podcast

"I love moaning! The only rule is - if you moan about something, you've got to have an idea about a better way of doing it. If you haven’t got an idea on how to make it better, then your moaning is...

“Every decision I made that was ill-informed meant that people were losing a little bit of faith in me.” Dan Edwards is the principal of Woodstock Primary Academy, a large primary school in the...

"Work is somewhere I go to do something I'm good at, but it's not who I am."What does an ex-police office know about teacher stress? Quite a lot, as it turns out.  Tom Wheelhouse founded...

"People can spend their lives with an emotional bully in their head, constantly undermining them, constantly putting them down, constantly judging themselves, and then they wonder why they’re...

"I teach teachers to help children cope with difficult feelings. Difficult emotions can give us important messages if we're unafraid to hear and them and feel them, without becoming utterly...

  "We have the potential to lead stress-free lives. We know that it’s possible because we have evidence and training."   Professor Jo Clarke is a former Forensic Psychologist and worked in...

"Every decision that’s taken, is taken through the lens of “will this adversely affect staff wellbeing and mental health?” And if the answer is ‘yes it will’ you modify it or you don’t continue with...

"Our Executive Functions are core brain processes that help us regulate our emotions, organise our time and our thoughts, and to do the advanced human activities that we need so much to participate...

"If we all come together, we become collaboratively responsible for every child, in every school, being successful." Alison Kriel is the founder of the newly launched 'Above & Beyond Education'...

"Your purpose is often what you’re most longing for." Naomi Ward has over 14 years experience in the classroom and leadership and is the founder of Purposeful Educators. In this insightful,...

"Life will work for us, rather than against us. The more you allow that to happen, the more it does happen." Mark Taylor has been a professional percussionist for 25 years and has performed with...

"What we need to remember is that effectively, we are just well-dressed neanderthals." This is an episode with a difference! What does a survival specialist know about the struggles of teachers or...

"Leaders need to make schools permeable to the best ideas. Not just incoming ideas but sharing ideas out - breaking down silos everywhere. It’s the art, the craft, and the science of pupil...

"We want “flexible living” not flexible working. We want people to live really well; to be healthy and happy and feel like they can contribute." Emma Turner has been in primary teaching for 23...

I was delighted to be a guest of the Key Voices podcast with the lovely host Caroline Doherty. We recorded this podcast as part of Stress Awareness Month. “Sleeplessness is a feature of the stress...

"We’re all going to fail. Spoiler alert. It’s how we engage with failure that’s important. Ask yourself: what can I learn from this? How can I use this knowledge?" Sam Moinet is a former History...

"I heard a Headteacher on the radio say "I can't go on", and thought, we've got to do something about this now. (But) how do you actually make a difference to the wellbeing of your Headteacher?...

"(Our) mojo is a positive collision of all the different facets of what we care about, what we enjoy doing, how we can carve out a way of being that brings together that purpose, passion, and...

"The reason I lead the Chartered College of Teaching is that the profession very often knows best and too often we’re subject to external interference." Professor Dame Alison Peacock is Chief...

"What is it that I’m bringing into this room that’s making my class resist the learning that I'm bringing to such an extent?" 20 years ago, Steve Carr was an English teacher and experienced his...

Lucy Rose co-founded "Flexible Teacher Talent" with Lindsay Patience. They are passionate about normalising flexible working in schools in order to retain effective teachers and leaders. In this...

Simon Ward is a Senior Educational Psychologist in the Wirral in the North of England, where his specialism is positive psychology and wellbeing. In this practical and fascinating episode, Simon...

"We need to recognise that good safeguarding within schools is when schools have a really, really effective culture of safeguarding and vigilance. This is the job of everyone." Louis Donald is an...

"Do we ever need to return to the way things were? Could this not be an opportunity for us to come together as a single team and to properly consider what it actually takes for a school to progress...

"I believe there are some things (we can do) that would make a really big difference for the whole workforce." Sinéad McBrearty is the Chief Executive Officer of Education Support, the only UK...

