This episode considers how primary schools can balance their budgets, raise funds, and make the most of limited financial resources. Two school finance experts discuss tips, ideas, and advice, including tenets of best practice in optimising your school’s budget and for effective financial management. We discuss challenges including rising energy and National Insurance costs, and falling pupil rolls. We also offer a range of ideas for reducing expenditure and generating income. We consider areas ...
Nov 02, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 21
This podcast discusses effective appraisal and performance management practice in primary schools. Three experienced school leaders discuss principles of effective appraisal systems, including elements of a successful appraisal and tips for setting objectives. How can we place CPD at the heart of performance management and make the process collegiate/collaborative? How can we identify a teacher’s strengths? What can we do if a teacher is underperforming, especially to support new teachers? Other...
Oct 05, 2022•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 20
This episode tackles Ofsted inspections, offering practical advice for primary schools to help you thrive when the inspectors call. Two experienced headteachers offer tips and ideas, big and small, for handling Ofsted from start to finish. We tackle subject deep dives, explaining how they are working in practice and how we can prepare without adding to workload, including tips for subject/middle leaders. We discuss: Handling the emotions/pressure of inspection as a school leader, tactics for if ...
Sep 07, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 19
This episode considers the consequences that poverty has for children and their education and offers practical ideas for how primary schools can address these. We look at the national picture of child poverty, causes and impact, and the barriers it creates to education and school. Our experts offer key principles for how we can work to counteract the impact of disadvantage in schools and a wealth of practical ideas – large and small – for supporting pupils. We discuss family engagement, the curr...
Jul 06, 2022•1 hr 6 min•Season 2Ep. 18
This episode considers effective parent/carer engagement and asks how we can create parent-friendly schools. Our experts offer principles for effective parental engagement and discuss how schools can get parents/carers on board, how we can build positive relationships, and tips for headteachers new in post. We talk school gates, bacon sandwiches, and ideas for how we can make our schools more “parent-friendly”. There are tips for getting parents to show an interest in learning at home and for ha...
Jun 15, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 17
This episode looks at supporting pupils as they make the transition from primary to secondary school. We chat with two secondary schools and two feeder primaries about common transition challenges and solutions. We look at when transition work should begin, what the process looks like, engaging with parents, identifying pupils who may struggle, and supporting vulnerable pupils. We discuss tried and tested ideas for transition interventions, activities and taster days. Other topics include curric...
Jun 01, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Season 2Ep. 16
This episode takes a practical look at how primary schools can support vulnerable pupils, including looked after children and those living with trauma and adverse childhood experiences. We ask what form ACEs and trauma can take, what impact they have, and what being a trauma-informed school involves. We consider therapeutic approaches and how to create calming classroom environments. We discuss: making behaviour management more effective and less reactive; the common mistakes schools make and ho...
May 04, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 15
What is the best way to teach pupils to read and how can teachers ensure every child leaves primary school a fluent reader? This episode considers the components of effective whole-school reading (and literacy) strategies. The podcast is packed with teaching tips and techniques as well as whole-school ideas to engage pupils and boost reading skills. We discuss: early years & early reading work, reading aloud, improving fluency, using the school library, fostering reading for pleasure, the ki...
Apr 06, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Season 2Ep. 14
This episode considers what outstanding governance looks like in the primary school, how to be a great governor, and how school leaders and governors can work together effectively. We ask how headteachers can foster strong, professional relationships with governors, and vice-versa. We advise new headteachers how they might begin to build working relationships with governors, including questions to ask during your first meeting, and we advise governors how to build relationships with new heads. W...
Mar 02, 2022•1 hr 10 min•Season 2Ep. 13
This two-part episode offers advice and tips for good safeguarding practice and how we can keep children safe. In part two, we chat to three colleagues working in primary schools about their safeguarding work, examples of best practice, and useful ideas. They discuss current trends, effective safeguarding principles, and how to ensure a culture of “it could happen here”. Themes include SEND, Covid, spotting the patterns, effective communication, empowering staff to question narratives, supportin...
Feb 16, 2022•57 min•Season 2Ep. 12
This two-part episode offers advice/tips for good safeguarding practice in schools. In part one, safeguarding expert Elizabeth Rose speaks about current safeguarding trends and how schools can respond. Themes include the consequences of Covid-19 for safeguarding, safety of children outside school, the growing trend of online safety challenges at primary level – including peer-on-peer incidents, social media, cyberbullying, online abuse & self-generated images, and online gaming. Elizabeth ad...
