A Wee Bit of Everything

This is the first episode of the new podcast model PErspectives. The aim is to speak with PE teachers past and present to chat about all things PE and ultimately get their perspectives on current affairs within education. We also have a new co-host in the name of Matthew Gallagher who is Clark's colleague at Calderside Academy. This week to kick of the new series is ex PE teacher Jim Smart. Jim shares his thoughts and insights of a life time career in PE ranging from extra curricular and how he was able to build effective relationships with young people.

This week we are joined by Forfar Athletic captain, Ross Meechan. Ross joins us tonight to share his journey in football as a youngster to where he is now. He also chats a bit about the biggest challenges he has faced on his journey and how he overcame them. We touch on the role of the captain and his non-negotiables from himself and the players.

This week we are joined by former Rangers scout Ewan Chester. Ewan collected 35 trophies during his time at Rangers. He spent 20 odd years at the club over two spells. Ewan has also worked closely with Premier League Manager Chris Hughton spending 10 years in England with Fulham, Norwich, Birmingham and Brighton in the Premier League and English Championship. Ewan shares many stories of his time working in professional football and touches on some of the main challenges faced as a scout at the top level and the relationship between the scout and the manager.

Lee is Head of PE at Upton Court Grammar School in Slough, England. Lee is the author of the book is PE in crisis which we explores in this episode. Lee shares his thoughts on the current climate of PE and the importance of having a clear vision as a teacher and when leading a department.

Jonathan is a psychology teacher, teacher educator, author and researcher. He works at the University of Strathclyde (School of Education), teaching on the PGDE, BA and Masters programmes. Jonathan’s teaching focuses particularly on psychology education and psychological perspectives on learning. His research is primarily on memory and metacognition, and he is also interested in how and why teachers engage with research and the links this has with their professionalism and practice.

This week on AWBOE we are joined by Kirsty Giles who is currently involved within a project to reduce violence in Scotland. Kirsty is a Psychotherapist, Trainer and Consultant and chats to us today about all things stress management. She addresses what stress is and how it affects our brain and body. She then takes us through a live guided visualisation exercise which we encourage you to participate in.

This week we are joined by Bradley Busch from Inner Drive. Inner Drive is a mindset coaching company working in education, business and sport. They specialise in realising the potential behind growth mindset, metacognition and stress management strategies and as a result improve motivation, learning, confidence and performance in their clients.

This week we are joined by Allan Turner. Allan graduated as a PE Teacher and taught in Dalmellington H.S, Prestwick Academy and James Hamilton Academy in Kilmarnock until retirement in 2012. Allan was also Head Coach of Cumnock Basketball team from 1974-1993 and was also a founding member of this club.

This week we are joined by Dick Campbell who is the current manager of Arbroath FC. Campbell's playing career was based in Scotland with various clubs and is more known for his management career which includes successful lengthy spells at Brechin City and Forfar Athletic. He also managed Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline Athletic, Partick Thistle and Ross County. He has achieved five promotions at four clubs with the highlights taking Brechin from the fourth tier to the second tier and repeated the feat with Arbroath many years later.

This week we are joined by Ali McGregor. Ali has worked as a qualified teacher for over 15 years, 12 of those have been spent working with young people with SEN. Over the last 11 years Ali has worked for a private educational provider in a number of roles including classroom teacher, Head of PE, Deputy Headteacher and Headteacher.

Ali has supported the set up of a number of independent special needs schools over the past 7 years, with one of them being named TES School of the Year recently. Ali has recently led a school to a very successful OFSTED inspection in March 2018, graded Outstanding in all areas. In addition to this, Ali has also played in two Commonwealth Games and one Olympic games as a Hockey player.