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How can schools better support parents when life becomes difficult, even when they may not know how to ask for help?
In this episode of Between Two Psychs, I’m joined by my good friend Dr Marianne Trent, a clinical psychologist and host of Psychology Actually, to discuss parental mental health, family challenges and how schools can make a difference.
Marianne shares her experience of losing her father while raising two young children, navigating grief while managing everyday family life. We reflect on communicating this loss to her child’s school and how even a simple offer of support or a space to talk could have helped.
We explore how the role of schools has changed, with teachers increasingly supporting children and families through bereavement, mental health difficulties and complex personal circumstances. While schools are already stretched, supporting children means looking beyond the classroom and recognising the connection between parental wellbeing and a child’s ability to thrive.
We also discuss the challenges schools face when parents separate and relationships become difficult. Educators can feel caught in the middle, trying to prioritise the child while navigating complex family dynamics. We consider why schools need better support systems rather than being expected to manage every challenge alone.
Finally, we explore the importance of professional supervision and having a safe space to process difficult experiences. Whether you work in education, psychology or pastoral care, the right support can help you reflect, develop your practice and recognise that needing help is not a sign of failure.
In This Episode, We Explore
🎧 Listen now for an honest conversation about parental mental health, grief and the realities facing schools. We discuss why supporting children means recognising family challenges while ensuring the adults supporting them have the guidance, time and space they need, too.
You can also find Marianne through her podcast, Psychology Actually, available on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.
Sponsored by: Next Link Consortium
Next Link Consortium is a tailored recruitment service connecting psychology and education specialists to high-impact opportunities with built-in CPD benefits. Whether your focus is targeted SEMH and crisis support, strategic SEND audits and consultations, or professional CPD delivery, you’re welcome to contact Matheos Maneli directly to understand where your skills are needed most right now.
If you have questions about the service or would like to engage directly, please contact Matheos Maneli. Public Sector Executive Recruitment
uk.linkedin.com/company/next-link-consortium
Connect with Me (Dr Adam McCartney)
Instagram: @dradammcartney
Website: dradammccartney.com
YouTube: @Dr.AdamMcCartney
Connect with Dr Marianne Trent.
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/dr-marianne-trent-psychology
Website: www.goodthinkingpsychology.co.uk
Youtube: Dr Marianne Trent
Instagram: @drmariannetrent
How can schools better support parents when life becomes difficult, even when they may not know how to ask for help?
In this episode of Between Two Psychs, I’m joined by my good friend Dr Marianne Trent, a clinical psychologist and host of Psychology Actually, to discuss parental mental health, family challenges and how schools can make a difference.
Marianne shares her experience of losing her father while raising two young children, navigating grief while managing everyday family life. We reflect on communicating this loss to her child’s school and how even a simple offer of support or a space to talk could have helped.
We explore how the role of schools has changed, with teachers increasingly supporting children and families through bereavement, mental health difficulties and complex personal circumstances. While schools are already stretched, supporting children means looking beyond the classroom and recognising the connection between parental wellbeing and a child’s ability to thrive.
We also discuss the challenges schools face when parents separate and relationships become difficult. Educators can feel caught in the middle, trying to prioritise the child while navigating complex family dynamics. We consider why schools need better support systems rather than being expected to manage every challenge alone.
Finally, we explore the importance of professional supervision and having a safe space to process difficult experiences. Whether you work in education, psychology or pastoral care, the right support can help you reflect, develop your practice and recognise that needing help is not a sign of failure.
In This Episode, We Explore
🎧 Listen now for an honest conversation about parental mental health, grief and the realities facing schools. We discuss why supporting children means recognising family challenges while ensuring the adults supporting them have the guidance, time and space they need, too.
You can also find Marianne through her podcast, Psychology Actually, available on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.
Sponsored by: Next Link Consortium
Next Link Consortium is a tailored recruitment service connecting psychology and education specialists to high-impact opportunities with built-in CPD benefits. Whether your focus is targeted SEMH and crisis support, strategic SEND audits and consultations, or professional CPD delivery, you’re welcome to contact Matheos Maneli directly to understand where your skills are needed most right now.
If you have questions about the service or would like to engage directly, please contact Matheos Maneli. Public Sector Executive Recruitment
uk.linkedin.com/company/next-link-consortiumConnect with Me (Dr Adam McCartney)
Instagram: @dradammcartney
Website: dradammccartney.com
YouTube: @Dr.AdamMcCartney
Connect with Dr Marianne Trent.
