"Civilisation is a race between education and catastrophe." (HG Wells)
In this podcast, we take Wells at his word. Hosted by Dr James Mannion and David Cameron, Rethinking Education features long-form conversations with fascinating guests about how we might create a more diverse, intelligent, responsive educational ecosystem that works for *all* young people.
If this sounds interesting to you, welcome to Rethinking Education: Education's Critical Friend: https://rethinking-ed.org/podcast
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Sophie Smith-Tong joins James and David to discuss her book Teacher Autonomy: Where Has It Gone and Why We Need It Back – and the conversation is as rich, funny, and urgent as the title suggests. Sophie is a teacher of 16 years and mental health and wellbeing lead, who came to the question of autonomy through noticing the human cost of a system built on fear. In this episode, she makes the case that the loss of teacher autonomy isn't just a professional grievance – it's a structural wound that a...
Power is everywhere in schools – in classrooms, staffrooms, policies, and conversations. Yet it is rarely named, examined, or understood. In this episode, James Mannion and David Cameron are joined by Dee Nic Sitric to explore how power operates – often invisibly – and what becomes possible when schools begin to surface it. Drawing on systemic thinking, neurodivergent perspectives, and real-world examples, this conversation examines how power shapes behaviour, relationships, decision-making, and...
In this episode, James and David are joined by Sue Roffey – educational psychologist, researcher, and leading voice on wellbeing, social justice, and relational approaches to education. Sue traces her journey from working with young people facing emotional and behavioural challenges, through educational psychology and academia, to her current work developing the ASPIRE principles – a framework for reimagining education through agency, safety, positivity, inclusion, respect and equity. The conver...
“It’s not about teacher-centred or student-centred. I would argue it’s dialogue-centred.” In this episode of the Rethinking Education podcast, Dr James Mannion and The Read David Cameron explore these questions with Professor Rupert Wegerif, author of Rethinking Educational Theory: Education as Expanding Dialogue. Rupert has spent decades researching how dialogue shapes thinking and learning. Drawing on work with Neil Mercer and the Thinking Together programme, he shows how teaching children to ...
Why do so many lessons feel disconnected to students – even when the content is genuinely fascinating? In this episode, Dr James Mannion is joined by teacher and author Hywel Roberts to explore 'botheredness' – a way of teaching that draws students into learning through narrative, curiosity and shared imagination. They discuss why pupils often struggle to see the relevance of what they are learning, and how small shifts in pedagogy can transform a lesson from something students comply with into ...
Many school behavior initiatives fail due to overlooked factors. This episode, featuring Tara Elie and Dr. James Mannion, argues that sustained change requires understanding the psychology of "mattering"—where staff and students feel valued and add value—and applying implementation science. They introduce practical tools like "slice teams" for distributed ownership and "root cause analysis" to diagnose underlying issues beyond surface-level behavior. By integrating these lenses, schools can foster cultures of connection and improve outcomes more effectively.
As the number of living Holocaust survivors declines, a profound question emerges: who carries these stories next – and how do we ensure they are heard, understood, and acted upon? In this episode, timed to mark Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27th, James and David are joined by Hannah Wilson, Outreach Officer at the charity Generation to Generation, alongside two G2G speakers, Vivienne Cato and and Calum Isaacs, who share their own family histories as descendants of Holocaust survivors. (You ...
In this second episode of a two-part mini-series, Tara Elie turns the tables and interviews Dr James Mannion about the thinking behind Making Change Stick – and why so many school behaviour initiatives fail, even when the policy itself is sound. Following on from the previous episode on the psychology of mattering, this conversation explores what happens after the policy launch: how change is (or isn’t) implemented in real schools, and why top-down, ‘black box’ approaches so often lead to incons...
Dr. James Mannion and Tara Elie discuss why many school behavior initiatives fail and how to make change stick. Drawing on lessons from healthcare and engineering, they advocate for "slice teams" that involve diverse staff, students, and families to design, test, and refine change. This approach redistributes power, improves decision-making, and fosters buy-in by making everyone feel heard and valued. The conversation also highlights crucial tools like root cause analysis and comprehensive communication plans for sustainable improvement.
