In this episode, Amy and Shaddai discuss oracy benchmarks and what we mean by high quality oracy education. Amy discusses the levers teachers have to help identify oracy as well as the high expectations set on oracy education. Amy and Shaddai discuss being ambitious for students and using your voice to deliberately involve all children. They talk about valuing different accents and dialects and creating opportunities to engage in exploratory talk. Practitioners may be interested in learning more...
Jul 24, 2025ā¢18 minā¢Season 8Ep. 6
Dr. Shaddai Tembo is joined by Amy Gaunt, Director of Learning, Impact and Influence at Voice21, a national oracy education charity who work with schools across the UK. Amy and Shaddai discuss how oracy is defined and how we deliberately think about the way we speak with children. They highlight the benefits of an oracy-rich curriculum to support life beyond school and help children to be good friends and life partners in their adult life. Amy touches on the four strands of the oracy framework t...
Jul 17, 2025ā¢17 minā¢Season 8Ep. 5
Dr. Shaddai Tembo is joined by Mike Gardner for a final episode, to discuss embedding oracy in school culture by integrating into policies, practical steps for teachers and the role of parents in collaborative oracy education. Mike highlights the everyday opportunity that pick-up and drop-off times can offer educators to engage and collaborate with parents to demonstrate what good social interaction looks like to the child. Teachers can also consider their own communication skills and how to mod...
Jul 10, 2025ā¢18 minā¢Season 8Ep. 4
In this episode, Dr. Shaddai Tembo and Mike Gardner discuss the role of oracy in building self-efficacy and supporting emotional regulation through talk. They touch on how educators can support children to build confidence in the classroom and communicate their thoughts and feelings. Mike and Shaddai talk about childrenās identity and how this links to oracy, as well as how adults need to help foster positive relationships and allow children to feel they are a part of the environment they are in...
Jul 03, 2025ā¢16 minā¢Season 8Ep. 3
Dr. Shaddai Tembo is joined again by Mike Gardner to discuss how teachers can use oracy in their assessment practices. They touch on how oracy helps to model new learning and shifting from teacher talk to learner talk. Shaddai and Mike talk about the role of the whole school in supporting and enabling educators to roll out an oracy-rich curriculum, allowing practitioners to think whether their own school values and policies are setting the right standards. Practitioners may be interested to lear...
Jun 26, 2025ā¢16 minā¢Season 8Ep. 2
Dr. Shaddai Tembo is joined by Mike Gardner to discuss the importance of oracy and the causes of language gaps in classrooms. They discuss the challenges of screen time, further compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, and how this period in our history and a lack of pedagogy around digital technology has resulted in a lack of ability for children to self-regulate. Practitioners can learn more about how oracy cuts across all areas of childrenās development and how the way children are taught is more...
Jun 19, 2025ā¢16 minā¢Season 8Ep. 1
Mark Loveday is joined by Michael Surr for a final episode, to discuss partnerships and resources for SEN, as well as the role of technology in education. The episode highlights the role that nasen plays in SEN support and Michael discusses the new partnership with TTS, who have agreed to be nasenās strategic partner for the next two years. They also discuss nasen assured products, like the TTS Developed Calming Cats. Practitioners may be interested in listening to Mark and Michael discuss futur...
Jun 12, 2025ā¢18 minā¢Season 7Ep. 20
In this episode, Mark Loveday is joined by Michael Surr to discuss what a Special Education Needs Coordinator (SENCO) does and how their role is very much planning rather than delivering the provision. Michael discusses the role everybody has to play in supporting all children and focuses on the importance of collaboration as well as the effective role teaching assistants have to play. Practitioners may be interested by evaluating the impact of support staff and the challenges and strategies tha...
Jun 05, 2025ā¢21 minā¢Season 7Ep. 19
Mark Loveday is joined again by Michael Surr to talk about SEN in Primary Settings. In this episode, the pair talk about understanding SEN support and funding challenges as well as provision management. Mark and Michael talk about the importance of labels versus needs and teacher training, including support for new teachers. Practitioners may be interested in learning how to balance SEN needs and resources, as well as the roles of ambassadors and champions within educational settings. š To shop...
May 29, 2025ā¢19 minā¢Season 7Ep. 18
Mark Loveday is joined by Michael Surr, Head of Education at nasen. In this episode, Michael breaks down SEND categories and different needs, as well as strategies for inclusive teaching and transition. The pair look at common classroom challenges and highlight the importance of evaluating strengths of each child to understand how to deliver effective education. Practitioners can get tips for whole school inclusive strategies and building a community approach with parents. š To shop for resourc...