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/dr-marianne-trent-psychology
Website: www.goodthinkingpsychology.co.uk
Youtube: Dr Marianne Trent
Instagram:@drmariannetrent
What happens when schools put the wellbeing of children and staff at the heart of education, rather than treating it as something separate from learning?
In this episode of Between Two Psychs, I’m joined by Andy Mellor, author of The Wellbeing Effect and National Wellbeing Director for Schools Advisory Service, to explore how a different approach to school improvement can transform outcomes for children, teachers and whole school communities.
Drawing on his experience as a headteacher in Blackpool, Andy shares how his school moved from a Requires Improvement judgement to Outstanding by focusing on what children and teachers actually needed, rather than simply following conventional approaches to school improvement. We discuss why context matters, how wellbeing connects to attainment, and why doing what is right for your school should come before doing things purely for inspection.
We also explore what it means to empower teachers as professionals. Andy explains how giving teachers the freedom to use their own skills, creativity and understanding of their pupils can create more meaningful learning experiences.
The conversation then turns to inclusion, SEND and the importance of creating a culture where children feel safe to acknowledge what they find difficult. Andy shares practical examples of how teachers can identify learning needs in the moment, provide timely support and help children develop confidence, resilience and a belief in their ability to improve.
Finally, we discuss the growing pressure on headteachers and school staff, the impact of accountability on wellbeing, and why protecting staff time and knowing when to stop are essential.
In This Episode, We Explore
🎧 Listen now for a thoughtful and practical conversation about wellbeing, relationships, inclusion and school improvement, and why creating better conditions for children to learn starts with creating better conditions for the people who teach them.
Andy is also the author of The Wellbeing Effect: How Prioritising Whole-School Wellbeing Can Boost Achievement and Help Your School to Thrive. The Wellbeing Effect
Sponsored by: Next Link Consortium
Next Link Consortium is a tailored recruitment service connecting psychology and education specialists to high-impact opportunities with built-in CPD benefits. Whether your focus is targeted SEMH and crisis support, strategic SEND audits and consultations, or professional CPD delivery, you’re welcome to contact Matheos Maneli directly to understand where your skills are needed most right now.
If you have questions about the service or would like to engage directly, please contact Matheos Maneli. Public Sector Executive Recruitment
uk.linkedin.com/company/next-link-consortium
Connect with Me (Dr Adam McCartney)
Instagram: @dradammcartney
Website: dradammccartney.com
YouTube: @Dr.AdamMcCartney
Connect with Andy Mellor
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/andy-mellor-763645263
Website: schooladvice.co.uk
What happens when we stop asking what a child cannot do and start asking what they can do?
In this episode, I explore a simple but important question I recently shared in an article for Not Another Leaflet: “What can my child do, rather than what they cannot do or fail to do?”
Our education system often operates within a deficit model, focusing on a child’s needs, difficulties and what they are unable to do. Educational psychology can also be guilty of this, with statutory reports often being built around deficits rather than strengths. This episode looks at why we need to start asking different questions and how a strengths based approach can change the conversations between parents and schools.
The discussion explores how identifying a child’s strengths can help schools build more appropriate interventions and support mechanisms around what already works for them. This might mean recognising routines that help a child regulate, using existing friendships to create opportunities for social communication, or finding the people and situations where a child feels most comfortable.
I also explore a second question: “Who likes my child? And more importantly, why?”
For children who are struggling in school or are at risk of exclusion, relationships can tell us a great deal about what is helping them remain connected to school. Understanding why a child responds positively to a particular adult can help us become more curious about what that relationship provides, whether that is familiarity, validation, nurture or routine.
The episode considers why relationships are so important within learning and why changing the way we understand a child's behaviour may require us to look beyond the child and towards the relationships and systems around them.
In This Episode, We Explore
Why This Episode Matters
Sometimes, the most useful insights about a child come from looking at what already works.
A strengths-based approach focuses on a child’s abilities, relationships and successes to build meaningful support at school.
Asking “Who likes my child and why?” can help us understand what makes relationships work and how to create more positive experiences.
🎧 Listen to the full episode for more insights on supporting children in school.
I’d love to hear your thoughts:
What can the children you work with do well?
How often do we focus on strengths when discussing a child’s needs?
What can a positive relationship tell us about how that child experiences school?
