SecEd Podcast
The SecEd Podcast is dedicated to supporting best practice in the secondary school – with practical advice, discussion and tips for teachers, support staff and school leaders across a range of topics.
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SecEd Podcast: Speech, language & communication needs in the secondary school
07/02/2025
SecEd Podcast: Speech, language & communication needs in the secondary school
This episode offers a range of ideas and advice for identifying and supporting students with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) in the secondary school. SLCN are the most common need for the more than 1.2 million students who are on SEN Support in England’s schools – and the evidence tells us that there will be many more who are going undiagnosed. This discussion features four experts who look at identifying SLCN, screening students, and the problems of underdiagnosis and “masking” that prevent students from getting the support they need. We discuss what the signs of undiagnosed SLCN are in the classroom and the overlaps between these needs and other challenges such as SEMH, poor behaviour, and school absence. We hear about the approaches being taken in two secondary schools and discuss a range of ideas for practical interventions to help support students with SLCN in and out of the classroom. We also touch upon how we can support teaching staff in this work, including with CPD. This episode has been produced with support from our friends at Speech and Language Link.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/37254560
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The SecEd Podcast: Autism in the secondary school classroom
06/04/2025
The SecEd Podcast: Autism in the secondary school classroom
This episode considers how teaching staff can effectively support autistic students in the classroom and across the mainstream secondary school. Our expert panel offers a range of practical insights and advice to help teachers and support staff, including teaching tips and pastoral care. We begin our discussion by busting some of the common misconceptions and myths about autism and autistic students before dissecting what makes for an autism-friendly school and classroom environment and strong inclusive practice. We discuss what schools can do to support and foster friendships and social connections for our autistic students – and how can staff build strong relationships with these young people? We touch upon Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) but also why we cannot rely on the paperwork and must engage with the young person if we are to meet their needs – taking a strength-based approach. How can teachers adapt their lessons to include their autistic students without overwhelming them – and what part does technology (including AI) play in making learning accessible for young people? We also ask what needs to change in the school environment to support proper inclusion autistic young people – including asking each of our experts for the one big change they would make in schools… Finally, we discuss the common teaching methods that make things harder for autistic students. How can teachers combine routine with the flexibility that these students need.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/36845220
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The SecEd Podcast: A brilliant secondary school library
05/07/2025
The SecEd Podcast: A brilliant secondary school library
In this episode, we consider what makes for excellent library provision in the secondary school, including ideas for supporting literacy and curriculum delivery. We speak with four experienced and expert school library professionals to glean their advice, ideas and tips for excellent library provision. We discuss the most important elements in effective library provision and why schools should consider employing a qualified librarian as part of their provision. We consider how school librarians can work effectively with teaching staff to support whole-school teaching and learning and ideas for how librarians can engage with colleagues across the school. Of course, we focus on literacy and reading and the role libraries and school librarians have to play, including ideas for library-based initiatives, managing library stock, engaging struggling readers, and boosting reading for pleasure. And it’s not just about books, we also consider the hidden roles of a school librarian, including the pastoral side. And we finish with our ideas corner when we ask each of our guests to offer their ideas for library provision that schools can adapt and adopt.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/36465170
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The SecEd Podcast: Teacher training & induction: Navigating the ITT-ECF
04/02/2025
The SecEd Podcast: Teacher training & induction: Navigating the ITT-ECF
This podcast discusses teacher training and induction, offering practical advice for trainee and early career teachers (ECTs) and their mentors. Our expert panel explores the Department for Education’s new Initial Teacher Training and Early Career Framework – due to come into effect in September 2025. The combined ITT-ECF sets out what trainee and ECTs need to know – and know how to do – at the start of their careers and the panel discuss what is in the new combined framework and how it might work in practice, including how the distinct ITT and ECF elements will work together and key elements such as SEND and inclusive practice. We also touch upon the eight standards within the framework and invite our guests to pick out some of the elements crucial to meeting these standards. We discuss the transition from being a trainee teacher to being an ECT, including how trainees can best be supported to progress from trainee to ECT and then to successfully complete their induction and become fully qualified. We offer advice on a number of specific issues, including how ECTs can manage their priorities and embed themselves into their new schools as well as advice for trainees when applying for their first teaching job, among other “top tips” for new teachers. Our panel also discusses mentorship – what skills do good ECT mentors need and what support should they be offering to new teachers? What should new teachers expect from their mentors?