May 22, 2025ā¢20 minā¢Season 7Ep. 17
Mark Loveday is joined by Emma Jordan for a final episode, to discuss the importance that play has on the language development of children. The episode highlights what high quality play really is and how crucial it can be in supporting the development of communication skills. Emma and Mark talk about why play should not be taken away too early, keeping the distractions of screens away and letting children lead. Emma also explores different activities that can be done in learning settings and at ...
May 15, 2025ā¢18 minā¢Season 7Ep. 16
In this episode, Mark Loveday is joined by Emma Jordan to discuss how technology impacts communication in children, exploring ways which parents and practitioners can use it to help support child development. Emma and Mark talk about the importance of visual learning and sequencing when transitioning from early years to primary, and how this can be used to help support those children who are less confident in a learning setting. š To shop for resources relevant to this podcast conversation, cli...
May 08, 2025ā¢18 minā¢Season 7Ep. 15
Mark Loveday is joined again by Emma Jordan to discuss the understanding around social communication skills. Emma highlights the challenges that practitioners face and offers insights about actions to take. Emma and Mark talk about the role of play in language development and practitioners can learn how to support support children in primary years. Emma also touches on pre-teaching language skills and resources to support practitioners. š To shop for resources relevant to this podcast conversat...
May 01, 2025ā¢19 minā¢Season 7Ep. 14
Mark Loveday is joined by Emma Jordan, a specialist speech and language therapist and co-service lead for the children's speech and language therapy service in Worcestershire. In this episode, Emma explains the role of early intervention in education and identifying speech and language needs early. Emma also highlights the impact of communication on social and emotional health. Practitioners can learn more about the tools for early identification of communication needs, being aware of childrenās...
Apr 24, 2025ā¢16 minā¢Season 7Ep. 13
Mark Loveday is joined by Beccie Hawes for a final episode, to focus on building inclusive environments for children with autism. Beccie discusses how crucial it is to support children at the earliest opportunity and the role of āinclusive by designā in a classroom setting. The episode highlights asking children what they really need, rather than making assumptions as adults, and finding out what are non-negotiables to make every learner comfortable in their learning. Practitioners will learn ab...
Apr 17, 2025ā¢18 minā¢Season 7Ep. 12
In this episode, host Mark Loveday is joined by Beccie Hawes to talk about the boundaries of social interaction in autistic children. They discuss the assumption that children must have friends where in fact that they may prefer being alone to self-regulate and be comfortable as observers. Mark and Beccie discuss collaborate play based approaches so children can interact in their natural way whilst interacting in meaningful, real-life situations. Beccie gives an example of how she teaches āreadi...
Apr 10, 2025ā¢22 minā¢Season 7Ep. 11
Mark Loveday is joined again by Beccie Hawes to discuss communication challenges in young children with autism and how they might struggle with recognising social cues and fast paced environments. Mark and Beccie discuss verbal and non-verbal children and highlight that they process and communicate in different ways, as well as providing meaningful communication attempts to different children. Practitioners can learn more about providing structure and creating routines to foster effective commun...
Apr 03, 2025ā¢13 minā¢Season 7Ep. 10
Mark Loveday is joined by Beccie Hawes to discuss what is autism, how does it manifest itself in children and how many forms of the condition there are. In this episode, Beccie explains her role at CADMAS and their role in supporting SEN children, as well as giving real-life examples of how autism can show-up in everyday life situations. Practitioners can learn more about thinking more broadly about neurodiversity and the importance of highlighting the needs of a child, rather than using a label...
Mar 27, 2025ā¢17 minā¢Season 7Ep. 9
Mark Loveday is joined by Arran Smith for a final episode, to focus on inclusive environments for SPLD children. Mark talks about how he has rolled out support in his own educational setting and the role of upskilling staff to deliver an effective education to SPLD children. The episode highlights Arranās view of inclusive environments and offers considerations as to whether a classroom is kitted out effectively and has the look and feel for SPLD children to feel comfortable in. Arran also touch...
Mar 20, 2025ā¢21 minā¢Season 7Ep. 8
In this episode, host Mark Loveday is joined by Arran Smith to discuss how SPLD children view the world around them and how this should be championed as a strength. Arran talks about understanding an individualās differences and strengths and developing skills. Mark and Arran discuss examinations and coursework, noting that the education system as it is, is not a one size fits all approach to pedagogy. They talk about fostering a culture for success in pupils and being mindful of being present a...
