Thinking Deeply about Primary Education

Episode 133: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Christopher Such as we field some more unseen questions about a range of topics from the selection and use of manipulatives in KS3 and mathematical language to retrieval practice success and the ideal primary assessment scenario. Whether you're new to the profession or an experienced senior leader, you won&#39...

Episode 132: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Neil Almond and Christopher Such as we delve into the exciting changes happening in the world of Key Stage 1 assessment.  With the removal of KS1 SATs, schools now have the opportunity to reimagine how they assess reading proficiency in their early learners. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in a...

Episode 131: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Lloyd Williams-Jones as we explore the importance of teacher induction programs and discuss how we can support teachers who are new to our schools. As part of the chat we discuss... 1. What is induction and what should be included?  2. What does induction typically look like and what are the possible strengths and wea...

Episode 130: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Neil Almond and Christopher Such as we delve into the exciting changes happening in the world of Key Stage 1 assessment.  With the removal of KS1 SATs, schools now have the opportunity to reimagine how they assess reading proficiency in their early learners. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in a...

Episode 129: In this thought-provoking episode of "Thinking Deeply about Primary Education," I'm joined, in-person, by a panel of esteemed guests, including Neil Almond, Shannen Doherty, Tom Brassington, and Lloyd Williams Jones, as we explore a potentially concerning phenomenon: "The Erosion of Art, Music, Sport, and Cooking" in primary education. Drawing on their extensiv...

Episode 128: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Neil Almond as we delve into the exciting changes happening in the world of Key Stage 1 assessment. With the removal of KS1 SATs, schools now have the opportunity to reimagine how they assess mathematics proficiency in their early learners. This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in assessment at KS1,...

Episode 127: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Shannen Doherty and the leadership team of St. George's Primary School in an attempt to demystify what "Outstanding" looks like in 2023 for primary schools. Using their recent Ofsted report as a stimulus, we explore... 1. " Behaviour is exemplary" ...how would you describe the systems you’v...

Episode 126: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, Chris Such turns the tables on me (Kieran) with some unseen questions, as we try to help listeners with questions or problems they have been facing. As part of this chat we discuss bar models, fluency, subject leadership and much, much more. Whether you're new to the profession or an experienced senior leader, you won't wan...

Episode 125: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Neil Almond and Christopher Such as we try to decide what the five things every teacher needs to know about reading comprehension are. As part of the chat we discuss reading comprehension in tremendous depth and even find some time to chat about the KS2 reading assessment from the summer of 2023. Whether you'r...

Episode 124: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I have the pleasure of speaking with Lloyd Williams-Jones, world-renowned expert in strategic thinking with extensive experience in supporting teachers through the implementation of mechanisms that allow schools to get the most from advanced planning. During our conversation, we dive deep into the importance of strategic thinking w...

Episode 123: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm delighted to have Adam Woodward join us for a thorough exploration of knowledge organisers. Adam, a highly experienced educator, will be sharing his insights and experiences from a multi-year and school-wide implementation of knowledge organisers. Throughout the episode, we'll delve into the theory behind knowledge orga...

Episode 122: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Neil Almond and Christopher Such as we take questions from listeners and do our very best to provide mildly-satisfactory responses. As part of the chat we discuss... No hands up, Testing in Year 1, "I'm leaving teaching", Working Walls ...plus much, much more. Whether you're new to the profession...

Episode 121: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education I'm joined by Kristian Still and Ben Ebdon for an exploration of Test-Enhanced Learning. As part of the chat, we discuss what test-enhanced learning is, why it is important for teachers, how to get the most from it, potential pitfalls to look out for, plus much, much more. Whether you're new to the profession or an experienc...

Episode 120: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education I'm joined by Brendan Lee for the first of two special episodes where Brendan and I quiz each other about the "Science of Mathematics (Teaching)" and, in particular, a model for teaching mathematics devised by Brendan off the back of his reading into education research. Across the two episodes we hope to provide an in-...

Episode 119: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education I'm joined by Elliot Morgan for an in-depth exploration of the teaching/leadership job application process, establishing a timely set of guiding principles for anyone preparing to land your dream teaching job. Covering every part of the job application and interview process from start to finish, Elliot has a ton of solid-gold ad...

Episode 118: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Lloyd Williams-Jones and Christopher Such for a spot of format diversification as we take questions from listeners and do our very best to provide mildly-satisfactory responses. As part of the chat we discuss... 1. Do you report the result of in year summative assessment tests to pupils or parents and, if so, what...

Episode 117: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Neil Almond and Christopher Such for an in-depth exploration of story and the privileged position it holds in the human mind, including what this means for teachers, how we can utilise it in the classroom, and the potential pitfalls to avoid. As part of the chat we discuss... 1. Dan Willingham says that stories ar...

Episode 116: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Neil Almond and Christopher Such for an in-depth exploration of English orthography, including how it compares to other orthographies, the relationship it has with morphology, and the impact it has on the teaching of early reading and spelling. As part of the chat we discuss... 1. What is an orthography? 2. How do...

Episode 115: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Shannen Doherty, Jonny Hall and Elliot Morgan for an in-depth exploration of task design, including key principles to keep in mind when designing tasks, how to tell they are going as planned, and what to do if they don't. As part of the chat we discuss... What are the features of a well designed task? What about a poo...

Episode 114: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Dan Rosen and Elliot Morgan for an in-depth exploration of science practical experiments, including key principles to keep in mind, and what their purpose is at all . As part of the chat we discuss... 1. What is the purpose of practicals in science? 2. What are the principles of effective science practicals? 3. What p...

Episode 113: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Lloyd Williams-Jones and Christopher Such for an in-depth exploration of communication with parents/carers, including how it can go wrong, as well as effective communication strategies for teachers and/or as a school leaders to help make sure it doesn't . As part of the chat we discuss... 1. What do we mean by communi...

Episode 112: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Lisa Coe, Shannen Doherty and Sarah Farrell for an in-depth exploration of multiplication tables, the fallout from the first official multiplication check in England and how we can support all pupils in developing automaticity and understanding in this area of mathematics. As part of the chat we discuss... 1. With reg...

Episode 111: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Chris Such and Neil Almond for an in-depth exploration of teaching writing and how we can support all pupils in becoming proficient, confident writers. As part of the chat we discuss... 1. What are your guiding principles for teaching writing? 2. To what extent does primary teaching of writing match these principles?...

Episode 110: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Dave Taylor and Neil Almond for an in-depth exploration of Backward Faded Examples and how we can get the most from them in the classroom. As part of the chat we discuss... What are backward faded examples? How can we get the most from backward faded examples? What pitfalls should we try to avoid? ...plus much, much m...

Episode 109: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Gareth Rein, Stuart Tiffany and Neil Almond for a curriculum conversation covering a range of themes including... How important is the local element of curriculum design? To what extent is it the responsibility of schools to include themes such as financial literacy in their curricula? Can a high quality curriculum su...