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/35971700
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The SecEd Podcast: The Greatest Hits
03/05/2025
The SecEd Podcast: The Greatest Hits
To celebrate the 100th edition of the SecEd Podcast this episode counts down our top 10 most popular podcasts of all time. Have you listened to them all? Launched in early 2020, the SecEd Podcast has been on air for five years and to mark episode 100 podcast co-hosts Pete Henshaw and Matt Bromley reveal our top 10 most listened to episodes – interspersed with clips and highlights from each one. Without giving the game away, themes include oracy education, senior and middle leadership, quality first teaching, classroom management, Pupil Premium, inclusion and SEN, and much, much more. Matt and Pete also pick out their own favourite episodes from the last five years. All these episodes and indeed all of our 100 episodes are available to listen back to via the SecEd website – – or via your streaming service of choice. Our thanks to you – the teachers and educators of the UK – for listening. Here’s to the next 100 episodes!
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/35540860
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The SecEd Podcast: Artificial intelligence in schools: Opportunities and risks
02/05/2025
The SecEd Podcast: Artificial intelligence in schools: Opportunities and risks
This episode looks at the opportunities and risks presented by the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in education. We speak to three experts who are working in schools to develop AI in effective and safe ways. We kick off the discussion by asking our panel to list what they consider to be the three biggest benefits of AI in schools and the three biggest risks/threats. We then look at whole-school AI strategy and policy. What does a good AI strategy look like and what elements need to be included in a school’s AI policy? What does effective staff training look like? How should education around AI be fed into the curriculum? What kind of “rules” need to be in place? And what does Ofsted have to say about AI? We also talk AI in the classroom. How might teachers use AI in their lesson-planning and resource-creation? We discuss a number of ideas for using AI to create resources/plan lessons. Also, what risks should teachers be aware of when using AI? What pitfalls do teachers need to avoid? We talk about diversity in resource-creation, the pitfalls of prompt engineering, and data protection. We name drop a few resources that our panel are using with success, and we end the podcast with their biggest “lessons learned” so far and their final reflections.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/35158800
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The SecEd Podcast: Research-informed schools (and teaching)
01/22/2025
The SecEd Podcast: Research-informed schools (and teaching)
This episode looks at what it means to be a research-informed school and how we can use research to improve teaching, learning, and student outcomes. We talk to three experienced and research-engaged educators about what kind of research it is best for schools to use – and how we can know that any particular piece of research is valid and trustworthy. We then consider how we can balance external research studies and findings with our own evidence collected internally in our schools. Our panel advise how we can help teachers to engage with academic research, including via in-school CPD as well as further study such as doctorates. We also discuss how we can use research evidence in decision-making processes and school improvement planning.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/34953440
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The SecEd Podcast: Protecting staff wellbeing in schools
12/04/2024
The SecEd Podcast: Protecting staff wellbeing in schools
This episode offers practical advice and examples for how we can protect the wellbeing of our teaching staff – with ideas for teachers and schools. The episode has been inspired by the recent publication of Education Support UK’s Teacher Wellbeing Index 2024, which has once again painted a worrying picture about the wellbeing of those who give so much to educate our children and young people in schools. As such, we hear from Education Support about the findings of this year’s Index research findings and speak to our guests about the wellbeing challenges that teaching staff face. Our expert panel offers practical ideas, discussing what schools can do to develop healthy working cultures, including promoting good working practices, building positive working relationships, and preventing staff burn-out. We discuss preventative action including coaching/mentoring, wellbeing audits, and more. We also consider how teachers can maintain a healthy work/life balance and discuss what individuals can do, including setting boundaries, saying 'no' effectively, safeguarding personal time, and good habits at home. We touch upon diversity and inclusion too, including the wellbeing challenges faced by staff from minority backgrounds and how schools can ensure they are supporting all colleagues.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/34280975
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The SecEd Podcast: How to build school culture
11/13/2024
The SecEd Podcast: How to build school culture