Dr. James Mannion and Tara Elie discuss "mattering"—feeling valued and adding value—as a critical, often overlooked, psychology construct more fundamental than belonging for improving education. Drawing on Tara's research and experience, they explore how low mattering contributes to disengagement, burnout, and behavioral issues among staff and students. The conversation provides a framework for leaders to foster a sense of purpose, agency, resilience, and engagement by cultivating mattering in school communities.
James and David reflect on a turbulent 2025 in education, using a "choppy sea" metaphor to describe challenges from student behavior and attendance to systemic pressures and widening inequality. The discussion emphasizes that relationships, belonging, and being known are paramount, a point powerfully illustrated by a story about restorative justice, which is then connected to current school systems. They critique the Curriculum and Assessment Review, particularly regarding the future of GCSEs and adolescent development, before looking ahead to 2026 with hope, highlighting examples of relational and imaginative school work and new podcast initiatives focused on oracy and "beyond subject" learning.
Dr. James Mannion and David Cameron interview Lisa O’Loughlin and Jon Hutchinson, members of England's Curriculum & Assessment Review panel, to delve into the complexities of their year-long task. They discuss balancing ambition with political and practical constraints, the redefinition of "high standards for all" to include diverse pathways, and the significant impact of recommendations regarding oracy, arts education, and post-16 qualifications. The conversation also addresses the review's cautious approach to assessment reform and whether its evolutionary changes are sufficient to tackle current educational challenges.
In this energising and wide-ranging conversation, Dave Whitaker joins James and David to explore behaviour, belonging, learner effectiveness, and the courageous cultural work needed to create schools in which every child can thrive. Dave Whitaker is the Chief Education Officer at the Wellspring Academy Trust, working across 33 schools and alternative provisions in the north of England and Lincolnshire. A former geography teacher who moved through the pastoral route into leadership, Dave is known...
Dr. James Mannion and Chris Braitch explore the often-hidden emotional harm within the private school system, revealing how early separation and institutional neglect can lead to lifelong issues like hypervigilance and addiction, directly challenging societal perceptions of "privilege." The conversation also covers James's work on learner effectiveness and implementation science in education, highlighting the need for a human-centered approach. They advocate for significant reforms, emphasizing emotional education, effective safeguarding, and compassionate leadership to transform outcomes for all young people.
This episode features Kate McAllister and Nick Covington discussing how to restore humanity to education. They explore traditional schooling's dehumanizing effects, showcase human-centered education in practice, and delve into student self-regulation, flow in learning, and the importance of authentic audience and interdisciplinary projects. The conversation also highlights how progressive educators can leverage data and courageous leadership to drive systemic change.
We’re back for Season 6! In this reflective episode, James and David catch up after the summer and explore the “big idea” that’s been emerging across recent blogs and conversations: there is more to human development than learning about subjects. They discuss the need for schools to make space for personal growth, wellbeing, and learner effectiveness alongside subject learning – and why our current focus on a purely knowledge-rich curriculum isn’t enough to prepare young people for life beyond s...
In this episode, David and James sit down with Jaz Ampaw-Farr to talk about her powerful new book Because of You, This is Me: The stories we tell, the stories we change and the power of everyday heroes. We explore the big themes of the book, including: The lies we’ve agreed to and how to rewrite them Why we need a new vocabulary for education And the everyday heroes who changed the ending for Jaz Along the way we also touch on the importance of listening to voices of lived experience – a convers...
This episode features Richard Bustin discussing his book, 'What Are We Teaching?', exploring the tensions between progressive and traditional approaches to education. The conversation delves into the concepts of powerful knowledge and capabilities, questioning how curriculum can build students' abilities beyond test scores. It highlights the importance of teacher professionalism and autonomy in shaping what and how we teach.
In this powerful and practical conversation, Dr James Mannion and The Real David Cameron are joined by the inspirational Amjad Ali – teacher, leader, inclusion expert, founder of Try This Teaching and author of A Little Guide for Teachers: SEND in Schools – to explore what it would take to fix the SEND crisis. With over 20 years of experience across a wide range of educational settings, Amjad brings a wealth of knowledge and deep compassion to the question of how we can better serve learners wit...
In this joyful and thought-provoking episode, we’re joined by Tom Veck and Andy Hawkings from Rocktopus – the world’s greatest rock band for kids (and educators, as it turns out). At the last Rethinking Education conference, Tom and Andy did something truly remarkable: in front of a live audience of 500 people, they wrote a brand new song on the spot. With lyrics provided by the audience and four chords chosen entirely at random, they created a tune that’s both hilarious and haunting – and just ...
