Teachers Talk Radio

Year 6-7 Transition. Two experienced SENCOs - Katie Hall (secondary) and Emily Smith (primary) share their thoughts on what works well in two very different schools. Hear from Emily about primary schools inviting secondary SENCOs in to meet students in Y5 as well as Y6 and Katie explains how she has set up a bespoke provision to support Y7s with EHCPs.  From both, some great tips and advice around...

This week's guest is a former teacher, now Chair of Education at the University of Birmingham. We discuss his essay: 'The Evil of Authoritarian Education. Banality and Compliance in the Neo-Liberal Era'

How do we create the perfect teaching partnership? Sophie invites her partner teacher Beth Ewin in to explore what makes the dream teaching team and how to manage those challenging moments when the partnership breaks down.

Morgan and Tod chat with timetabler extraordinaire Rizwana Shaikh on the art of creating a great timetable. Given the demands and constraints of facilities, staffing, resources and curriculum Riz shares her insights and tricks of the trade. Timetabling is the backbone of the school and the timetabler brings the institution to life by balancing many priorities at once.

What happens when social media platforms open up the floodgates for schools to face unlimited criticism over their school policies? What impact does this have on us as a profession and what can we do about it? Join me to debate all these questions and more!

Tom is joined by Dan Worker (Deputy head and History teacher), Michael Downes (Head of History), Robert Simpson (English teacher) and Helen Bradford-Keegan (a Foundation Head of Educational Research & Innovation 0-19) to discuss effective revision strategies. What are the best revision strategies? What do you use? What revision routines do you promote with students? Do you have any revision do...

Rae talks to Richard Beard about science teaching, examinations and whether science classes should be set.

Leading assessment in the foundation subjects. Matt Foy is an Assistant Headteacher and assessment lead.  He has a particular interesting and expertise in the assessment of the foundation subjects.

In this second episode from international schools worldwide, we look at inclusion and why it is just as important in the EAL classroom as it is in mainstream (English) first language classrooms. Adrienn Szlapak, my guest is an EAL specialist at an international school in Malaysia.

Nadia talks about the importance of music education in schools with guest Daniel Connor. 

What hacks do you use to keep on top of your workload and reduce your own cognitive overload?  Samantha discusses it here from AI to old fashioned exercise books. The show ends with a special guided meditation to help you unwind from the day. 

On today's show, I spoke to Gustavo Gonzalez about the use of songs, film and TV in the classroom. We also spoke about the new GenAI songwriting tools and other AI tools.

Following on from last week's show on whole-school approaches to wellbeing, Darren discusses what it means to create a school culture, the danger of not being deliberate in behaviours and the differences between climate and culture.

In this episode, we explore the intricacies of task design in education. Joined by Alex Bedford, Lauren Meadows, and Elliot Morgan, we unpack how well-constructed tasks can enhance learning, minimising distraction and get children to think hard. Drawing on key educational theories, this episode provides a comprehensive look at how to challenge students appropriately and even explore how to use tec...

Got lots of EHCP applications to do? Needs assessment requests taking hours (or even days) of your time?  Join me as I share some tips to help you reduce your workload around needs assessment requests and also how you can use the law to help you get your LA to agree them. I also bust some of the myths around what you 'should' do before applying and unlawful reasons for refusing to assess. Share wi...

Michelle is joined by special guest Angela Slack to discuss the teaching of grammar in schools. 

Hannah Wilson is joined by Stephen Clifford-Franklin from Resus Rangers, who provide Quality First Aid Workshops, Assemblies & Educational Resources for Teachers of Primary School Children across the UK. They explore what the requirements are and what opportunities Resus Rangers can provide to meet them. Find out more at resusrangers.com .

Tom is joined by Alex Rawlings, primary headteacher, plus assorted teacher-callers who share their views on the recent controversy regarding this corridor . Does corridor decor matter? Is it a reflection on school culture? Where does school design fit in with school performance? Listen to this discussion to find out! 

In this show, Adam is joined by Paul Cline, a teacher and Professional development lead from Suffolk. Adam and Paul discuss all things Instructional coaching, getting to the crux of the similarities and differences between approaches including the facilitative to directive spectrum and the crucial role of awareness and diagnostics.  

Anna Hudson and her guest Toya Dunscombe explore the challenges and barriers facing looked after children in the education and care systems, and suggest a few things teachers can do to help them.

Toby and Piers Gledhill talk about how to make pair-teaching work in the classroom, whether it's with TAs, mentees or teachers. We also look at the culture of isolation and discuss how to make teaching more inclusive and open.

In this show Kirsten and I discuss definitions of well-being, key strategies that teachers can implement in their classrooms and some of the challenges that teachers face in prioritising pupil wellbeing alongside academic achievement.

David is joined by Josh Perry Garry the 2022 National Diversity Award winner, Head of History, author and public speaker. In this show they discuss what diversity in the History curriculum means, what a truly diverse curriculum looks like and why it matters. 

Darren looks at what a WSA to wellbeing looks like and thinks about why staff wellbeing should be just as big a priority as pupil wellbeing.

My guest this week is Naomi Eisenstadt the first director of Sure Start. Sure Start was the boldest attempt to close the inequality gap in education since the inception of the welfare state. In light of recent IFS reports showing the long-term benefits of Sure Start, we reflect on its successes, failures, and legacy.