"In June 2020, I made a #DiverseEd Pledge to continue to help, support and grow the number of Black males (from all denominations of Black) in teaching and Senior Leadership. However, 7 months on,...

"We need to be having ongoing conversations with openness and a willingness to learn and listen. Then translate that into meaningful, sustainable action." Bukky Yusuf is a senior leader, science...

Over half of teachers and school leaders are struggling to get a good night’s sleep, according to the latest Teacher Wellbeing Index research. This episode is a bit different than normal, as I’m the...

"Accept how you're feeling; it’s ok if you do not feel ok. It’s ok to find things hard. I felt guilty and selfish. I got to point of burnout and break down and it would have been better not to get...

"What daily, weekly, monthly habits can you put in your diary right now that will keep you doing your job safe and well, and happy?" Kelly Hannaghan is a Mental Health and Wellbeing Consultant with...

At what point are we going to say “the sticking plaster approach is no longer going to hold together a system that’s fundamentally broken”? Andy Mellor has over 30 year's experience teaching and...

"There are lots of good people brought into leadership teams that are poor leaders. A great teacher doesn’t necessarily make a great leader." Mal Krishnasamy is an Educational Consultant &...

“The greatest success of the project has come from seeing teachers invest in themselves, recognise their worth and choose more of the life that they wish to live. Teachers: the possibilities are...

Laura McInerney is the Co-Founder of Teacher Tapp, the daily survey app that asks over 8,000 teachers each day about what they want, need, think and feel. Laura shares her insights into what's...

"We were forced into the biggest, most sudden education experiment we’ve ever experienced." Ernest Jenavs is the CEO of Edurio, the research company responsible for the largest comprehensive...

The famous quote from Maya Angelou, "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel", is the basis of this...

Please note: in this episode Ross shares his personal story of being a sexual abuse survivor, which some people may find upsetting. "We cannot have a world-class education system on a shoestring...

Being a teacher, leader or member of the support staff is tough. So how do you look after yourself first, so you can make the biggest difference for your learners? How do you 'do less, better' in...

Many of us are experiencing chronic stress during these challenging times, including our pupils. When we experience chronic stress - that is when our nervous system is activated for long periods of...

    There are quotes from ancient history, where Socrates is having difficulty teaching boys. There are age-old challenges and in this podcast, Mark shares 5 strategies that teachers can...

In the current challenging circumstances, it can feel overwhelming as a school leader to know what's 'the 'right thing to do'. Guidelines are open to such wide interpretation that it can feel like a...

Pupil behaviour is the second highest reason why teachers leave the profession (behind workload.) Adele shares her key strategies for teachers, school leaders and educators who are struggling to...

Stress, anxiety and exhaustion levels are already sky-high for many teachers. We know we can't 'pour from an empty cup'; we need to put our own 'oxygen mask' on first; we should be practising...

Staffrooms have a vital role to play in schools. They're normally the hub of the staff community and a place to eat, drink, work, socialise and rest. So what can we do without them, or with limited...

We know how important whole-school wellbeing is, but it can be difficult to know where to start or what to prioritise. Vanessa McHardy is an Integrative Child Psychotherapist who works in schools...

We all have character strengths. When we know what they are, we can use them to powerfully enhance our individual wellbeing and create an environment in the classroom and across the school that...

Being a newly qualified or recently qualified teacher in 2020 will be challenging. On top of the usual demands of a new career, dealing with the uncertainty of Covid and implementing guidelines in...

School leadership in 2020 is more challenging than any other time in living memory. We explore how school leaders can protect their wellbeing and build a thriving school culture in a time of crisis....

Dr Sue Roffey is a psychologist, academic, author, activist and speaker. She is currently an honorary professor at universities in the UK and Australia and the Director of Growing Great Schools...

Sam Garner is a renowned speaker and trainer on Mental Health and Special Educational Needs (SEN) and an ex SENCO.  Sam is a qualified Cognitive Behavioural Therapist and trains education...