Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Frank and Stan Chats
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Frank and Stan Chats
By Frank Norris and Stan JohnsonEducation
Frank and Stan Chats episodes
- Frank and Stan Chat SPOTLIGHT No.5
Today Frank and Stan chatted with Ros McMullen and Peter Cockcroft, two colleagues closely involved with Headrest, a support group for senior managers facing significant stress from undertaking their role in education.
Headrest explain why they exist on their website
https://www.headrestuk.co.uk
'Never before has the job of running a school been so challenging, not just for headteachers, but also for CEOs, governors and trustees. As a system-led profession, we need to come together and offer a much-needed mutual support service, acting almost as a safety device for headteachers. Most importantly, in order for it to be available and accessible to everyone, it needs to be free. This is where Headrest comes in.
We know that in many schools, heads are very well supported, be it in a MAT, federation, cluster or LA. But there are too many out there who are not so lucky, new headteachers especially, who are not able to access the traditional suite of face-to-face induction support as a result of the lockdown restrictions. It must be especially tough for them, not knowing what 'normal' looks like.
Add into the mix the safeguarding concerns thrown up by the pandemic, the regularly changing and often inappropriate guidance from the DfE, the misinformation and coordinated onslaught on the profession from certain quarters of the media, and the desperation to get things as good as they can be for the young people they serve, the job can feel un-doable.'
The chat covers a wide range of issues relating to the recently published Headrest annual report. It explains how Headrest offers support and how speedily they try to respond. The discussion covers how things have changed since the previous report and identifies they key stressors that are impacting negatively on those seeking help and support.
It is one of the most important Frank and Stan Chats of the year. Watch and listen to the situation experienced by senior leaders who make contact with Headrest. Sadly, things have not improved since the previous report, in fact, it appears to have got worse.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
39 min - Frank and Stan Chat No. 180On the day Ofsted announced the launch of 'The Big Listen' it is timely to have Tracey O'Brien, headteacher and author of the seminal book 'Rethinking Inspection as our guest. The chat covers a broad range of topics. Stan kicks off with the strange news story where apparently a Headteacher was dismissed for slapping her child's wrist while on school premises in front of the designated safeguarding leads (DSL). Tracey then considers the importance of Ofsted's Big Listen and why more emphasis needs to be placed on self evaluation and improving the Framework and the quality of inspectors. Frank finishes that chat considering the in-depth interview with Sir Kevin Collins in the TES where he gives a running commentary on the rejection of a £12.5bn programme of post-Covid support for children and young people. The chat includes a host of other points. Enjoy.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
37 min - Frank and Stan Chat No. 179This week the gents chat with two colleagues who appeared on the show in October 2022. Big advocates of the physically active learning movement, Alun Davies and Bryn Llewellyn bring us up to speed with their recent work. The chat also includes a consideration of the leadership approach adopted by James Timpson, of the shoe repair business, which gives significant flexibility to local store managers. The chat then considers the importance of wellbeing and happiness for staff and pupils before moving on to the hot topic of school holidays and parents/carers being fined. The chat ends with Frank considering the lack of openness and transparency in the appointment of the government's attendance ambassador. Enjoy.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
46 min - Frank and Stan Chat No. 178Every year in the build-up to World Book Day Frank and Stan invite children's author Dan Worsley to be their guest. The chat covers how he creates his ideas, drafts his work, edits and then publishes the successful books. These include the Eric Appleby trilogy and the Impossible Tales collection. As a former primary school teacher Dan appreciates the challenges in encouraging reading and writing. During the chat, he provides ideas for teachers to encourage a fresh approach and also reads from two of his brilliant books. The chat is managed in such a way that it should appeal to teachers and pupils. It is a great resource if you are unable to secure a visit from an author and want to share with the pupils how an author goes about his craft. Previous chats with Dan have been incredibly well received and we hope the 2024 edition will be even better. Always keen to receive feedback to help the chat improve. Enjoy.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
42 min - Frank and Stan Chat No. 177This week the two gents are joined by Sam Gibbs, Leader of Curriculum and Development for the Greater Manchester Education Trust. Sam contributed strongly at a recent Forum Strategy event and also published a fascinating analysis of the risks associated with centrally driven training programmes. As she points out in the chat there is a need for professional agency and leadership development programmes need to acknowledge this. Frank develops this theme by referring to a recent blog published by academics at the University of Manchester called 'House of Cards: The marketisation of school leadership qualifications in England'. This paper identifies potential risks in drawing apparent leadership expertise from a very narrow base and from multi-academy trusts deemed to be in favour of the current government. Stan then completes the discussion by considering how effectively Liverpool Football Club are managing the announcement of Jurgen Klopp standing down. He highlights the for schools to take succession planning much more seriously, especially with the dearth of applicants for senior positions.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
38 min - Frank and Stan Chat No. 176This week Stan gets the chance to chat with a colleague with a vast range of experience in offering supervision support for education staff including senior leaders. Lisa Lea Weston is the founder of Talking Heads Supervision which has provided support to over 1000 schools across the country. If you follow these weekly chats you will know that Stan is a big advocate of supervision support. The chat enables Lisa to explain how supervision is offered and also how it has helped to support personal growth and development. She explains how her team of around 40 participated in a training session this week and why it is vital that they feel positive and motivated. Stan considers how frustrating some companies are in trying to deal with a simple problem and Frank reflects on his most recent keynote where the conversation tackled the competition and collaborations conundrum between schools. Enjoy.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
37 min - Frank and Stan Chat No. 175
We were delighted to be put in contact with Sam Fox and Chris Walsh by a previous guest Shaheen Myers. Shaheen sang the praises of their work so we were keen to find out what all of her excitement was about. It turns out to be a new online support programme for PSHE in secondary schools. Sam and Chris explain the concept and where the idea for their work came from. It seems to have started as an attempt to improve young people's awareness of financial matters but quickly morphed into a much wider project. Through a modern PSHE syllabus, The Talk covers all statutory topics that MUST be taught and those that SHOULD be taught. It also brings experts from all relevant fields in one place, so that schools don't have to.
