This month, we’re talking about climate change and how schools are supporting their pupils to take an active interest in one of the most pressing issues facing the world today. Our guests are a Headteacher and NAHT member whose school has already started taking action to reduce its own carbon footprint, and from a member of the house of lords who is leading a campaign encouraging schools and pupils to pledge to take their own action to tackle climate change.
Sep 16, 2019•21 min
School exclusions is an issue right at the top of the government’s agenda currently, and it’s no wonder why. After a period of steady decline in the number of pupils being excluded from school, in recent years we have begun to see a worrying reversal in that trend. The government’s own data suggests the rate of exclusions is rising to almost 7,000 a year in England, the equivalent of more than 35 permanent exclusions every school day. Rising rates of exclusion not only have a significant impact ...
Jul 16, 2019•24 min
We discuss a difficult, but vitally important topic – childhood bereavement. Shockingly, around 1 in 29 children will be bereaved of a parent or sibling during their time at school and of course many more will experience bereavement of other family members or friends. Yet, if you’re like most other teachers and school leaders, you have probably received very little, if any, training on this sensitive topic. Our guest this month is Emma Muirhead from the charity Winston’s Wish.
May 26, 2019•33 min
How effective is the professional development in your school? Are you confident that the CPD your teachers are engaging in is having a positive impact on outcomes for pupils? In this episode we talk about the professional learning of teachers, and consider what school leaders can do to ensure that CPD in their school is of the highest quality. David Weston is the founder and Chief Executive of the Teacher Development Trust and one of the authors of ‘Unleashing Great Teaching’ – a new book that s...
May 04, 2019•33 min
As a profession, we've become accustomed to seeing school leaders, teachers and pupils becoming unexpected stars of the small screen. Documentaries like Educating Essex and Educating Manchester have proven to be unexpected ratings winners and have given viewers an insight into modern-day schooling along the way. You'll get to hear about one particular school community in London that may just be about to find itself becoming the star of the big screen, as we speak to the makers of a new film, ‘H ...
Mar 04, 2019•32 min
The Shared Headship network is run by a group of committed school leaders who aspire to be head teachers one day in the future. Their aim is straightforward: to support and encourage more school leaders to consider the idea of shared school leadership. James Bowen, the Edge Director got some time with two of the leaders behind this exciting project to find out more about their work. Lucy Helan is the co-founder of the network and an Assistant Vice-Principal in London. Amy Brookes is an Assistant...
Feb 05, 2019•26 min
Earlier this year, Edge Director James Bowen joined a panel at the inaugural Edtech Podcast festival in London to discuss the vital issue of teacher workload. In this month’s podcast you will get to hear that debate in full. As you will hear, James is joined on the panel by journalist and founder of Teacher Tapp, Laura McInerney; Ross Morrison McGill, better known to some by his Twitter handle, Teacher Toolkit; and also Rory McGrath, Deputy Head for the New Wave Federation.
Nov 27, 2018•34 min
Rob Webster is this months guest and is an Associate Professor at the UCL Institute of Education. Rob has worked on a number of research projects focusing on the use and impact of teaching assistants, including the ground-breaking Deployment and Impact of Support Staff project and its follow-up study, the Effective Deployment of TAs project. He is also the author of two acclaimed books on the same topic. Edge Director, James Bowen spoke with Rob to find out more about his work and the implicatio...
Oct 27, 2018•32 min
Once again this year we will bring you influential and interesting guests from the world of education. Whether it’s leadership experts, subject specialists, policy makers or education commentators, we hope you will continue to find the podcast both engaging and thought provoking. We start the year with a special double episode. In the first half we’ll hear about an exciting new project that is aiming to gain insights into the lives of teachers through the use of a smartphone app. And in the seco...
Sep 11, 2018•53 min
Jill is the former Head of Dame Alice Harpur School in Bedford. Since leaving headship in 2010, she has worked as an Associate for the National College for Teaching and Leadership, carried out a range of educational consultancy work, and completed a part-time Doctorate in Education. In her new book, ‘Making the Leap: Moving from Deputy to Head’, Jill offers practical advice on how to take the ultimate step in school leadership. James talks to Jill and in an extensive two part interview picks up ...
Jul 20, 2018•44 min
This month, our podcast is brought to you in partnership with our friends at ‘Speakers for Schools’ and in this episode we’ll speak with some very interesting and high profile guests who work closely with the charity. You'll hear from Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, writer, journalist and campaigner Fiona Millar and the Executive Director of Speakers for Schools, Ashley Hodges. NAHT is a professional association and union for schools leaders. NAHT Edge is the part of our association aimed spe...
Jun 21, 2018•30 min
Our guest is Professor Sonia Blandford. Sonia is the Chief Executive of education charity Achievement for All and the author of the book, ‘Born to Fail’. No-one in the UK is better placed than Sonia Blandford to write about the experience of working class pupils in our schools. She grew up on the Allied Estate in Hounslow and was the first member of her family to pursue education beyond the age of 14 and was also the first to attend university. She is responsible for setting up the award-winning...