In this episode we discuss ideas for how we can build a positive and inspiring whole-school culture which is inclusive of all, drives high standards, and sustainable in the long-term. We ask what we mean by “school culture” – the way we do things here – and consider how a school culture intersect with its vision, ethos and values, rules, attitudes, and social norms. We speak with three school leaders about how they have developed the culture in their institutions and offer a range of practical ideas and “lessons learned”. We ask how a school leader can go about creating and establishing the right culture in their school – what questions should we ask ourselves? We consider how to communicate your school culture and make it consistent and concrete. How can you sustain your school culture over the long-term and how can you handle any challenges to your culture? We also consider behaviours that can help establish culture – and how we can “nudge” students to adopt these behaviours.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/33911767
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The SecEd Podcast: Ideas & examples for reducing workload in schools
10/23/2024
The SecEd Podcast: Ideas & examples for reducing workload in schools
In this episode, we discuss practical actions that secondary school leaders and teachers can take to reduce workload and working hours. The Department for Education’s Working Lives of Teachers and Leaders research shows that secondary teachers are working almost 50 hours a week on average while secondary leaders work more than 58 hours a week. This episode features two experienced school leaders who have both undertaken a range of initiatives in their schools to bring workload down for all staff. We discuss some of the most common workload challenges before hearing about some of their approaches, offering tips and ideas, and identifying a number of areas where schools might be able to reduce workload and working hours. Specifically, we cover topics including strategies for assessment and marking, timetable and calendar planning, internal communications and meetings, behaviour management, additional duties, and more. We also touch upon the various forms of flexible working and how some of these can be made to work in the secondary school environment – including touching upon the government’s plans to allow teachers’ PPA time to be taken at home.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/33580102
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The SecEd Podcast: Teaching exam classes
10/02/2024
The SecEd Podcast: Teaching exam classes
This episode looks at how we can best teach and prepare our examination classes in the secondary school, especially our GCSE groups. A panel of experienced teachers considers what specific challenges come with teaching exam clases and exam course content and discuss how we can best prepare our students for the exam hall experience itself, including how we can build good exam habits alongside teaching course content. We discuss how teachers can support their students’ wellbeing during their examination years – especially in years 10 and 11 – and how we can build their resilience, thus helping them to manage stress and exam anxiety as the pressure mounts. We focus specifically on how we can build exam technique, including the dos and don’ts for using past exam papers as learning tools. We look at other teaching techniques too, including modelling good answers. And how and when should we teach and model these exam techniques to ensure they are embedded while avoiding student burn-out? Finally to what extent should we be helping students to plan their exam revision? We ask what self-study and revision skills we should be teaching and how? Our experts even suggest a few particular techniques that they like to use, such as mnemonics and revision games.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/33294802
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The SecEd Podcast: Effective deployment of teaching assistants
09/11/2024
The SecEd Podcast: Effective deployment of teaching assistants
This episode offers practical advice for the effective use of teaching assistants (TAs) in the secondary school classroom. Packed full of practical ideas and examples, the episode features three experienced educators, including teachers and TAs. We ask why we need TAs in the modern secondary classroom and the kinds of skills, training and CPD that our TAs need to have in order to be effective. From there, we move on to discussing effective deployment and how teachers can work effectively with their TAs to support teaching and learning in the classroom. We discuss a number of ideas and approaches, including flipping the traditional model of TAs providing one-to-one support. We also discuss what role TAs should have when delivering additional interventions. And, crucially, we discuss what effective communication between teachers and TAs looks like. We also touch upon the role of TAs in supporting the social and emotional development of our young people.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/33004442
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The SecEd Podcast: Classroom behaviour
07/03/2024
The SecEd Podcast: Classroom behaviour
In this episode we offer practical advice and tips for teaching staff to help you manage behaviour effectively in your classrooms. Focusing on the secondary school classroom, our experts discuss why school culture is vital to promoting positive behaviour and what this looks like in practice. We discuss where the line lies between overarching principles of whole-school behaviour and how that manifests itself in different classrooms and different subjects? We offer concrete, tangible classroom strategies, ideas and tips for your “in the moment” behaviour toolkit. We consider the role and use of rewards and sanctions/consequences, clear expectations, as well as tips for how teachers can remain consistent and encourage students’ intrinsic good behaviour. We discuss the rule of “what we permit, we promote” and ask what that looks like in practice, we look too at how we can “teach” and model good behaviours. We chat about how we can “rebuild” relationships after a behaviour incident and talk about working with parents.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/31994682
