The Independent Teacher

Send us Fan Mail In this inspirational episode Jessica Ward , Principal of Elmhurst Ballet School , talks about landing her dream job, as well as giving our listeners lots of excellent career advice. We talk about equality and diversity, the Black Lives Matter Movement and how Elmhurst students worked with Birmingham Royal Ballet's Brandon Lawrence producer of Bodies , an award-winning film c...

Send us Fan Mail Susan Pallister catches up with Shivanii Arun and Aliyah Begum, former students of KEHS and currently first-year Oxford University undergraduates. Shivanii and Aliyah discuss the main differences between school and university, the importance of the EPQ , independent learning and co-curricular opportunities, all of which helped them to adapt to academic life at university.  This is...

Send us Fan Mail John Jones , Director of Innovation at the RGS Worcester family of schools, writer for the tes magazine and an Apple Distinguished Educator, talks about the importance of innovation in terms of teaching and learning and staff CPD.   In addition, John shares his expert knowledge of digital learning and gives examples of some of the best educational apps currently available to suppo...

Send us Fan Mail In the first episode of Season 2 of the 'Independent Teacher Podcast', Helen Jeys, Headteacher of one of the UK's leading schools , joins Susan Pallister to discuss some of the key moments from her leadership journey. Helen talks about her educational philosophy and how her commitment to character education has shaped her approach to leadership. Helen reflects on th...

Send us Fan Mail Here is a brief overview of what to expect in the second season of the 'Independent Teacher Podcast'.  Our show, produced every week, is a thought-provoking podcast for school and university leaders, teachers, educators, parents and students alike. Each episode is hosted by Susan Pallister, former school leader and now a writer & educational consultant.

Send us Fan Mail David James is a Deputy Headteacher, co-author of The State of Independence, a frequent contributor to the Times Educational Supplement and CapX , as well as being an ISI Inspector. He joins Susan Pallister in the 16th episode of 'The Independent Teacher Podcast' to talk about the proposed reforms to Welsh GCSEs. David explains why he believes the impending changes amoun...

Send us Fan Mail In an uplifting episode, Kenny Primrose,  Head of Character Education and an experienced teacher of religion and philosophy in one of the UK's largest schools, talks to Susan Pallister about the positive impact of character education on young people and their teachers. Kenny is currently completing an MA in Character Education at the University of Birmingham and, in October 2...

Send us Fan Mail This week's episode features Ian Lowe, an experienced CEO and co-founder of Ethical School Solutions . Sean O’Toole, the winner of 'Educational Consultant of the Year' in 2013, once referred to Ian as, “an educational maverick who generates and inspires creativity”.  Ian is joined on the show by Patrick Amieli, a former secondary school leader and an accomplished le...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Charlie Hammel , Deputy Headteacher at St Swithun's School , talks about the impact of the pandemic on teachers and pupils, the challenges initially posed by remote learning, as well as some of the longer-lasting benefits on teaching and learning. Charlie reflects on the debate surrounding assessment as we revisit some of the issues raised by Al McConville an...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Jill Berry , former headteacher, author & educational consultant, discusses her 2016 book, Making the Leap: Moving from deputy to head.  Jill also talks about her lifelong interest in literature and the teachers who were so important in encouraging her to pursue her love of writing. In a wide-ranging discussion, Jill talks about the importance of reading in an age of digit...

Send us Fan Mail Global award-winning facilitator, Joyce Matthews explains how the 'School Leader Facilitation Programme', which she designed, and is endorsed by Education Scotland, has helped to transform and empower teachers across the globe. Joyce explains how the 'School Leader Facilitation Programme' reduces the need for external experts while building a self-sustaining, s...

Send us Fan Mail   Dr Kerry Howells , award-winning educator, author, and gratitude expert joins Susan Pallister to discuss her latest book U ntangling you: How can I be grateful when I feel so resentful? Kerry talks about the interplay between gratitude and resentment, the benefits of practising gratitude within a school context, the Japanese wisdom of wabi-sabi, as well as the perfection of impe...

Send us Fan Mail in this episode, Susan Pallister talks with the founder of Drama Tots , Leanne Jones along with Rebecca Jones, who runs Drama Tots in Solihull . Leanne and Rebecca discuss changing careers, setting up and running a business, the impact of the pandemic on young children and the importance of learning through play in early years children. Our programme plays out with a short, 5-minu...

Send us Fan Mail Al McConville, Deputy Headteacher at King Alfred School in London, TES writer , and co-author of Learning how to Learn , talks about innovation in assessment, as well as his motivation for co-founding Rethinking Assessment.   Al refers to the XP School in Doncaster and School 21 in London as examples of maintained schools currently implementing some interesting approaches to asses...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Louise Leigh , Director of Initial Teacher Training at King Edward's Consortium, which was rated the no.1 school-centred initial teacher training provider in The Good Teacher Training Guide, (2017), explains how her team of 22 schools offer some of the best training in the country for graduates who want to pursue a career in teaching. Louise also explains som...

Send us Fan Mail In this edition of the podcast, Susan Pallister talks to Jonnie Noakes , Director of Teaching and Learning & Director of the Tony Little Centre for Innovation and Research in Learning at Eton College about his involvement in the ' Rethinking Assessment ' movement. Jonnie talks about the stranglehold of public examinations on schools and the way the current system of...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Linda Lefièvre , Senior Lecturer at the University of Birmingham, talks to Susan Pallister about the impact of the pandemic on university students and their lecturers. Dr. Lefièvre explains all the ways in which university education has changed as a result of Covid, as well as the possible impact these changes may have on the way schools prepare their sixth-form students for u...

Send us Fan Mail In this not-to-be-missed, thought-provoking episode, Tom Rogers , experienced teacher, writer and founder of Teachers Talk Radio discusses toxic school cultures.  The show begins with reference to the article Tom wrote for the Times Educational Supplement in 2019 entitled, How to spot if you work in a toxic school .  There are some excellent practical tips and suggestions on how t...

Send us Fan Mail Emma Gleadhill, wellbeing coach, educational speaker and trainer, talks to Susan Pallister about the ways in which teachers can experience achievement and fulfillment in a high-pressure and changeable environment. Emma provides some helpful advice on dealing with anxiety, as well as practical suggestions on how to reduce teacher stress. During the podcast, Emma refers to  Cal Newp...

Send us Fan Mail In this fascinating episode, Sophie Thompson, co-founder of VirtualSpeech discusses how she overcame her lifelong fear of public speaking by designing a virtual reality app, which became so popular that it led to the creation of her own award winning VR business. Susan and Sophie discuss the role of VR in education, making judgements about ourselves, developing confidence in publi...

Send us Fan Mail In the first edition of our podcast,  Nicky Bright , former headteacher of Bruton School for Girls, discusses how she decided to raise awareness of the menopause, not only in her own school, but also nationally through the Girls' School Association. Nicky talks about the challenges some women can face as they experience both perimenopause and menopause. Nicky and Susan also d...

Send us Fan Mail Here is a brief overview of what to expect in the first season of the 'Independent Teacher Podcast'.  Our show, produced every week, is a thought-provoking podcast for school and university leaders, teachers, educators, parents and students alike. Each episode is hosted by Susan Pallister, former school leader and now a writer & educational consultant.