National Association for Primary Education

Today we bring together Prof Dr Ger Graus OBE and Cristian Fabbi, Director of the Fondazione Reggio Children, for a deeply human and intellectually rich conversation about the future of early years education. Ger and Cristian share personal stories and the work of their friend and colleague Carla Rinaldi — one of the world’s most influential educational thinkers. They explore what it truly means t...

Today we have a brief summary of events happening during the summer of 2026. The National Association for Primary Education has transitioned its professional journal, Primary First, to a digital format, enhancing accessibility. Mark Taylor, the Vice Chair, expresses gratitude to listeners globally, emphasizing the podcast's wide reach beyond the UK. A noteworthy event is the launch of the book 'Jo...

Cerys Griffiths is the Head of BBC Bitesize, the BBC's free, online learning resource for students aged 5 to 16, their teachers and parents. Bitesize also aims to support educating the whole child through it's Careers, Study Support and media literacy offer, Other Side of the Story, as well as special educational initiatives like the Bitesize Guide to AI. Takeaways: The BBC Bitesize initiative pro...

Kirsty Heap is the author of Silent Snow, a picture book without words, designed to help you create your own stories with your children. Each page is filled with beautiful illustrations to spark your imagination, making storytime fun and personal. Whether reading has always felt tricky, or you just want to try something different, Silent Snow gives you the freedom to tell stories your own way. The...

Mashood Ahmad is the CEO and founder of Gigabit IQ, an award-winning UK broadband provider dedicated to delivering safer, smarter, and faster internet through fully managed Wi-Fi and industry-leading online safety tools. A recognised voice in digital inclusion and child online protection, Mashood is a Council Member at ISPA UK and a vocal advocate for stronger ISP accountability in protecting fami...

Aurora Orchestra’s  creative learning programme supports teachers to bring rich musical education and experiences to all children. The Aurora Classroom programme encompasses: digital resources for primary and secondary schools flexible cross-curricular resources for SEND settings training for teachers from our team of experts world-class programme of live activity for children and young peopl...

The AI maths tutor that gets pupils reasoning out loud. Third Space Learning believe an AI tutor should do more than just generate questions and mark answers. What if it could provide scaffolded support according to knowledge gaps, speaking to students and encouraging them to verbalise their reasoning as they go? What if every pupil who needs it could work through maths problems in this way for on...

Ben Case is part of the Tapestry education team and a former primary and early years teacher. He works closely with settings to support their use of Tapestry and believes tech is only successful if you bring staff with you. As a teacher Ben regularly presented at TeachMeet Sussex and he now helps to host the Tapestry podcast, writes for education publications, and features in many of the Tapestry...

Ger’s professional autobiography, Through a Different Lens – Lessons from a Life in Education, published by Routledge in April 2025. Professor Dr Ger Graus OBE is a renowned figure in the field of education – once described as “Jean-Jacques Rousseau meets Willy Wonka”. He was the first Global Director of Education at KidZania and the founding CEO of the Children’s University. In 2019, Ger became a...

Dr. Mannion shares insights from his recent publication, “Making Change Stick,” where he emphasizes the necessity of engaging educators at all levels in the change process, thereby fostering a collaborative environment that enhances student outcomes. We explore the transformative impact of project-based learning and self-regulated learning on students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgro...

How do we support left-handed children in a predominantly right-handed world? Mark Stewart, founder of Left n Write Ltd, shares his journey and insights on the unique challenges faced by left-handed individuals, particularly in educational settings. With over 1 million left-handed children in schools across England, Mark emphasizes the lack of awareness and training for educators on how to assist...

What is Neuroplasticity? Neuroscientists used to think that our brain was fixed and unchangeable from birth. It was believed that our intellectual capacity was fixed – the brain with which we were born, was the brain we had for life.   We now know that the brain is a highly active and malleable organ across a person’s lifespan. This powerful capacity for change is called neuroplasti...

