s fabulous women’s football team, fresh from their historic victory at the 2025 European Championships. But this isn’t a chat about sport. It’s a conversation about what everyone in education can learn from a team that’s rewritten the story on leadership...

The Hannah & Lucy Show | Summer Survival, Teacher Burnout and What Actually Matters As the school year draws to a close, many educators are running on empty. In this episode of The Hannah & Lucy Show , Hannah and Lucy talk candidly about what it means to actually rest over summer - not just physically, but emotionally and mentally too. This isn’t another “how to be productive during the ho...

👩‍🏫💬 Single-Sex Schools, Safeguarding & Safe Spaces This week, Hannah and Lucy are back after whirlwind weeks of OCR championships, youth conferences and one very public stumble on stage. But it’s not all travel tales and heatwave woes, today’s conversation tackles one of the more controversial issues in education: should boys and girls be taught separately? Prompted by a recent Ofsted ruli...

Summary Paul and Shaniqua take on three big questions that educators face: 🔍 What is practitioner inquiry and does it actually work in schools? We hear how teachers might use research to improve their practice, but also the reality: time pressures, accountability, and the challenge of making local findings matter more widely. Shaniqua shares how partnerships with universities could make the proce...

Teaching Matters host Paul Hazzard , is joined by John Gibbs on today's show. First, they examine the importance of spatial skills in learning, drawing on new research that highlights how these abilities underpin everyday tasks and academic success across subjects like maths. Source article: How to boost children’s spatial skills - and their maths performance https://shorturl.at/FV75u Further...

Getting Through the Summer Term Hannah and Lucy tackle the chaos of the summer term with humour, honesty and practical ideas. From outdoor lessons to sponge dodgeball, teacher burnout to report hacks, they share stories and strategies to help you survive (and maybe even enjoy) the final stretch. 🧷Staff Room 101 – What Would You Ban? This recurring feature hits its stride here. Between the two of...

Theory Matters Podcast | Incel Identity,Adolescence, and Education with Dr David Smith We welcome back Dr David Smith, lecturer at Robert Gordon University, to examine the shifting landscape of inceldom — a phenomenon increasingly shaping social narratives, educational discourse, and youth identity in the digital age. David positions inceldom within a complex web of mental health concerns, groupth...

This week, our global panel tackles the most controversial education stories making headlines: Why fewer kids are moving—and whether that’s actually a crisis The risks behind Bridget Phillipson’s plan to defund journalism degrees Whether mixed-ability teaching works better than streaming in today’s schools Featuring:🗣️ Dr. Rachael Jefferson (Australia) – PE & pedagogy specialist🗣️ Lucy Neuburg...

Uniforms, PE & Pressure to Perform In this follow-up to last week's conversation on girls in education, Hannah and Lucy dive even deeper—this time into school uniforms, PE kits, and the lived reality of being a teenage girl in today’s classrooms. From rolled-up skirts and see-through shirts to the impossible expectations girls face about appearance, sexuality and “appropriate” behaviour, t...

Burnout in Teacher Educators | Theory Matters with Dr Sabrina Fitzsimons https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666374025000561 What happens when the people responsible for supporting future teachers are themselves running on empty? Dr Sabrina Fitzsimons joins Paul to talk about her research into burnout among teacher educators. Sabrina shares a story that is academic, political and a...

GCSE reform. Exam stress. Teacher burnout. What if our assessment system was designed to fail students? In this episode, Paul Hazzard, Shaniqua Edwards-Hayde and John Gibbs examine the real impact of exams and what meaningful alternatives might look like. (Explore Shaniqua’s Journey To Becoming A Primary School Teacher - https://shorturl.at/PWU9q YouTube - https://shorturl.at/mNVWy) Also: Should s...

From practical strategies to personal reflections and classroom philosophy, John Lawson offers insights into mentoring.👇 Leave a comment below to share your experiences with mentoring. ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 The Essence of Mentoring 03:52 Navigating Emotions in Teaching 06:53 The Importance of Reflection 10:56 First Impressions and Classroom Management 14:59 Building Authority and Respect in the Class...