The Impact Podcast

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 consultation. It is vital your views are heard. We've created a document containing links to the consultation and a breakdown of the key issues. To download, click here. Hosts: Finola Wilson and Jane Miller Producer: Darren Evans Visit us at: www.impact.wales Music: Power Shutoff by Craig MacArthur

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: Power Shutoff by Craig MacArthur

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: Power Shutoff by Craig MacArthur

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 us at: www.impact.wales  Music: Power Shutoff by Craig MacArthur