Today on the podcast we will be talking about working with the students who are the hardest to teach, and the hardest to reach. The students who you are told to try to build the relationship with, but they resist it and throw it back in your face. The students who need a hell of a lot of support, and let’s face it probably need a placement that is more therapeutic, but are still working with you in your classrooms. I take you through a metaphor for understanding what it truly takes to shift beha...
Jan 16, 2024•26 min•Season 4Ep. 46
In today’s episode, I am going to be giving you a visual metaphor to approaching challenging classroom behaviour that can be a game changer. This is something that I was taught way back in my first year of teaching and it has stuck with me ever since. It is one of the things that started to really build my own classroom management approach to what it is today. I use it in my own classroom, I discuss this over the table with my own staff, I have presented this to different schools, I embed it in ...
Jan 09, 2024•24 min•Season 4Ep. 45
I spent the first 5 years of my career feeling like I needed to be ‘all over’ every single facet of the lesson to contain and reduce challenging behaviours. This meant working through almost every weekend and break that I had. Yes, it helped my classroom management! I was able to create lessons that were well-resourced, pitched right, scaffolded brilliantly so students could access them, relevant… all of the things that support us in mitigating some of the challenging behaviours that we may see....
Dec 19, 2023•19 min
2023 has been one of the biggest, and most transformational times in my life. Both professionally, and personally. It has been a year where too many dreams decided to show up at once (I understand how much of an oxymoron that is). So I just had to lean into the beautiful chaos of it all and MAKE it work. I had a baby. I wrote a book. I ran my business. I got married. I was a senior leader. And allll of the things that go along with every single one of the above. In this episode, I reflect on the...
Dec 12, 2023•27 min•Season 4Ep. 43
As the year draws to a close, things start to get increasingly challenging. You have your head teacher telling you that you need to keep learning until the last minute, even though you KNOW your students are checked out (and let’s be honest, we’re teetering on that edge too). Your students are becoming more and more unsettled. The energy shifts. The disruptions, and the general volume, within the class, increase. Yep, that countdown starts to drag, and drag, the closer we get. We feel like we sh...
Dec 05, 2023•21 min•Season 4Ep. 42
One of the things that used to really grind my gears as a teacher was when I was trying to teach a new skill to students, whether it be an analytical response or a piece of creative writing, and they would say something like the following: “I know how to do this already” “This is baby work, I did it in Year 3”, Or the worst one… “Why do I have to learn English, I already speak the language!!” Of course as a teacher I COULD spend a chunk of the lesson explaining until I am blue in the face about ...
Nov 26, 2023•19 min•Season 4Ep. 41
The first 5 minutes of a lesson can absolutely be make or break for behaviour. What you do in this time and how you prepare for it can be the deciding factor between a productive, calm, controlled space where students can learn, and a lesson that very quickly continues to descend into chaos. So how to make sure those first 5 minutes are absolutely on point with what is needed to ensure the best success for you and your students? The 3 Es. Listen in as I talk through what these 3 Es are and how y...
Nov 21, 2023•27 min•Season 4Ep. 40
Ever wondered how you, as an educator, can foster and nurture a positive and productive relationship with the parents of your more challenging students? This episode guides you through the hurdle-filled journey of positively engaging with parents, even when resistance or blame are at play. This podcast episode dives into four actionable steps that will help shift the overall sentiment of your parent interactions. I share effective strategies for getting off on the right foot, making those diffic...
Nov 14, 2023•24 min•Season 4Ep. 39
There are so many things that I wish somebody had told me before having a baby. Returning to work post-maternity and all of the waves of emotion and challenge involve is one of them. This episode is important not just for those mums needing a bit of solidarity, but for EVERY SINGLE PERSON. We all need to do better at supporting new Mums in the workplace, and an awareness of the struggles is a good place to start. So listen in as I have quite a candid conversation about the past term of work afte...
Nov 07, 2023•23 min•Season 4Ep. 38
On today’s episode I have the pleasure of talking to Marie Gentles, you might know her best as the expert in BBC documentaries Don’t Exclude Me and Helping our Teens, and now as the author of the book Gentles Guidance: How to Understand, Inspire and Empower Your Kids which has been recently published in June this year. She has also developed Gentle Guidance, where she delivers her own digital Behaviour Training Programme for schools/services and families. To say that this woman is moving mountai...
