Teachers Talk Radio

Teacher wellbeing is at its lowest since 2019. Education Support’s Teacher Wellbeing Index reports that 76% of teachers report high levels of stress, while 36% are at risk of clinical depression. Nearly half of those surveyed said that their school’s culture negatively impacts their mental health. Has wellbeing become a series of token gestures? Why do schools struggle to take meaningful steps to...

How do you lead a school on AI when you're operating across multiple curricula, multiple countries, and a staff team that turns over every few years? This Wednesday at 6pm I'm chatting with Rita Bateson on The Twilight Show about her new book International School Leaders' Guide to AI, published by Hachette Learning under the John Catt imprint. Rita brings practical strategies for navigating what s...

In this Teachers Talk Radio show, host Famida Choudhary is joined by Cara Zelas to explore how respect in early childhood classrooms is not simply a rule to follow, but a skill that must be intentionally taught, modelled, and experienced. The conversation will highlight practical ways to help young children feel seen, valued, and connected while building classrooms where belonging comes first.

Konstantinos discusses with guest Dr Jonathan Wright how creativity is taught in higher education, exploring risk-taking, imagination, feedback, AI, employability, and the realities shaping contemporary creative classrooms and student experiences.

In this show, Tom Rogers speaks to Welsh headteacher Alun Ebenezer about discipline, behaviour, boundaries and the growing debate over whether schools have become too soft. From closing wellbeing rooms and bringing parents into lessons, to challenging what he sees as a culture of over-labelling and lowered expectations, Ebenezer has become one of the most controversial voices in British education....

Join Tom Rogers and Dave Brown for a Teachers Talk Radio special with experienced teacher and author Carmel Bones discussing her new book, Clockwork Classrooms: Solutions for Smoother Running Lessons. Drawing on more than thirty years of classroom experience, Carmel shares practical, time-saving approaches designed to help lessons run more smoothly, reduce friction in the classroom, and make teach...

In this show, Darren explores the hidden pressures faced by high-achieving students, focusing on the growing impact of imposter syndrome and perfectionism in education. Why do some of the most successful pupils feel as though they are “not good enough”? And how can teachers, parents, and school leaders recognise when academic ambition becomes emotionally damaging? Drawing on current research into...

Do you think you'd make a good teacher? Are you thinking of becoming a teacher? Teaching wants you, but do you want teaching? Carl tells you what the brochures don't, so you can make up your own mind.

At Connaught School for Girls in Waltham Forest, frustrated students are directly confronting teachers in the third week of strikes. With GCSE preparations severely disrupted, pupils are demanding the National Education Union members return to class. Teachers, protesting heavy workloads, management issues, potential redundancies and pay cuts, have been seen turning away or standing with keffiyehs...

Great schools don't happen by accident. Behind every turnaround story is a leader who understood that sustainable improvement isn't just about strategy; it's about people. It's about building a culture where staff feel trusted, students feel they belong, and everyone believes that better is possible. Yet so many schools find themselves stuck. They have the data, the development plans, the training...

A major new study has revealed that nearly a quarter of newly-qualified teachers in England never actually enter the profession after training. Researchers point to “reality shock” with workload, administration, lesson planning and long working days among the biggest concerns for trainee teachers. But is workload really the main issue? Or are deeper problems driving graduates away before their car...

Tom Rogers is joined by Matt Wrack, General Secretary of the NASUWT, for a special one-off conversation on the biggest issues facing teachers right now. With growing concerns around pay, workload and retention, are we heading towards further industrial action? What’s really driving teachers out of the profession and what needs to change to stop it? The discussion explores funding pressures, matern...

Michelle sits down with David Didau to challenge the myths around lesson observations. Who are they really for, and are they working? A sharp, thought-provoking conversation on rethinking what effective observation should look like.

In this second show in his series on exam pressure, Darren explores what the research says about reducing student anxiety in assessments. Drawing on evidence-based strategies, he focuses on practical in-school interventions that can make a measurable difference to how students experience tests. From classroom approaches to whole-school practices, this episode offers clear, research-informed insigh...

A school letter has sparked controversy after making extra GCSE revision including weekends compulsory, with consequences for absence. But where is the line between high expectations and excessive pressure? In tonight’s Points of View, we ask: Should schools be able to mandate extra sessions? Do strict systems raise standards or risk burnout? And who decides what’s “too far” when exams are on the...

In this special Teachers Talk Radio show, brought to you in partnership with Hachette Learning, hosts Tom Rogers and Charlotte Newman are joined by Joe Kinnaird to explore his new book, Secondary Religious Education in Action. Drawing on classroom experience and the latest research, Joe shares a vision for high-quality RE, one that challenges students to engage deeply with religious and non-religi...

In this show of Teachers Talk Radio, Famida Choudhary is joined by Amir Taron Ayres to rethink one of education’s most debated classroom tools — worksheets. Moving beyond the idea of worksheets as passive tasks, the conversation explores how teachers can transform routine activities into opportunities for intellectual engagement, discussion, error analysis, collaboration, and deeper learning. Draw...

A school letter has sparked controversy after making extra GCSE revision — including weekends — compulsory, with consequences for absence. But where is the line between high expectations and excessive pressure? In tonight’s Points of View, we ask: Should schools be able to mandate extra sessions? Do strict systems raise standards or risk burnout? And who decides what’s “too far” when exams are on...

We talk how to make meaning out of stress in the classroom.

In this live show Tim is joined by Michael Everett, an educator whose career has taken him from challenging secondary schools in England to international schools in Qatar and Brunei. Together they ask a genuinely provocative question: what would you build if you started from scratch? It is a conversation about what school is actually for, and who gets to decide.

Headteacher Jonathan Sands joins Yannick and Tony to talk about the big binaries! Is DI the only way or is there room for discovery? Do we need rules or are relationships enough? The 'prog' vs 'trad' debate. A reasonable argument or simply a tool for division and toxicity?

Hosts Huma and Toby talk with teachers John and Richard about why graphic novels matter in schools, how they encourage reading for pleasure, and how they support inference, vocabulary and cross-curricular learning from science to history. The episode includes practical classroom examples, age-appropriate suggestions (from wordless picture books to manga and teen titles), evidence on learning impac...

Darren looks at the research into the differences, and similarrties, in how test anxiety presents itself in boys and girls.

This is a show for teachers everywhere. Teachers who are exhausted. Teachers who feel under pressure. teachers who feel like they are failing. In other words, all teachers, all the time. Carl explains why the myth of the good teacher is quietly taking the joy out of the job and why we need to embrace the idea of the good enough teacher to rediscover it.

Reform has unveiled plans for a “patriotic curriculum” — including flying the Union Flag in every school, displaying portraits of the King, and reshaping history teaching to focus more heavily on British achievements. Supporters say it’s about restoring national pride, identity and balance in education. Critics argue it risks politicising the classroom and narrowing how history is taught. So where...