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The SecEd Podcast: Preventing suspensions and exclusions
06/12/2024
The SecEd Podcast: Preventing suspensions and exclusions
This episode considers what schools can do to spot vulnerable students at risk of suspension or exclusion and how we can intervene to pull them back from the brink. Official figures show the number of suspensions and exclusions is increasing year-on-year, not least due to persistent disruptive behaviour. Related factors seem to include unmet mental health and SEN needs, poverty, safeguarding issues, trauma, criminal exploitation, social media, and more. In this episode, we chat to a secondary school headteacher and a virtual headteacher to find out what they are seeing on the ground. We ask what preventative actions schools can take to keep students in school and what the signs are that we need to be alert to that a student is on a suspension/exclusion trajectory. We discuss a graduated response to supporting students and the role of the school environment and climate for learning, including how routines and expectations can help and “teaching” behaviour. We also touch upon potential interventions for students at risk, including pastoral support plans, unmet needs, a change of curriculum, family support workers and more. We also ask how we can support students who have been suspended to help them reintegrate into school life successfully, including running reintegration meetings.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/31709912
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The SecEd Podcast: Delivering the Pupil Premium in secondary schools
05/22/2024
The SecEd Podcast: Delivering the Pupil Premium in secondary schools
In this episode we discuss excellent Pupil Premium practice and offer practical tips and ideas for how schools and teachers can support their most disadvantaged pupils. We explore the causes of disadvantage and why the attainment gap between rich and poor has remained stubbornly large. We look at the tangible classroom consequences of disadvantage and what that means for teaching and learning. Specifically, we touch upon how we can improve the attendance of disadvantaged students as well as their language and vocabulary levels. We look at how we can ensure the funding benefits all pupils living in disadvantage – and not just those eligible for free school meals – and we explore the Pupil Premium interventions that tend to work best in most settings. We look at the common ingredients of an effective Pupil Premium strategy, including breaking down the five steps recommended by the EEF (diagnose pupil need, ensure strong evidence, implement, monitor, evaluate). We look at the role and responsibilities of the Pupil Premium coordinator in schools and the part that must be played by senior leaders and governors. And we also discuss how to prepare for an inspection of your Pupil Premium practice.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/31415647
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The SecEd Podcast: Effective line management in schools
05/01/2024
The SecEd Podcast: Effective line management in schools
This episode looks at how to be an effective line manager in the secondary school, offering practical advice, examples and strategies for middle and senior leaders who have line management responsibilities. We chat with two experienced school leaders to discuss the golden rules and key skills required to be an effective line manager. We look at the different type of line manage roles and identify the biggest challenges for line managers. We focus specifically on appraisal – a key duty of line managers. We look at effective appraisal practice, supporting CPD, how to prepare for and have difficult conversations, and dos and don’ts for conducting lesson observations. We also talk about effective quality assurance practice, including how line managers can act on the findings of QA processes. And we discuss staff wellbeing, morale and workload – what can line managers do to protect staff wellbeing, build morale and to help keep workload under control and in check.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/31065723
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The SecEd Podcast: A school leadership survival guide
04/10/2024
The SecEd Podcast: A school leadership survival guide
This episode looks at how school leaders can thrive and survive in their role, including wellbeing advice, tips for leading from the front, and advice for those new to leadership roles. We interview two experienced school leaders to get their insights and practical advice. We look at the hardest challenges of school leadership for those new to the role and tips to help you start off on the right foot. We ask how school leaders can be visible in school and available while protecting their workload and work/life balance. We also ask how leaders can model good work/life balance and working practices, including delegation and distributed leadership. And how can we lead from the front, and set ourselves up to- make good decisions and drive school improvement? We consider how to have difficult conversations, dealing with conflict and tackling underperformance. And how can we avoid becoming an isolated leader. How do we show vulnerability and humility as a school leader, how do we model learning from our mistakes and how do we remain resilient?
