Teachers Talk Radio

In this one off special, Kathryn Taylor is joined by author James Mannion to discuss his brand new book with John Catt Educational - Making Change Stick: A Practical Guide to Implementing School Improvement. You can grab a copy of James' book on the John Catt website right here: https://www.johncattbookshop.com/products/making-change-stick-a-practical-guide-to-implementing-school-improvement 

Lianne is joined by two expert guests to discuss all things SATs. Heather March is the Director of Teaching and Learning at Aim High Academy Trust. She has been an educator for 23 years – including previous roles as Assistant Headteacher, English Lead and a Year 6 Class Teacher.  Clair Freeman is a Senior Reading Development Consultant for DreamBox Reading Plus, and she was formerly an educator for 20 years. Her other current roles include Head of Research at Reading Solutions UK and School Governor.   In this episode, we dive deep into the world of SATs with an insightful discussion covering past trends, the 2024 exams, and preparation strategies for 2025. 🔹 Part One: SATs as a Whole – We explore the history of SATs, common barriers to success, and the challenges educators and students face. 🔹 Part Two: Reviewing 2024 – Our guests reflect on their concerns heading into the 2024 SATs, their approaches, and how their students found the exams. We also analyze key insights from the Reading Solutions UK survey, comparing the 2024 Reading SATs to 2023, with discussions on complexity, cultural relevance, and time constraints. Plus, we touch on the importance of reading comprehension in solving maths questions. 🔹 Part Three: Prepping for 2025 – Based on 2024’s outcomes, what should educators continue or change in their approach? Our guests share practical strategies and expert advice for teachers gearing up for the next round of SATs. 🔹 Part Four: Conclusion – We wrap up with final thoughts, thank yous, and useful resources, including Reading Solutions UK’s SATs series and survey. Tune in for valuable insights, strategies, and reflections to help educators and students navigate SATs with confidence! www.readingsolutionsuk.co.uk

Is your school well-being policy making you ill?  Do you find it trite, tokenistic or just plain insincere? or maybe you have the best well-being policy in the world or even no need for a well-being policy at all because your colleagues are...err...well.   Then this is the podcast for you. Download the episode now.

Brent and Adam dive into the recent debate surrounding the Natural History GCSE and whether politics should dictate what our students learn.

Chris delves into the impact of staff collaboration in education, sharing his insights from a CPD session on retrieval practice, low-stakes assessments, and effective feedback

Tom Rogers is joined by Rob Bruce of the Leadership Skills Foundation and Phil Wood, Professor of Education at Nottingham Trent University. They discuss todays announcements regarding changes to OFSTED inspections. They look at the new OFSTED 'report card' in detail, including the new areas to be assessed and how inspections might work with regards to these, including the 5 point sliding scale from cause for concern to exemplary. What are the possible pitfalls of this new system? Are there any positives? Listen to find out! 

Leading Literacy to Empower Every Student with special guest Andy Sammons.

In tonight's show, I chat about time management, particularly if you're a student. How can you balance a study workload and still have a social life? What can you do when you feel overwhelmed?

How to promote critical thinking for kids with special guest Stephanie Simoes.

In this episode, we tackle the crisis facing Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) and English as an Additional Language (EAL) in schools. With declining language uptake, funding challenges in higher education institutes and a growing need for multilingual education globally, what can we do to turn the tide? Host Sarah Kate Towlson is joined by Silvia Bastow and Gemma Donovan, two leading experts in language education and acquisition, to discuss the realities, challenges and solutions for keeping languages alive in the classroom. From policy shifts to leadership strategies, this is a must-listen for educators, leaders and language advocates working in our increasingly multilingual schools.