Jun 21, 2018•26 min
Education adviser, writer and speaker - that's Mary Myatt. Hear Mary talk fluidly about high challenge / low threat, the often difficult subject of underperformance and the core message of her book. She'll be in conversation with NAHT Edge Director James Bowen We are also running our member referral scheme over Easter. Listen in for a great way to bolster resources in your school and how it's possible to pick up a free place on one of our CPD courses.
Mar 28, 2018•25 min
A quick steer on what you can expect from the podcast very soon; thanks for subscribing!
Feb 26, 2018•34 sec
This year in the podcast, we are looking forward to bringing you some of the most influential and interesting voices from the world of education, and this first episode is no exception. Our special guest this month is Dr Becky Allen. Becky is well known to many school leaders and teachers through her work at Education Datalab. In this interview our Edge director, James Bowen, covers a range of topics with Becky ranging from Ofsted to teacher workload. At the end of last year Becky announced she ...
Jan 21, 2018•34 min
In this podcast we hear from Dame Alison Peacock on how the Chartered College of Teaching as it comes up for its one year anniversary. Edge director James Bowen caught up with Alison to find out how things had moved on for the organisation over the last 12 months and to find out whether her early ambitions for the College had been realised. You'll also hear some insight from the NAHT's new General Secretary Paul Whiteman.
Dec 04, 2017•28 min
In this first podcast of the new school year we discuss effective literacy teaching, and find out what the evidence really tells us about this crucial topic. We also have a funding update following the Secretary of State’s announcement of additional money for schools earlier this summer. Earlier this year the Education Endowment Foundation released two reports highlighting a range of practical, evidenced-based recommendations for the teaching of literacy in primary schools. NAHT Edge Edge direct...
Sep 13, 2017•32 min
In this episode we focus on the crucial role middle leaders play in school improvement. We hear from a panel of middle leaders who reflect on what they most enjoy about their role, the challenges they face and what advice they would offer to others. We also have an interview with a leading thinker on school leadership, Andy Buck, who offers his advice on how middle leaders can make a real difference in their schools.
Jun 26, 2017•40 min
This month’s podcast is a maths special. We’ll get to grips with big ideas such as mastery and fluency, and also discuss the government’s proposed times tables checks for primary-aged pupils. There's also a look at your obligations to data protection, how that's changing and the best way to stay compliant. Professor Mike Askew is our special guest Mike has worked in education for almost 40 years. He has taught at all levels, including teacher professional development, and led research projects t...
Apr 25, 2017•34 min
Nicky Morgan was the secretary of state for education up until July of last year. In this episode we ask her what it’s really like to be the minister in charge of education, what she feels was her most significant achievement and whether she has any regrets about her time in office. We also hear from James Toop, the CEO of education charity ‘Ambition School Leadership’ about how they are supporting leadership development in schools.
Mar 16, 2017•35 min
Hello and Happy New Year. Welcome to the latest school leadership podcast brought to you by NAHT Edge and NAHT. In this first episode of 2017 we find out more about Comparative Judgement, an alternative way of assessing pupils’ writing and ask whether it could form part of a long-term solution when it comes to primary assessment. We also have an Early Years update for you from the NAHT team with some positive news on funding.
Feb 09, 2017•42 min
Amanda Spielman succeeded Sir Michael Wilshaw as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector at the start of the year. Prior to becoming the new Ofsted chief, Amanda was chair of Ofqual and she was also a founding member of the leadership team at Ark Schools. NAHT Edge director, James Bowen, met with Amanda at the Ofsted Headquarters in central London.
Feb 09, 2017•19 min
It's a very Merry Christmas from us here at NAHT and NAHT Edge, we're joined by Lewis Iwu, Director of the Fair Education Alliance. Lewis tells James Bowen about work being done to address the achievement gap and the role of character education in schools. NAHT Policy Adviser Sarah Hannafin picks over the impact being felt by Progress 8 and Ebacc. You'll also hear some great news about our collaboration with Focus Education and get a chance to book on some fine courses for middle leaders. Join a...
Feb 09, 2017•35 min
James Bowen hears from author, former Head teacher and Ofsted inspector Pie to get his views on the current English primary curriculum. Find out what he would do if he were Secretary of State for Education. Pie is one of the leading experts in the field of English and there's some superb insight in this month's podcast. Also, the roundtable discussion picks over our current assessment campaign with NAHT Edge Director James Bowen, NAHT General Secretary Russell Hobby and Director of Representatio...
Feb 09, 2017•45 min
James Bowen, Director of NAHT Edge helps to launch this brand new, sector - leading podcast with an exclusive chat with the newly appointed CEO of the Chartered College of Teaching. Alison speaks candidly about what motivates her, the events in the past that helped to shape her opinions and the future direction of the college. Russell Hobby, General Secretary of the NAHT and Valentine Mulholland, Head of Policy pick over the proposals for grammar schools in our regular roundtable discussion and ...
Feb 09, 2017•40 min