Oct 31, 2023•55 min•Season 4Ep. 37
Do you ever give instructions for a task to a class full of students, only to have a bunch of hands go up or confused faces looking back at you? Maybe you have low level behaviours buzzing and a disengaged hum the moment you send them off to do their task? Teachers, the answer to tackling these things could be in your clarity of instruction. This episode is designed to arm you with practical strategies to enhance clarity of instruction and student engagement. I delve into the complexities and ch...
Sep 05, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 36
In this episode, I delve into the pivotal role of felt safety in classrooms. You'll learn how to craft a climate of felt safety that hushes unpredictability and amplifies familiarity, helping students to stay calm and regulated, ultimately reducing and mitigating disruptive behaviors. One game changer when it comes to increasing this consistency, is the humble seating plan. It's more than just curbing low-level disturbances; it's about offering students a consistent, predictable space that silen...
Aug 29, 2023•19 min•Season 3Ep. 35
This week's "pillar" episode of The Unteachables Podcast explains the concepts at the core of my approach to classroom management; coregulation, regulation and dysregulation. I uncover how our survival instincts contribute to our emotional landscape and the implications it holds for teaching, and set the stage for future episodes where I delve into actionable classroom management underpinned by the need for co-regulation. Listen in as I discuss the role of the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex,...
Aug 22, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 34
Teachers, this episode I speak through the 5 mantras I use in my everyday practice to stay calm, stay connected, and ultimately, protect my peace! I made this a quickie so you could return to this whenever you needed it as a bit of a pick me up. Write them down, pop them up on your wall, in your planner, on your desk, share with a teacher friend! Just have them in the forefront of your mind as you enter the school year (or the week) ahead. Claire x Have a question, comment, or just want to say h...
Aug 15, 2023•14 min•Season 3Ep. 33
In this episode I speak to the incredible Robyn Gobbel, and when I say you’ll want to listen to this, you should really trust me on this one. Robyn is a former therapist turned author, podcaster, educator, and community creator, supporting the grown-ups who care for kids with vulnerable nervous systems and big, baffling behaviors. Her work has been with children with histories of complex trauma, through which she takes a relational neuroscience approach to understanding what behaviour REALLY is....
Aug 08, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 32
Today, we're diving deep into a common saying in the behavior management world: "Behavior is communication." But let's be honest, it's so broad that it often leaves us wondering, "What are they really trying to tell us?" Well, in this episode, I've got you covered! In this episode I will be: Unraveling the true meaning behind "Behavior is communication" and how it relates to our students' unmet needs. Understanding the concept of Choice Theory and how our students' choices are influenced by five...
Aug 01, 2023•26 min•Season 3Ep. 31
Once a mentor said something to me that changed the way I viewed teaching: We teach students, not subjects. I am an English teacher. I love English. I wanted students to love English as much as I did, to enjoy it, to be inspired by the concepts, to read a book and discuss it as a class and be thinking wow I was just transported into a dystopian land and I can see connections between that and out current society and wow mind blown!!! Now? This is the furthest thing from my job. Teaching doesn't m...
Jul 18, 2023•15 min•Season 3Ep. 30
I am sure I don't need to tell you this, but as a teacher, there is SO MUCH TO FREAKING DO! This is why some of the BIG questions I get asked from teachers, particularly newer teachers, is about things like prioritising, time management, and how we can do allllll the things that are required of us. The answer is simple.... We can't. At least, we can't do everything well and still have a bit of balance. As an experienced teacher and now a senior leader I absolutely don’t do it all - I set boundar...
Jul 11, 2023•19 min•Season 3Ep. 29
On today's episode I dive into how our beliefs and assumptions about our students have a direct correlation with either their success, OR their failure. These are the Pygmalion and Golem effects. The self-fulfilling prophesy. The 1968 Rosenthal and Jacobson study concluded that when a teacher expects a student to excel, that student is more likely to perform well, while students who are expected to struggle or underperform, often do so. Listen in to hear about: The things that we do as teachers ...
Jul 03, 2023•18 min•Season 3Ep. 28
If you would like a printable cheat sheet of the steps found in this episode, click here. Have you ever had to address comments from students that were homophobic, racist, misogynistic, ablest, or problematic in any other way? If you're a teacher, it's likely the answer to that question is yes... Annnnd it only seems to be getting tougher. With male 'role models' in the social media space such as Andrew Tate, we are seeing a rise in students expressing these damaging misogynistic views, young bo...