Education currently presents an unparalleled challenge, yet it remains an immensely rewarding profession, as articulated by our guest, Jonathan Arthur, the Executive Headteacher of Badock’s Wood E-ACT Academy. Within this episode, we delve into the vital role of fostering a learning culture, where the focus is not merely on raising aspirations but rather on instilling a belief that dreams are atta...

Assistive technology to improve accessibility in education for students with visual impairments or neurodiverse conditions. Noel Duffy , Chairman of the Board, Dolphin Computer Access Awarded the RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People) Lifetime Achievement Award in April 2022, for 30 years’ work empowering visually impaired people to succeed in a digital world, Noel Duffy has been the driv...

Al Kingsley has spent the last 30 years in the Educational Technology space and almost 20 of those as a school trustee and governor. He is Group CEO of NetSupport Ltd, an internationally acclaimed EdTech vendor, and Chair of Hampton Academies Trust and the Richard Barnes (AP) Academy, all in the East of England. He also chairs his region’s Governor Leadership Group. Alongside these roles, Al also...

ONVU Learning is a 360-degree video lesson capture system that helps teachers reflect, collaborate and analyse their entire teaching and learning process. It creates a community space where teachers can share best practice and learn easily with their coaches and peers. When Matt Tiplin was an Ofsted inspector, he decided that something drastic needed to change in the way we both judged and develop...

Ally Sousa has worked in education for more than 16 years and has a longstanding interest in teachers’ CPD and supporting ECTs. She’s a former teacher and currently leads the content creation at BlueSky Education where she works with a wide range of teachers to create professional development resources. Prior to joining BlueSky, Ally taught in secondary education. While teaching physical education...

Professor Stephen Heppell's “eyes on the horizon, feet on the ground”  approach, coupled with a vast portfolio of effective large scale projects over three decades, have established him internationally as a widely and fondly recognized leader in the fields of learning, new media and technology. He was a school teacher for more than a decade, and has been a professor since 1989. Stephen h...

Sam Kendall leads all of Eden’s work with schools, young people and their teachers and has done so since 2010. Eden’s Schools Team design and deliver programmes and projects for children and young people and offer training, consultancy and resources to schools towards Eden’s vision for children and young people who are motivated and equipped to create, and flourish in, a better future in which all...

Voice 21 is the UK’s oracy education charity. They work with schools to transform the learning and life chances of young people through talk. They campaign for oracy to have a higher status in the education system. Oracy skills are vital to success in school and in life. And yet, for many children, especially those growing up in poverty, opportunities to develop these vital skills are missed....

Little Troopers is a registered charity supporting service children who have parent(s) serving in our British Armed Forces, regular or reserve. These children often face unique challenges including frequent house and school moves, as well as regular periods of separation from their serving parent(s) for varying lengths of time due to exercises, training, operations and other service commitments. A...

A Gobblegark’s Guide To Your Brilliant Neurodivergent Brain is Suzanne Robertshaw’s new book. Suzanne has been a teacher for 23 years. She has worked as a SENCO, supporting students with learning differences since 2015. She feels passionate about the positives of being neurodivergent which she regularly promotes on her Instagram page – @teachingwithadifference. A Gobblegark’s Guide To Your Brillia...

Join BBC Teach on a journey through Musical Storyland, where children’s fairy tales and traditional folktales are re-imagined with music performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. The stories are narrated by a host of stars; BBC Radio 5 Live presenter, Nihal Arthanayake; international storyteller, Jan Blake; and CBBC and Eastenders actor, Molly Rainford. There are currently five short films: Thr...

Deaf Choices UK support parents of deaf children to make the best CHOICE(S) for Language, Literacy and Communication. ​They believe that every deaf child and every family has a unique set of needs and DCUK is here to help you navigate and explore the choices that are available to you, so that you can make an informed choice. ​Deaf Choices UK is the only charity in the UK that provide training in C...

More Than A Score: It’s time to fundamentally change the high-stakes, high-pressure assessment system in primary schools and make good mental health the basis for good learning. Primary pupils in England now face SATs and other government tests in five out of seven school years – that’s more formal assessments than in almost any other country. But the evidence against the current system is growing...