In the 'What's caught your eye this week?' section Stan considers the problems highlighted in a tv documentary about the poor state of some school buildings. Chris considers the way anxiety can creep into the lives of young people while Sam reflects on the work of UA92. Frank completes the discussion by drawing attention to the request made by the Northern Powerhouse Partnership to the Chancellor to fund a reformed Pupil Premium allocation. It's a great chat.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
41 min - Frank and Stan Chat No. 174Sometimes the Frank and Stan Chats connect with guests at just the right time. John Woodhouse, who set up and leads the Safeguarding Network, joined the two gents during a week when Ofsted announced changes to the way it intends to inspect safeguarding, a recent NSPCC report on child abuse was published and the awful events surrounding the death of a two year old focused on child protection arrangements. Nearly all of these issues are covered in the chat along with the developing game of whether you can determine the Ofsted inspection grade by reading the text of the report. It is much harder than you would think. Also, if you are interested you can claim a £20 discount on joining the Safeguarding Network if you insert 'STAN20'. Our first discount for listeners and watchers. Just to add the Frank and Stan Chat makes no money from the chats and never will. Enjoy.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
35 min - Frank and Stan Chat No. 173
For the first edition of the New Year we were delighted to have Dr Ronda Zelezny-Green join us as our guest from sunny Grenada, in Southern Spain. Frank knows Ronda through their work as Board members (Ronda is the chair) of InnovateHer, a not-for-profit organisation committed to ensuring more females join the digital tech industries and ensuring those industries are ready for more females. Ronda is a digital changemaker creating social learning systems to empower Black people, women, people with disabilities, and other marginalized populations in the technology and education sectors. Serving as a mobile technologist, trainer, and researcher, Ronda has nearly 20 years of professional experience spanning five continents including working for the public, private, and civil society sectors. A Black and Native American-British woman with ADHD, Ronda brings a fresh insight into our weekly chat.
Stan kicks off by considering the awful events surrounding the Post Office and its Horizon system. He ponders on the lack of governance, oversight, ethical leadership and paltry legal advice. Ronda then reflects on the lack of coverage of events at The Hague this week where South Africa brought a case of genocide for the actions of Israel in Gaza. Frank then wonders how keen youth groups really are in wanting to hear the voices of young people. This was brought about by a troubling blog written by Ishaa Asim, a young activist who has twice been a guest on Frank and Stan Chat.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
35 min - Frank and Stan Chat No. 172The final chat of 2023 sees Eric Craven, the Scouse Poet, return for the third time. He is the regular 'go-to' guest for the final chat before Christmas and he never disappoints. He has a new anthology of poems just published called "Love, hurt and whimsy'. He reads two contrasting poems from the collection as well as a new poem about his son. Despite much news in the world of education we glide over this and concentrate on some positive insights. The end of the chat includes a summary of the viewing figures for the year and the 10 most-watched editions. We hope you enjoy it. Frank and Stan is not about achieving record breaking viewing figures but we hope our musings provide some support and at times comfort in these difficult times. We are back on 12 January and have future guests lined up until mid-summer. Thank you for your support and encouragement.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
34 min
About Frank and Stan Chats
From the publisher's feed
Frank Norris and Stan Johnson have been friends since 1995. Both have had successful and lengthy careers in education. Frank was a very senior HMI with Ofsted for 11 years and was the CEO of the Coop…
Academies Trust for 6 years. Stan was seconded to Ofsted for a year and then returned to headship before working as a senior adviser with Lancashire LA. He has latterly led a successful education consultancy in the North West. Prior to Covid-19, the two gents would meet in Manchester for a pint or two but the pandemic put an end to that. On 1 May 2020, they recorded their first video chat as a way of recording their emotions and reactions to the pandemic. After putting the video on Youtube as a safe place to store it they realised that some followers began to appear. Now, with nearly 180 episodes and having chatted to Professors, CEOs, journalists, teachers, former HMI, education thinkers and Frank's Key Stage 1 leading daughter they have a loyal following and a rapidly increasing number of viewers. The reach of the Frank and Stan Chat stretches from Bogota to Ottawa to Greece and their first Live Edition was recorded in front of nearly 200 Headteachers in York. The Chats are not undertaken to attract followers or for financial reward (nothing is received and nothing will be received). It is a way of airing views on education matters between two professional friends with a focus on leadership. We are honoured to be invited to host the weekly chats on the Leader-connect website www.leader-connect.co.uk. The chats helped the gents get through the pandemic and they are delighted that they have been enjoyed by others and appear to have helped in developing leadership thought and actions. If you fancy being a guest then just reach out. We never post a video unless the guest is comfortable with it. So, it is a relatively risk-free environment. Thank you. Frank and Stan. PS. We were honoured to be identified as one of the Top 50 education and leadership podcasts in THE WORLD!!! We can't believe it, but it appears to be true.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.