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/30761118
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The SecEd Podcast: The first & last 10 minutes of your lessons
03/13/2024
The SecEd Podcast: The first & last 10 minutes of your lessons
In this episode, three experienced teachers discuss how to start and end our lessons in the secondary school classroom – focusing on getting the first and last 10 minutes right. We kick off with some “golden rules” and key ingredients for opening and closing our lessons. We look at achieving calm lesson starts from a behaviour and classroom management point of view, including setting the right tone for behaviour, meeting and greeting, and dealing with students who are late or those who do not settle well. We also consider ideas for getting into learning as quickly and smoothly as possible, including tips for starter activities, recapping previous learning, explaining learning objectives, and fostering student engagement and curiosity about the lesson. When it comes to ending our lessons, we discuss ideas and techniques for bringing learning to a natural close and assessing whether the lesson has landed well with students. Also, how do we give students reflection time? Do we always need a plenary? And what makes for effective end-of-lesson learning routines? And how can we end our lessons so that transition to the next lesson is calm from a behavioural point of view, including effective end of lesson behaviour routines.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/30353128
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The SecEd Podcast: Great teacher questioning
02/21/2024
The SecEd Podcast: Great teacher questioning
Good questioning is at the heart of great teaching – as such this very practical episode looks at how teachers can plan and ask effective questions that support student participation, learning and progress. Two experienced teachers discuss the different purposes of questioning in the classroom as well as the things teachers must consider when planning their questions and questioning techniques. We detail some of the common challenges and how we can overcome them, such as getting the timing of questions right, encouraging student participation, dealing with “I don’t know” responses, improving oracy and the quality of student responses, creating a safe questioning culture in your classroom and more. We look at the different types of questions, including hinge questions, Socratic questioning, discussions, metacognitive questions and more. And we consider different techniques, including hot seating, think-pair-share, cold-calling, mini-whiteboards, entry and exit tickets, students asking the questions and more.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/30047808
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The SecEd Podcast: Teaching neurodiverse students
01/31/2024
The SecEd Podcast: Teaching neurodiverse students
This episode of the podcast asks how classroom teachers and teaching staff can best support the learning, progress, and wellbeing of their neurodiverse students. Our expert panel offer a range of advice, ideas, and tips based on their extensive experience within SEND education. We define neurodiversity and discuss what makes a learner neurodiverse and the kinds of conditions the term covers while also busting some myths. We discuss how we can support the wellbeing of these learners in our classroom, including examples of best practice and practical tips. Likewise, we discuss general teaching tips and approaches to support the progress of neurodiverse learners, touching upon pedagogy, common adjustments, adaptive teaching, and the classroom environment. We talk advice for supporting specific neurodiverse conditions and we also hear about one school’s Autism Resource Base and how that has been established and works in practice. We finish with some recommendations for further reading, resources, and support for our work to support this cohort of students.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/29728068
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The SecEd Podcast: Safeguarding in schools: Advice and tips for teachers
01/10/2024
The SecEd Podcast: Safeguarding in schools: Advice and tips for teachers
This episode looks at the role of the classroom teacher and teaching staff when it comes to effective safeguarding practice, offering insights, tips and practical dos and don’ts. Classroom teachers and teaching staff are on the frontline when it comes to spotting students who are at risk or struggling due to safeguarding issues. In the episode, three experts consider how we can spot the signs of safeguarding issues, what to do if we’re worried, and how to support and handle disclosures from students – including what to say and what not to say. We discuss the key safeguarding duties of classroom staff, not least how teachers can engage effectively with the safeguarding documentation, including statutory guidance, and with training requirements. We consider general rules for ensuring good safeguarding practice in your classroom, how we can challenge our own assumptions, and how we can promote a culture of safeguarding, including via our classroom environment and the curriculum. Finally, we discuss some of the current safeguarding trends and offer tips and pointers for school staff.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/29423658
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The SecEd Podcast: Subject reviews & deep dives
12/06/2023
The SecEd Podcast: Subject reviews & deep dives
This episode focuses on subject reviews or “deep dives” in the secondary school, asking what they are, how we can conduct them effectively without burdening staff, and what information we can and cannot expect to gather accurately. Our expert panel asks what a subject review or deep dive is and looks like and why we need to carry them out – ultimately, what is their purpose? We discuss how we can best conduct reviews/deep dives in order to ensure that we gather reliable and valid information that helps to inform our improvement planning. And how can we do this while minimising the amount of stress that deep dives can cause to subject leader sand teachers, not least in terms of workload? We ask what information we can gather with accuracy and confidence through subject review/deep dives, including the kind of questions we might ask. And, crucially, we ask what information we cannot gather with accuracy and confidence and what approaches we should avoid. We also discuss the vital role of subject and middle leaders and the kind of CPD a school must have in place to support effective subject review processes. Ofsted has of course placed subject deep dives at the heart of its Education Inspection Framework, and we touch upon how good practice in this area can stand a school in good stead for when inspectors do call.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/28953388