Jun 27, 2023•20 min•Season 3Ep. 27
In this episode of The Unteachables Podcast, I talk apologies, and the conundrum of forcing them. It feels like a knee-jerk reaction when a student has done something harmful... "What do you say?" or "Say sorry." It makes sense why we do this. As the teacher we want to get to a resolution. We want to make things better! However simply forcing a student to say sorry is definitely not a solution to challenging behaviour and conflict... in fact, it's a big 'out' the allows accountability to go down...
Jun 20, 2023•24 min•Season 3Ep. 26
Join me in this week's episode of The Unteachables Podcast as I dive into the power of an actionable approach to restorative practice. Through this ep I will help you to discover how accountability, reflection, and restoration can transform those frustrating behaviour challenges into golden teaching opportunities. Get ready for a refreshing approach that focuses on respect, support, collaboration, and meaningful discussions. I share my top foundational consequences, tailor-made to authentically ...
Jun 13, 2023•22 min•Season 3Ep. 25
In this episode, I take you on a mini pod journey as I unravel my tips for setting expectations with students. Join me as I explore: - The drawbacks of traditional rules and the power of expectations in fostering collaboration and connection. - Why expectations are more effective in gaining student buy-in and creating a productive learning environment. - Practical strategies for effectively setting expectations, including dedicating explicit lessons and encouraging student input. - The importanc...
Jun 06, 2023•23 min•Season 3Ep. 24
This episode is a BIG ONE! The incredible Laura co-founder of The Kindness Curriculum visits the podcast to talk all things mindfulness (and beyond!) Listen in to hear us chat about... Why classroom management is all about regulation, not about just firefighting behaviours. What's the big deal with mindfulness? The complexities and barriers to using mindfulness in the classroom (hint... teaching is a bloody stressful job). How we can bring mindfulness into our classrooms to help with behaviour a...
May 23, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 23
"Have you ever experienced the quiet calm that sweeps over the room when you ask your students to copy the work off the board, write down definitions or do a word search? If you teach students with social, emotional and mental health needs, I would almost guarantee the answer to that is yes. When it comes to classroom compliance, this style of pedagogy works. Which is why it is no surprise that it is common practice in schools where there are high proportions of students who exhibit challenging ...
May 16, 2023•21 min•Season 2Ep. 22
On this week’s episode I get to have a chat with the incredible Danica, an educational mentor and consultant and the woman behind Little Bloom Consultancy. Through her work, she helps educators and parents transform how they support children’s behaviour and emotional development. Her work is firmly rooted in the values around teaching and respecting the whole human being, empathy, understanding. We discuss a wide range of things, including her series on ‘what to do when a child says no’ where sh...
May 09, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Season 2Ep. 21
Are you ready for an open house tour into That'll Teach 'Em?! 13 years ago I stepped into the classroom with no confidence and no clue. I was plonked into a chaotic classroom with 30 ‘unmanageable’ and ‘unteachable’ students And then another, and another, year after year, and I had no option but to learn how to swim. It started with a little doggy paddle, and now I am on a pretty smooth freestyle, but it wasn’t an easy journey. Now, looking back from the other side, I know how desperately teache...
Apr 25, 2023•20 min•Season 2Ep. 20
On this week's episode I am going to be talking about the entire narrative around behaviour management that is getting teachers stuck in PURE survival mode. It is a trap! And what is the trap? Seeing behaviour management is solely that. Behaviour management. Just about responding to and addressing behaviour. It keeps teachers in a viscous never-ending cycle. Particularly with low level behaviours that can't necessarily be resolved by doing anything about every little frustrating micromoment. It ...
Apr 18, 2023•17 min•Season 2Ep. 19
Let’s talk about the fiction vs reality of Matilda’s MISS HONEY! She has inspired a generation of teachers. For so many she was actually the reason, the catalyst, the inspiration to get into the job of teaching. She was the saving grace to the kids she taught. She was generous, she was compassionate, she protected her students and their wellbeing from the incredibly punitive and nasty principal Ms Trunchbull, who used behaviour management strategies that were physically and psychologically abusi...
Apr 11, 2023•18 min•Season 2Ep. 17
In this episode, I answer the question, “aren’t we just excusing bad behaviour when we look into why it is happening?” Why bother learning about behaviour? Afterall, whatever the reason behind it, it doesn’t change the fact that it IS happening and we need to address it all the same as teachers right? So why spend time learning about it? Doesn’t learning about the why behind behaviour excuse the behaviour in a way? No, certainly not. In fact, learning more about the why behind the behaviour is i...
Apr 04, 2023•20 min•Season 2Ep. 17