Sponsored by: Next Link Consortium
Next Link Consortium is a tailored recruitment service connecting psychology and education specialists to high-impact opportunities with built-in CPD benefits. Whether your focus is targeted SEMH and crisis support, strategic SEND audits and consultations, or professional CPD delivery, you’re welcome to contact Matheos Maneli directly to understand where your skills are needed most right now.
If you have questions about the service or would like to engage directly, please contact Matheos Maneli. Public Sector Executive Recruitment
uk.linkedin.com/company/next-link-consortium
Instagram: @dradammcartney
Website: dradammccartney.com
YouTube: @Dr.AdamMcCartney
What is sensory processing, and how can we better understand the way children respond to their environment?
In this episode of Between Two Psychs, I’m joined by Sadie Charlton, a sensory occupational therapist, to explore sensory processing, regulation and the role predictability plays in how children experience and respond to the world around them.
We talk about what occupational therapy actually involves and why sensory processing isn’t something that only affects neurodivergent children. Sadie explains how we all have sensory needs and how everyday choices, from turning down the radio while driving to changing into comfortable clothes after work, can be understood through a sensory lens.
The conversation then looks at the difference between sensory processing and sensory integration, and why traditional ideas around sensory seeking and sensory avoiding may not tell the whole story. We explore how predictive processing adds another layer by helping us understand anticipation, uncertainty and how much control someone feels they have over their environment.
Sadie also shares practical examples from working with schools, including how predictability, routine and giving children reliable ways to regulate can support participation and engagement. We discuss sensory checklists, behaviour as communication, hypervigilance and why creating supportive environments can sometimes be more useful than trying to “fix” the child.
In This Episode, We Explore
🎧Listen now for a practical and thought-provoking conversation about sensory processing, predictability, regulation and creating environments where children can feel more supported and ready to participate.
Sponsored by: Next Link Consortium
Next Link Consortium is a tailored recruitment service connecting psychology and education specialists to high-impact opportunities with built-in CPD benefits. Whether your focus is targeted SEMH and crisis support, strategic SEND audits and consultations, or professional CPD delivery, you’re welcome to contact Matheos Maneli directly to understand where your skills are needed most right now.
If you have questions about the service or would like to engage directly, please contact Matheos Maneli. Public Sector Executive Recruitment
uk.linkedin.com/company/next-link-consortium
Connect with Me (Dr Adam McCartney)
Instagram: @dradammcartney
Website: dradammccartney.com
YouTube: @Dr.AdamMcCartney
Connect with Sadie Charlton
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/sadie-charlton-99400a382/
Website: www.sensorypie.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/scharlton_nspcc
What does adaptive teaching really mean, and how can teachers move beyond labels to understand the barriers affecting learning?
In this episode of Between Two Psychs, I’m joined by Andrew Young, secondary school teacher, co-director of a teaching school hub and author of Adaptive Teaching. We explore what adaptive teaching means in practice and why focusing on barriers rather than labels can change how teachers understand and support pupils.
We discuss the difference between proactive and reactive teaching, including how teachers can use assessment, hinge questions and knowledge of their pupils to identify and respond to barriers to learning.
The conversation also explores SEND, diagnostic overshadowing, inclusive questioning, processing time and why strategies that support one child can often benefit the whole class.
We then look at teacher autonomy, curriculum, engagement, belonging and the importance of relationships in helping pupils flourish.
In This Episode, We Explore
📖 Get the book here: Adaptive Teaching: Culture to the classroom
🎧 Listen now for a practical conversation about adaptive teaching, SEND, barriers to learning and creating classrooms where more children can flourish.
Sponsored by: Next Link Consortium
Next Link Consortium is a tailored recruitment service connecting psychology and education specialists to high-impact opportunities with built-in CPD benefits. Whether your focus is targeted SEMH and crisis support, strategic SEND audits and consultations, or professional CPD delivery, you’re welcome to contact Matheos Maneli directly to understand where your skills are needed most right now.
If you have questions about the service or would like to engage directly, please contact Matheos Maneli. Public Sector Executive Recruitment
uk.linkedin.com/company/next-link-consortium
Connect with Me (Dr Adam McCartney)
Instagram: @dradammcartney
Website: dradammccartney.com
YouTube: @Dr.AdamMcCartney
Connect with Andrew Young
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-young-a1a437111/
What makes reflective practice different for a psychologist, and how can psychological theory change the way we understand what we see?