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The SecEd Podcast: Curiosity and motivation in the classroom
11/15/2023
The SecEd Podcast: Curiosity and motivation in the classroom
In this episode, three experienced teachers discuss ideas, tips and advice for fostering student curiosity and motivation in the secondary school classroom. We ask what curiosity and motivation look like in a classroom and discuss the key elements of the classroom environment and our teaching and pedagogy that can help to create curious and motivated students. Not least, we ask how we can create a “culture of curiosity” that students buy into in our classrooms, including inclusive practice, building strong relationships with our students as well as the importance of effective classroom routines and teacher role-modelling (and how they can do this). We discuss how we can motivate students who are struggling in their personal lives and as such arrive in our classrooms not ready for learning. We focus on pedagogy and curriculum delivery. How can we plan learning so that we engage and retain students’ curiosity? How can we make learning relevant to students’ lives? We offer a range of ideas for using hooks and other devices to boost engagement. We talk about the kind of tasks we set in lessons, how we can achieve desirable difficulty so that students are challenged but motivated, and the importance of chunking work and achieving a high-but-not-too-high success rate. We talk about the role of teacher expectations and ideas for how we should respond when students “fail” or struggle with their learning. And we touch upon metacognition and self-regulation, the importance of teaching students how to manage their own learning, and the role of autonomy and student choice in their learning.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/28649633
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The SecEd Podcast: Flexible working in the secondary school
10/25/2023
The SecEd Podcast: Flexible working in the secondary school
This episode looks at how secondary schools can plan and implement flexible working practices to help boost teacher recruitment and retention. Our panel of experts include headteachers who have placed flexible working at the heart of their recruitment and retention strategies as well as teachers who work flexibly themselves. We discuss why schools should consider flexible working, the impact it can have, and the benefits for staff and students. How can we be strategic about our approach to flexible working? What do we need to consider when designing flexible working roles? How can we ensure it has an impact on issues such as workload and staff wellbeing? And it’s not all about part-time working – we consider the forms that flexible working can take and the types of flexible working approaches that are possible. Our experts offer a range of practical tips and examples and discuss how schools and teachers can overcome common blocks or barriers to effective flexible working.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/28417349
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The SecEd Podcast: How to be a calm school leader
10/04/2023
The SecEd Podcast: How to be a calm school leader
What is “calm leadership” and how can this philosophy help middle and senior leaders in schools to be effective and inspiring in their roles? In this podcast, we chat to Patrick Cozier, the long-serving headteacher of Highgate Wood School in London, about his philosophy of calm leadership. In Patrick described his calm leadership approach, discussing what being a calm leader looks like in practice and the many elements involved, including empathy, listening, honesty, integrity, humility, trust, and so much more. The series is now being turned into a new book and in this episode of the podcast we chat to Patrick to get practical insights into what calm leadership involves and how we can all aspire to be “calmer” in our leadership approaches in schools. We discuss the challenges of leadership and how to deal with them in a calm and reasoned way, including the paranoia of leadership, imposter syndrome, when doubt sets in, handling difficult moments, and difficult conversations. We also talk about how to keep calm in challenging situations, keeping a sense of perspective, staying optimistic, and working with colleagues to make good decisions. We consider how to lead people effectively, including building trust, empowering colleagues, listening properly, and being kind. And we ask how we can nurture other key elements such as humility, empathy, integrity and more. And we discuss coping with the emotional rollercoaster that is school leadership.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/28220390
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The SecEd Podcast: Building connection and strong relationships with your students
09/13/2023
The SecEd Podcast: Building connection and strong relationships with your students
This episode discusses how we can build strong connections and relationships with our students – especially those who are vulnerable – in order that they have the best chance of overcoming barriers and making progress in our classrooms. Two experienced colleagues discuss why this is important and some key principles to building these relationships. We ask how we can begin building connections with a new class of students and how we can foster strong relationships even when we might see hundreds of students every week. We talk about building a culture of trust and respect in our classrooms and the common traits that teachers might display in order to build these connections. We also consider quick wins, including shaking hands, seating plans, corridor conversations, positive calls home, how to remember key details about students, role-modelling, and apologising when necessary. We discuss strategies for building connections with individual vulnerable students – perhaps those who face the greatest barriers to learning and who are at the greatest risk of disengaging. And we look at engaging with families and some whole-school strategies that might help teachers to build connections with their students.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/28018389