Mar 13, 2025ā¢23 minā¢Season 7Ep. 7
Mark Loveday is joined again by Arran Smith to discuss the crucial role of assistive technology such as apps, software and tools to support children. They discuss technology enabling children to break down barriers and be part of a more inclusive environment. Arran questions why assistive technology was rolled out to children during the pandemic to improve their learning but then rolled back following the end of lockdown. They also talk about free or low-cost resources that could be useful for t...
Mar 06, 2025ā¢24 minā¢Season 7Ep. 6
Mark Loveday is joined by Arran Smith to discuss specific learning challenges (SPLDs) and the associated diagnostic labels, focussing on how to better support pupils. In this episode, Arran explains how multi-sensory structured teaching supports processing information and aiding learning, as well as the importance of early diagnosis. Practitioners can learn more about whole-brain learning and not just focussing about book work, but a broader learning delivery to support all pupils. Arran and Mar...
Feb 27, 2025ā¢20 minā¢Season 7Ep. 5
Mark Loveday is joined by Dale Pickles for a final episode, to focus on understanding and supporting neurodiverse learners. The episode highlights the importance of emotional regulation and working memory, as well as multisensory learning and engagement. Practitioners will learn top tips for supporting neurodiverse pupils, by being more aware of the importance of focus in pupils and supporting emotions. Dale also touches on the importance of teachers being explicit when communicating, so tasks c...
Feb 20, 2025ā¢23 minā¢Season 7Ep. 4
In this episode, host Mark Loveday is joined by Dale Pickles to help practitioners understand hyperactivity and impulsivity. Dale also discusses Inattention in ADHD and the classroom implications associated with this. Mark and Dale discuss the co-occurrence of ADHD with other conditions, before rounding off the conversation on how to support pupils with ADHD in their learning setting. š To shop for resources relevant to this podcast conversation, click here . Listened and loved it? Sign-up here...
Feb 13, 2025ā¢25 minā¢Season 7Ep. 3
Mark Loveday is joined again by Dale Pickles to discuss executive functioning. Dale highlights the challenges with executive functioning in education and explains how practitioners can understand it better. Dale and Mark talk about task management and planning, self-regulation and co-regulation, before concluding on Daleās own framework for supporting executive functioning. š To shop for resources relevant to this podcast conversation, click here . Listened and loved it? Sign-up here for exclus...
Feb 06, 2025ā¢22 minā¢Season 7Ep. 2
Mark Loveday is joined by Dale Pickles, Managing Director of B Squared ā assessment software for pupil tracking, evidence of learning and SEND CPD training ā and host of the SENDcast podcast. In this episode, Dale explains the terminology and differences between ADD and ADHD, inattentiveness in the classroom, misdiagnosis and overlooked needs. Practitioners can learn more about the impact of neurodiversity on learning experiences, as well as gender differences in ADHD and autism diagnosis. This ...
Jan 30, 2025ā¢21 minā¢Season 7Ep. 1
Ruth Lue-Quee is joined for a final episode in this series by Professor David Daley, to discuss reinforcing positive behaviour in Early Years Settings. David talks about the importance of labelled praise and letting the child know exactly what they have done well, so this reenforces their behaviours in the future. Ruth and David discuss āearshottingā - giving more praise to a child by communicating good behaviours to peers and other educators in front of the child. Reward charts and how best to ...
Jan 23, 2025ā¢18 minā¢Season 6Ep. 20
In this episode, host Ruth Lue-Quee is joined by Professor David Daley to discuss supporting a childās behaviour before escalation arises, and investing time to put processes in place that will support self-regulation. The discussion can help practitioners understand how to best calm down a child whose behaviour may be escalating, and David emphasises the importance of being prepared and acting quickly. Calm down spots, designated calming kit trays and communication methods are mentioned as opti...
Jan 16, 2025ā¢16 minā¢Season 6Ep. 19
Ruth Lue-Quee is joined again by Professor David Daley, to discuss proactive behaviour strategies in Early Years Settings. David talks about the importance of creating predictable environments for learning and shares tips for how to help SEN children be comfortable with timings and their environment. Practitioners will learn about individual strategies for supporting behaviour and supporting SEN childrenās need to move around to focus better, as well as how to give them permission to regulate th...
Jan 09, 2025ā¢17 minā¢Season 6Ep. 18
Ruth Lue-Quee is joined by Professor David Daley, a trained psychologist and Head of Applied Psychological Practice at Nottingham Trent University, to discuss understanding different behaviours in learning. In this first episode, David shares valuable insights for practitioners working with children with SEN, discussing how a childās behaviour can be affected by their surroundings ā both visually and to touch. This episode ultimately encourages practitioners to consider their learning environmen...
Jan 02, 2025ā¢21 minā¢Season 6Ep. 17