In this episode, I explore reflective practice as a core skill in psychology. Rather than simply asking what happened, reflection involves critically examining professional experiences, assumptions and actions, and using that thinking to inform what we do next.
The discussion looks at how psychologists can use theory to interrogate situations, consider different explanations and view the same experience through different psychological lenses. Using the bystander effect as an example, we explore how the presence and behaviour of others can influence whether someone intervenes when help is needed.
It also reflects on an undergraduate study exploring whether shared identity might influence helping behaviour. The study compared how students and lecturers responded when someone dropped hundreds of papers near a staircase, raising questions about in-group bias, social identity theory and the role of shared identity.
We then consider how this experience shaped thinking about behaviour in schools. Instead of focusing only on managing behaviour between children, the discussion explores how changing relationships, finding shared interests and recognising similarities can influence how children relate to one another.
It also introduces systemic thinking and reflexivity, including the importance of recognising that psychologists are not standing outside the system they observe, but are part of it.
In This Episode, We Explore
Why This Episode Matters
Reflective practice is not simply about asking what went well or badly. It involves questioning experiences, considering different psychological explanations and allowing that thinking to influence future practice.
As the episode explores, an undergraduate study continued to shape professional thinking years later. The important part was not just what the study found, but how the experience changed the way of thinking and eventually changed the way of practising.
🎧Listen now for a discussion about reflective practice, psychological theory, shared identity, relationships and systemic thinking.
I’d love to hear your thoughts:
Sponsored by: Next Link Consortium
Next Link Consortium is a tailored recruitment service connecting psychology and education specialists to high-impact opportunities with built-in CPD benefits. Whether your focus is targeted SEMH and crisis support, strategic SEND audits and consultations, or professional CPD delivery, you’re welcome to contact Matheos Maneli directly to understand where your skills are needed most right now.
If you have questions about the service or would like to engage directly, please contact Matheos Maneli. www.nextlinkconsort.co.uk
uk.linkedin.com/company/next-link-consortium
Connect with Me (Dr Adam McCartney)
Instagram: @dradammcartney
Website: dradammccartney.com
YouTube: @Dr.AdamMcCartney
What does reflective practice really look like, and how can psychology move from theory into everyday practice?
In this episode of Between Two Psychs, I’m joined by Lois Harreld, a trainee educational psychologist, to explore her journey into educational psychology and why reflective practice has been such a core part of her experience.
We discuss how Lois’s experiences across alternative provision, youth work, mainstream education and specialist SEND settings helped shape her passion for psychology, relationships and supporting the whole child. We explore how psychological theories can help us understand children and young people, their behaviour and their experiences, and how this understanding can bring more compassion and understanding.
Lois shares her experience of developing and managing an alternative provision and explains how the team used reflective practice to think about their values, their setting and how theories such as Dan Hughes’ PACE model could be applied in practice. We also discuss the different ways reflective practice can happen, from conversations and written reflection to simply sitting with your own thoughts.
A key part of the conversation is the relationship between reflective practice and identity. We explore how our own experiences, values and stories shape who we are as practitioners, and why reflection is not just about looking at what we do, but also how we think.
In This Episode, We Explore
Why This Episode Matters
Reflective practice isn't just about writing things down. As we discuss, it can be a conversation, a journal, a mind map, a voice note or simply taking time to think about what happened, how you felt and what you might do differently.
For Lois, reflective practice has been about connecting psychological theory with real experiences, understanding her own identity and values, and continuing to learn. For aspiring psychologists, it also means showing not just what psychology you know, but how you embody it.
🎧 Listen now for a conversation about psychology, reflective practice, identity, values and the journey into educational psychology.
I’d love to hear your thoughts:
Sponsored by: Next Link Consortium
Next Link Consortium is a tailored recruitment service connecting psychology and education specialists to high-impact opportunities with built-in CPD benefits. Whether your focus is targeted SEMH and crisis support, strategic SEND audits and consultations, or professional CPD delivery, you’re welcome to contact Matheos Maneli directly to understand where your skills are needed most right now.
If you have questions about the service or would like to engage directly, please contact Matheos Maneli. www.nextlinkconsort.co.uk
uk.linkedin.com/company/next-link-consortium
Connect with Me (Dr Adam McCartney)
Instagram: @dradammcartney
Website: dradammccartney.com
YouTube: @Dr.AdamMcCartney
Connect with Lois Harrold
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/lois-harrold-7b3bb019b
Instagram: @loisthete
When I was asked to support a school in crisis, the story everyone was telling centred around two children. The belief was simple: if we could fix their behaviour, everything else would improve. But what I found was something very different.
