The Impact Podcast

Creativity - What is it? And what is it not? In this episode Fin and Jane discuss creativity’s role in learning and explore how it can be taught in the classroom.   The paper discussed in the show: Creativity myths: Prevalence and correlates of misconceptions on creativity - ScienceDirect   Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller  Producer: Darren Evans  Visit us at: www.impa...

Reading is an essential skill for life, but it is also one that many children struggle to master. This week Jane and Fin are joined by Tracy Jones, headteacher of Ysgol Merllyn, to talk about the school’s reading journey.  Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller  Producer: Darren Evans  Visit us at: www.impact.wales  Music: Power Shutoff by Craig MacArthur

The Welsh Government has released a consultation on the Curriculum for Wales assessment arrangements. In this special episode, Fin and Jane share their thoughts on what this crucial consultation means for schools, teachers and pupils and how it could impact on the success of CfW.  If you listen to this podcast and have an opinion, please let Welsh Government know by completing the consultatio...

It’s a new academic year, and as teachers and pupils return to the classroom, thoughts turn to the future after a year of disruption.  This week Fin and Jane discuss how teachers can help pupils develop resilience in a fast-changing world.  But what is resilience? And can it actually be taught?  Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller  Producer: Darren Evans  Visit us at: www.impact.wales  Music: Pow...

Finola and Jane are joined by Wales’ education minister Jeremy Miles in his first podcast interview in his new portfolio. They discuss Curriculum for Wales, how to improve reading and his priorities for the next year.  Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller   Producer: Darren Evans   Visit us at: www.impact.wales   Music: Power Shutoff by Craig MacArthur

In the last regular episode of the series before the summer break, Fin and Jane look back at six years of Impact and how they are qualified to support schools and teachers. Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller Producer: Darren Evans Visit us at: www.impact.wales Music: Power Shutoff by Craig MacArthur

There’s an enormous expectation on schools to be ready for Curriculum for Wales implementation in September 2022. The attraction of “quick-fix” commercial solutions for CFW is understandable, but are they worth it? In this episode Fin and Jane discuss what schools really need.  Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller  Producer: Darren Evans  Visit us at: www.impact.wales  Music: P...

The OECD has published its long-awaited report into Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). With Curriculum for Wales sharing many similarities with CfE, Jane and Finola discuss whether Wales can avoid some of the issues raised by the OECD.  Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller  Producer: Darren Evans Visit us at: www.impact.wales  Music: Power Shutoff by Craig MacArthur

The Welsh Government has finally published its education response plan for Covid-19. In this episode Jane and Finola go through the plan step by step and ask - what does “building back better towards reform” actually mean in practice?  Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller  Producer: Darren Evans  Visit us at: www.impact.wales  Music: Power Shutoff by Craig MacArthur

If the ultimate goal of education is transfer - the ability to apply acquired skills and knowledge in different contexts - how do you teach it in the classroom? Jane and Fin discuss this and other questions in this week’s episode.  Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller  Producer: Darren Evans  Visit us at: www.impact.wales  Music: Power Shutoff by Craig MacArthur

With education systems increasingly turning to evidence-informed approaches to reading, many focusing on systematic synthetic phonics, Fin and Jane welcome special guest Rob Randel to discuss the importance of reading. Rob is a primary school teacher in Wales and a committee member of the Reading Reform Foundation.  Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller  Producer: Darren Evans  Visit...

With the half term break approaching, Fin and Jane take the opportunity to have a wide-ranging, open and honest discussion about what’s happening in schools and education at the moment. What do schools need? What do children need?  Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller  Producer: Darren Evans  Visit us at: www.impact.wales  Music: Power Shutoff by Craig MacArthur

Wales has a new education minister after the Senedd Election. As Jeremy Miles gets to work, Fin and Jane discuss what his priorities should be. Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller Producer: Darren Evans Visit us at: www.impact.wales Music: Power Shutoff by Craig MacArthur

This week Fin and Jane are joined by special guest Henry Sauntson, an experienced senior leader and director of TeachEast, to discuss how to put research into practice. Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller Producer: Darren Evans Visit us at: www.impact.wales Music: Power Shutoff by Craig MacArthur

Summer term is often a time when a teacher’s thoughts turn to curriculum planning. But what is curriculum? What does it mean? Why is it important? In this episode Fin and Jane tackle these and other curriculum questions. To access a special Sketchnote linked to this episode, visit: https://www.impact.wales/sketch-note/what-is-curriculum/ Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller Producer: Darren Evans...

The 2021 Senedd election takes place on May 6. In this series of special episodes, Fin and Jane ask politicians from the four main political parties in Wales about their education policies. In this episode they summarise the responses from the politicians and analyse their policies and pledges. To see a summary of the education policies and pledges of the parties, visit the Blogs page on the resou...

The 2021 Senedd election takes place on May 6. In this series of special episodes, Fin and Jane ask politicians from the four main political parties in Wales about their education policies. In this episode they speak to Steven Aicheler of the Welsh Liberal Democrats. Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller Producer: Darren Evans Visit us at: www.impact.wales Music: Power Shutoff by Craig MacArthur

The 2021 Senedd election takes place on May 6. In this series of special episodes, Fin and Jane ask politicians from the four main political parties in Wales about their education policies. In this episode they speak to Siân Gwenllian of Plaid Cymru. Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller Producer: Darren Evans Visit us at: www.impact.wales Music: Power Shutoff by Craig MacArthur

The 2021 Senedd election takes place on May 6. In this series of special episodes, Fin and Jane ask politicians from the four main political parties in Wales about their education policies. In this episode they speak to Tomos Dafydd Davies of the Welsh Conservatives. Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller Producer: Darren Evans Visit us at: www.impact.wales Music: Power Shutoff by Craig MacArthur

The 2021 Senedd election takes place on May 6. In this series of special episodes, Fin and Jane ask politicians from the four main political parties in Wales about their education policies. In this episode they speak to Hefin David of Welsh Labour. Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller Producer: Darren Evans Visit us at: www.impact.wales Music: Power Shutoff by Craig MacArthur

Assessment is always a hot topic in education, but with the disruption of Covid and preparation for Curriculum for Wales, it’s at the forefront of many teachers’ minds. In this episode Fin and Jane talk about the trouble with assessment. Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller Producer: Darren Evans Visit us at: www.impact.wales Music: Power Shutoff by Craig MacArthur

Fin and Jane are back after the Easter break and this week they’re talking about what Impact is all about. A year into the pandemic, it’s time to reflect on what the business stands for. They also discuss how they navigate social media through the Impact Twitter account, which with more than 30,000 followers is one of the biggest voices in education in Wales. Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller P...

This week Fin and Jane have a wide-ranging discussion about the learning process, including the roles of knowledge and enquiry and the importance of changing your mind. Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller Producer: Darren Evans Visit us at: www.impact.wales Music: Power Shutoff by Craig MacArthur

Fin and Jane are joined by special guest Jared Cooney Horvath to discuss the science of learning. An award-winning cognitive neuroscientist and best-selling author, Jared has been on a mission to bring his brain and behavioural research to schools and teachers.  Jared Cooney Horvath links For speaking engagement bookings, online courses and training material, visit: www.lmeglobal.net   B...

Despite the disruption of Covid-19, schools will still be required to implement Curriculum for Wales from September 2022. In this episode, Jane and Fin look back at how CfW was developed, look forward to the journey ahead and ask - are we ready for this fundamental change? Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller  Producer: Darren Evans  Visit us at: www.impact.wales   Music: Power...