In this short episode of the Rethinking Education podcast, James Mannion speaks with Dr Kulvarn Atwal – a highly respected headteacher leading not one, but two schools: Highlands Primary and Uphall Primary in East London. Kulvarn is the author of The Thinking School and The Thinking Teacher, and a long-time advocate of distributed leadership and research-informed practice. He shares insights into how his schools are developing cultures of continuous improvement through collaboration and genuine ...
Dr. James Mannion and David Cameron, joined by Warwick Mansell and Dr. Naomi Fisher, explore the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. They discuss how the academies system contributes to inequality and secrecy, and how the bill could increase state control over home education. The conversation also tackles the broader "educational polycrisis," the tyranny of testing, and the challenge of fostering child well-being over narrow exam results, concluding with a debate on the "school shaming" accusation for critics.
In today’s episode, I bring you a fascinating conversation with John Tomsett and Mary Myatt – two people who’ve done so much to shape thinking about curriculum and leadership in schools over recent years. Mary Myatt is an education adviser, writer and speaker. She started out as an RE teacher and has written extensively about curriculum, leadership and school improvement – books like High Challenge, Low Threat, The Curriculum: Gallimaufry to Coherence and of course the original Huh. John Tomsett...
Lewis Wedlock is an academic, mental health professional and masculinities educator from Bristol, England. He has spent the last five years working with thousands of young men across the UK in secondary and higher education, engaging them in topics such as feminism, allyship, accountability, sexism, misogyny and VAWG. He has designed and delivered several interventions for schools looking to transform their masculinity school cultures, and has worked with hundreds of educators to support them in...
In this special episode, Dr James Mannion and The Real David Cameron take a look at the education systems in the four nations of the United Kingdom and ask: what can we learn from one another? Graham Donaldson has been central to development in Scotland as chief inspector, advising government as well as leading on quality assurance. And remarkably he has also been central to the development of Curriculum for Wales in the role of chief adviser to the Welsh Government. Tony Gallagher, from Queens ...
This episode features an astonishing conversation by two remarkable educators, Hywel Roberts and Tim Taylor. Tim kindly stepped in as a guest host for this episode, to explore some of the big ideas that underpin Hywel’s excellent book, Botheredness: Stories, stance, pedagogy. LINKS Buy Botheredness - https://www.crownhouse.co.uk/botheredness Follow Hywel - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hywel-roberts-67ba032b/ Follow Tim - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-taylor-50358439/ Outro track: ‘How it is and...
In this episode - our first rodeo as co-hosts - we are joined by Dr Debra Kidd, the author of A Curriculum of Hope, and by Tina Farr and Clare Whyles, the headteacher and deputy head of St. Ebbe’s Primary School in Oxford. Tina, Clare and the St Ebbe’s team have done some incredible work in recent years bringing a curriculum of hope to life for their learners, and spreading a little joy and belonging along the way. LINKS St. Ebbe’s - https://st-ebbes.oxon.sch.uk/ Follow Tina - https://www.linked...
Welcome to this episode in which we get to know our new cohost, The Real David Cameron! David Cameron is an incredible educator, public speaker and human being whose work I have admired for many years now. He has been a teacher, a senior manager in schools and in local authorities, most recently as Director of Children’s Services for Stirling Council. He was President of the Association of Directors of Education Scotland and has been centrally involved in virtually every major development in Sco...
In this episode I’m speaking with Mick Waters and David Cameron, two of the editors of a wonderful new book Unfinished Business: The life and legacy of Sir Tim Brighouse - a tribute and a call to action. It’s a long title and rightly so - there’s a lot to say about Tim and about the ideas he pursued throughout his remarkable career. Mick Waters is a former head teacher who works closely with teachers and leaders in schools, MATs and local authorities to support the development of teaching approa...
Clare Sealy currently works as the Head of Education Improvement for the states of Guernsey. Prior to this, she was the Headteacher of St Matthias Primary School in Tower Hamlets for 22 years. In 2018, the Times Education Supplement named her as one of the 10 most influential people in the world of education. In 2022, Clare was awarded an OBE for services to education. Oracy – in case you’re unfamiliar with the term – was coined in 1965 to put spoken language firmly on the map, giving it equal s...