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The SecEd Podcast: Safeguarding & disclosure: A survivor’s story
06/28/2023
The SecEd Podcast: Safeguarding & disclosure: A survivor’s story
In this episode we speak with Rachel W – an abuse survivor who disclosed to staff at school when aged 14 after suffering years of abuse. Rachel talks powerfully about her story and the lessons schools and school staff can learn from it in order to improve safeguarding practice. Interviewed by pastoral specialist and teacher Adele Bates, Rachel discusses the impact of the abuse, including on her education and behaviour in school. She talks about her attempts to disclose and how she was finally rescued from her abuser. She discusses spotting the signs of abuse, the barriers to disclosure, how staff should handle disclosures – how we must respond – and what to do if you suspect a child is being abused or is at risk of harm. We also talk about the behaviour of children who are living with trauma and what staff should be aware of. Rachel has been writing about these themes in SecEd () and wanted to take part in this episode to help support school staff to know what to do in safeguarding situations. The podcast makes for uncomfortable listening at times but is essential listening for all those working with children in schools.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/27309441
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The SecEd Podcast: How to teach oracy skills
06/14/2023
The SecEd Podcast: How to teach oracy skills
This episode focuses on how we can teach oracy and speaking skills in the secondary school classroom, with lots of practical tips, ideas, resources and advice. We discuss what oracy is – including the four strands of oracy skills – why oracy matters, the benefits of good oracy skills, what the national curriculum says about spoken language and student talk, and the impact we have seen on students’ speaking skills since Covid (spoiler: 44% of secondary teachers say the pandemic has hit oracy skills negatively). We look at how we can teach oracy in the classroom and via the curriculum, including practical ideas and activities for the explicit teaching of oracy. We ask what high expectations for classroom talk look like and hear examples of practice from two secondary schools. We consider whole-school strategies, including creating a culture where students feel able to speak-up, cross-curriculum planning for oracy, how to ensure consistent approaches, staff CPD, the role of extra-curricular clubs, and much more. And we ask how we can best assess and monitor our students’ progress in terms of oracy.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/27144999
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The SecEd Podcast: Managing EHCPs & SEND in schools
05/31/2023
The SecEd Podcast: Managing EHCPs & SEND in schools
This episode of the SecEd Podcast offers best practice and tips for effectively managing Education, Health, and Care Plans (EHCPs) and supporting students with SEND in the mainstream secondary school. Our expert panel offer advice and tips for teachers, SENCOs, and school leaders across a number of areas. We discuss the main things that mainstream secondary schools need to bear in mind when a student has an EHCP. What do teachers need to be aware of when reading EHCPs and how should teaching staff and SENCOs work together (and with parents/carers) to ensure SEND students are supported effectively in their lessons and learning? And how should EHCPs evolve as the student moves through secondary school and into key stage 5 (and beyond)? We offer advice for SENCOs to help them manage the EHCP within the mainstream secondary school setting. We also look at how to support families of students should have an EHCP but do not. The EHCP is a local authority document and so we also discuss the role of the local authority and some of the common problems in the system. Finally, we discuss the implications of the government’s recently published SEND Improvement Plan, especially plans to digitise the EHCP.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/26998338
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The SecEd Podcast: Developing students’ literacy skills
05/03/2023
The SecEd Podcast: Developing students’ literacy skills
This episode looks at how we can best develop the literacy skills of our students, offering whole-school, cross-curricular and classroom-specific ideas, interventions and tips. The podcast defines literacy as the ability to speak, read and write and to understand and use language in order to communicate effectively. We welcome four guests from four schools who discuss the range of approaches, programmes, and interventions they use to support students’ literacy. We ask why literacy skills are so important, what form these skills take in practice, and how we can help students to develop these skills. Our guests discuss the interventions and programmes they use to support literacy catch-up and how they go about identifying students most in need of these interventions. How can we ensure that all teachers see themselves as teachers of literacy and teach the vocabulary of their subjects? What is the role of phonics in secondary literacy education, especially post-Covid? We talk vocabulary and disciplinary literacy. How can we teach vocabulary effectively and explicitly? How can we close the vocab gap? How can we embed vital disciplinary literacy? How do we develop speaking and listening skills? We talk Ofsted too – what inspectors looks for and how we can ensure that our literacy work also meets inspection requirements.
/episode/index/show/educationpodcasts/id/26730399