In this episode of Between Two Psychs, I share how I worked with a primary school where staff were on the verge of burnout, leadership had broken down, morale was low, and relationships had become fractured. Rather than focusing on changing the children, I explain why I became curious about the whole system and how small changes across the school created lasting impact.
I take you through the psychological theories that informed my work, including systems theory, self-determination theory, attachment theory, and social identity theory. I also explain why recognising people's strengths, giving staff the opportunity to contribute, and building stronger relationships helped create a more stable environment for both adults and children.
In This Episode, I Explore
Why This Episode Matters
Psychology isn't something I just study, it's something I live. In this episode, I share how applying psychology across a whole school helped move staff from blame to problem-solving and created a more connected, stable environment where children could learn and adults could thrive.
🎧 Listen now to discover why, if you want to change behaviour, you first need to understand the system that's producing it.
I’d love to hear your thoughts:
Which of these psychological theories resonates most with your own experience?
How could you apply these ideas in your own school or workplace
Episode Sponsor
This episode of Between Two Psychs is proudly sponsored by Sanctuary Personnel.
As a specialist recruitment partner across psychology services, education, social care, and healthcare, Sanctuary Personnel is dedicated to connecting talented professionals with organisations that truly value expertise. Their consultative approach means they understand the sectors they serve and the challenges faced by professionals across the UK.
If you're looking to strengthen your team or elevate your own career, visit www.sanctuarypersonnel.com
You can also reach out directly to Kamruz Zaman at www.sanctuarypersonnel.com/consultants/kamruz-zaman/ and Suzi Couszins at www.sanctuarypersonnel.com/consultants/suzi-couszins/
Connect with Me (Dr Adam McCartney)
Instagram: @dradammcartney
Website: dradammccartney.com
YouTube: @Dr.AdamMcCartney
Safeguarding is often seen as policies, procedures, and compliance. But what if the strongest safeguarding cultures are built on something much deeper?
In this episode of Between Two Psychs, we're joined by Delyth Lynch, Director of Safeguarding at Wellington College and author of Beyond Compliance. Together, we explore why safeguarding should never be reduced to a checklist, and how values, relationships, leadership, and culture create environments where children and young people genuinely feel safe.
Throughout the conversation, we discuss how organisational values shape everyday decisions, why policies should guide rather than define safeguarding practice, and how school culture influences everything from recruitment to behaviour, staff wellbeing, and student outcomes. We also explore the hidden biases that can affect professional judgement, the importance of curiosity over assumptions, and why relationships remain at the heart of effective safeguarding.
We also dive into the impact of cognitive load on teachers, how busy staff can unintentionally become less curious, and why supportive leadership, reflective practice, and psychological safety help schools create environments where both staff and students can thrive.
In This Episode, We Explore
Why This Episode Matters
Creating a safe school is about far more than having the right policies in place. It requires shared values, trusting relationships, reflective leadership, and a culture where every member of staff feels responsible for safeguarding.
This offers practical insights for teachers, school leaders, safeguarding professionals, and anyone working with children who wants to move beyond compliance and create environments where young people truly feel seen, heard, and protected.
🎧 Listen now to discover how schools can build safeguarding cultures that strengthen relationships, support staff, and keep children at the centre of every decision.
Episode Sponsor
This episode of Between Two Psychs is proudly sponsored by Sanctuary Personnel.
As a specialist recruitment partner across psychology services, education, social care, and healthcare, Sanctuary Personnel is dedicated to connecting talented professionals with organisations that truly value expertise. Their consultative approach means they understand the sectors they serve and the challenges faced by professionals across the UK.
If you're looking to strengthen your team or elevate your own career, visit www.sanctuarypersonnel.com
You can also reach out directly to Kamruz Zaman at Kamruz Zaman - Sanctuary Personnel and
Suzi Couszins at Suzi Couszins - Sanctuary Personnel
Connect with Delyth Lynch
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/delyth-lynch-6098b133/
Get Delyth Lynch's Book- Beyond Compliance: The DSL's guide to creating a school-wide culture of safeguarding
Connect with Me (Dr Adam McCartney)
Instagram: @dradammcartney
Website: dradammccartney.com
YouTube: @Dr.AdamMcCartney
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