SecEd Podcast

This episode looks at how school leaders can thrive and survive in their role, including wellbeing advice, tips for leading from the front, and advice for those new to leadership roles. We interview two experienced school leaders to get their insights and practical advice. We look at the hardest challenges of school leadership for those new to the role and tips to help you start off on the right f...

In this episode, three experienced teachers discuss how to start and end our lessons in the secondary school classroom – focusing on getting the first and last 10 minutes right. We kick off with some "golden rules" and key ingredients for opening and closing our lessons. We look at achieving calm lesson starts from a behaviour and classroom management point of view, including setting the right ton...

Good questioning is at the heart of great teaching – as such this very practical episode looks at how teachers can plan and ask effective questions that support student participation, learning and progress. Two experienced teachers discuss the different purposes of questioning in the classroom as well as the things teachers must consider when planning their questions and questioning techniques. We...

This episode of the podcast asks how classroom teachers and teaching staff can best support the learning, progress, and wellbeing of their neurodiverse students. Our expert panel offer a range of advice, ideas, and tips based on their extensive experience within SEND education. We define neurodiversity and discuss what makes a learner neurodiverse and the kinds of conditions the term covers while...

This episode looks at the role of the classroom teacher and teaching staff when it comes to effective safeguarding practice, offering insights, tips and practical dos and don'ts. Classroom teachers and teaching staff are on the frontline when it comes to spotting students who are at risk or struggling due to safeguarding issues. In the episode, three experts consider how we can spot the signs of s...

This episode focuses on subject reviews or "deep dives" in the secondary school, asking what they are, how we can conduct them effectively without burdening staff, and what information we can and cannot expect to gather accurately. Our expert panel asks what a subject review or deep dive is and looks like and why we need to carry them out – ultimately, what is their purpose? We discuss how we can...

In this episode, three experienced teachers discuss ideas, tips and advice for fostering student curiosity and motivation in the secondary school classroom. We ask what curiosity and motivation look like in a classroom and discuss the key elements of the classroom environment and our teaching and pedagogy that can help to create curious and motivated students. Not least, we ask how we can create a...

This episode looks at how secondary schools can plan and implement flexible working practices to help boost teacher recruitment and retention. Our panel of experts include headteachers who have placed flexible working at the heart of their recruitment and retention strategies as well as teachers who work flexibly themselves. We discuss why schools should consider flexible working, the impact it ca...

What is "calm leadership" and how can this philosophy help middle and senior leaders in schools to be effective and inspiring in their roles? In this podcast, we chat to Patrick Cozier, the long-serving headteacher of Highgate Wood School in London, about his philosophy of calm leadership. In a nine-article SecEd series last year, Patrick described his calm leadership approach, discussing what bei...

This episode discusses how we can build strong connections and relationships with our students – especially those who are vulnerable – in order that they have the best chance of overcoming barriers and making progress in our classrooms. Two experienced colleagues discuss why this is important and some key principles to building these relationships. We ask how we can begin building connections with...

In this episode we speak with Rachel W – an abuse survivor who disclosed to staff at school when aged 14 after suffering years of abuse. Rachel talks powerfully about her story and the lessons schools and school staff can learn from it in order to improve safeguarding practice. Interviewed by pastoral specialist and teacher Adele Bates, Rachel discusses the impact of the abuse, including on her ed...

This episode focuses on how we can teach oracy and speaking skills in the secondary school classroom, with lots of practical tips, ideas, resources and advice. We discuss what oracy is – including the four strands of oracy skills – why oracy matters, the benefits of good oracy skills, what the national curriculum says about spoken language and student talk, and the impact we have seen on students'...

This episode of the SecEd Podcast offers best practice and tips for effectively managing Education, Health, and Care Plans (EHCPs) and supporting students with SEND in the mainstream secondary school. Our expert panel offer advice and tips for teachers, SENCOs, and school leaders across a number of areas. We discuss the main things that mainstream secondary schools need to bear in mind when a stud...

This episode looks at how we can best develop the literacy skills of our students, offering whole-school, cross-curricular and classroom-specific ideas, interventions and tips. The podcast defines literacy as the ability to speak, read and write and to understand and use language in order to communicate effectively. We welcome four guests from four schools who discuss the range of approaches, prog...

This episode discusses the role of the secondary school form tutor – what the role entails, how teachers can become effective form tutors, key expectations and obligations, ideas for running your form day-to-day, and general dos & don'ts. Two experienced pastoral leaders offer their insights, including the key obligations of the form tutor and legal duties in terms of safeguarding and attendance....

This episode looks at career progression pathways in the secondary school, advising teachers on the range of options and how to develop specialisms and experience. Our expert panel beings with key things to consider when planning where you want to take your teaching career.  We discuss the different options and why all teachers – including early career teachers – should be thinking about career pr...

This episode offers advice, practical tips and inspiration for teachers who are thinking about taking on leadership roles within schools and for those already climbing the leadership ladder. Three experts discuss why teaching staff should aspire to leadership and the different pathways and roles within middle and senior leadership. What kind of skills are needed for leadership? How can teaching st...

This episode looks at how to embed high-impact routines into your classroom and your teaching. We ask which routines or learning habits are the most successful and how can they be established in order to make teaching and learning more efficient and effective. We ask three key questions of our experts: Why are classroom routines so important? How can we establish classroom routines? What routines...

This episode considers effective lesson-planning in the secondary school, offering practical tips, advice and ideas for teachers and subject/curriculum leaders. Our experts discuss the difference between a planned lesson and a lesson plan. We ask what should be included in medium and short-term lesson planning. What are the non-negotiables, including key knowledge, skills, and the big questions? W...

This episode tackles Ofsted school inspections, offering practical insights and tips – large and small – for secondary schools to help you thrive when the inspectors call. Three experts offer a wealth of advice including some simple tenets of best practice for preparing for and handling Ofsted. Our advice covers the 90-minute phone call, what needs to be in place pre-inspection, being 'Ofsted-read...

This episode offers practical advice and ideas for how secondary schools can support and protect the mental health of their students. NHS data shows that almost one in five students aged 7 to 16 have a probable mental disorder. Our experts discuss the most pressing issues they are seeing and offer advice for how schools can respond. We discuss creating a mentally healthy school culture, whole-scho...

This episode considers what effective governance looks like in the secondary school and how school leaders and governors can work together successfully and productively. We speak with three school leadership experts about: The distinction between the strategic and the operational and to what extent should governors be operational? How can we support governors who have little or no experience of sc...

This episode looks at leadership diversity in schools, offering a practical discussion about what diverse leadership looks like, how we can develop diverse leadership culture, and the benefits this can bring. We discuss how we "practise" diverse leadership – what should be in place to do it well and what are the crucial factors? How can we be vulnerable and admit mistakes – embracing the fear that...

In 2016, teacher and school leader Peter Radford finally quit the chalkface after burning-out and breaking down due to untenable workload and wellbeing pressures. In this episode – the second of two staff wellbeing podcasts – we hear his story and seek advice for other teachers battling poor wellbeing, high workload, and poor work/life balance. Peter talks about his own experience and how others c...

Tens of thousands of teachers quit every year due to poor wellbeing and work/life balance. Across two episodes, we look at how schools can support the wellbeing of teaching staff and what teachers can do to protect their wellbeing. In part one, we discuss how to create a whole-school culture of wellbeing, including mentally-healthy working environments, the pillars of psychological safety, and eve...