Feb 02, 2022•50 min•Season 2Ep. 11
This episode asks what great school improvement practice and processes look like and how to ensure self-evaluation work in schools is effective. We discuss the key tenets of school improvement, including change management, culture and ethos. We ask what a cycle of improvement should look like and how headteachers new in post might begin this work, including building relationships, winning hearts and minds, and listening to and involving all stakeholders. We discuss common traits of effective imp...
Jan 05, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 2Ep. 10
This episode looks at how digital learning in schools is evolving in the wake of the pandemic and what it will look like in the months to come. We discuss lessons learnt from Covid, how the pandemic experience has changed practice and use of technology – and where we go next. We offer ideas for edtech practices that free-up teachers to teach, including pedagogy, homework, assessment, blended learning, flexible working and CPD. We look at what we can do to close the digital divide. This podcast h...
Dec 01, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Season 2Ep. 9
This episode considers best practice for effective CPD programmes and performance management in schools, offering some really practical ideas, examples and advice. Our expert panel reflect on their general tenets of good CPD, before discussing what an effective CPD programme or cycle looks like and giving examples from their respective schools. Other themes include teachers leading their own CPD, research-driven CPD, how to ensure CPD is focused on pupil outcomes, getting buy-in from staff, eval...
Nov 24, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Season 2Ep. 8
In this episode we look at the principles of effective SEND practice, teaching and support in the primary school. We discuss effective leadership of SEN, championing SEN in your school, communicating effectively with colleagues, and achieving consistency. We look at ensuring SEN is the responsibility of all school staff (not just the SENCO) and creating a culture of inclusion. We ask how schools can maximise outcomes for SEN pupils given funding challenges and touch upon specific teaching strate...
Oct 27, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Season 2Ep. 7
This episode looks at the principles of effective Pupil Premium work in primary schools, offering practical advice, ideas and guidance. We speak to three schools – in Portsmouth, London and Derby – about their innovations, approaches and their “golden nuggets” of practice. The discussion touches upon Family Support Workers, learning mentors, pupil wellbeing, targeted academic support, encouraging talk, transitions, high expectations, parental engagement, and metacognition. We discuss tracking pr...
Sep 29, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 2Ep. 6
This episode looks at the principles of effective curriculum design, offering practical advice, ideas and guidance for primary school leaders. As well as good practice, the discussion looks at curriculum design in light of Ofsted’s Education Inspection Framework and its renewed focus on curriculum intent, implementation and impact. We discuss steps that school leaders can take to ensure an effective, relevant and coherent curriculum. Other themes include ensuring the curriculum is relevant to yo...
Aug 25, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 5
The reforms to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) come into effect in September. The government’s Development Matters non-statutory guidance has also been revised and 'rival' sector-created guidance entitled Birth to Five Matters has been published too. This episode looks at the imminent reforms and how primary schools and early years settings can prepare. Themes include reducing teacher workload, the assessment cycle, and CPD and training. We also consider general best practice for Recepti...
Jul 28, 2021•47 min•Season 1Ep. 4
This episode looks at how primary schools can support the good wellbeing of their staff and communities. Our experts discuss how school leaders can develop a culture of wellbeing, including themes of workload, wellbeing initiatives, collaboration and teacher autonomy. We discuss protective factors for staff, including mental health training, our sense of purpose and the links between pupil and staff wellbeing, overcoming imposter syndrome, self-care (especially as a headteacher), and how to say ...
Jun 30, 2021•50 min•Season 1Ep. 3
This episode dissects the secrets to great and effective teaching in the primary school classroom. Host and former primary headteacher Helen Frostick and three expert guests look at some of the pedagogical elements that make for great lessons, the qualities that great teachers have and how we can support and develop our teachers to excel. Topics and themes include supporting early career teachers in particular, mentoring/coaching, CPD, staff collaboration, developmental observations, using techn...
May 26, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 2
The inaugural episode of the Headteacher Update Podcast looks at pupil wellbeing in the primary school. Our expert panel offer practical ideas & tips for supporting pupils during the summer term & beyond, including in the context of Covid-19. We discuss key challenges & potential solutions and strategies, touching touch upon issues of staff wellbeing, managing the continuing Covid disruption in terms of pupil wellbeing, & supporting families. We discuss wellbeing evaluations, how...
Apr 21, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 1
