Frank and Stan Chats

By Frank Norris and Stan Johnson

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 ... more

· Education

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FAQs about Frank and Stan Chats:

How many episodes does Frank and Stan Chats have?

The podcast currently has 144 episodes available.

Frank and Stan Chats episodes:

March 27, 2023 Frank and Stan Chat No.143: The Carolyn Eyre Edition
Carolyn Eyre is a safeguarding consultant who worked for the trust Frank led. Her guest appearance had been planned for months but it is timely as it follows the recent publication of the Ofsted report at Cavendish Primary School. The chat considers how safeguarding requirements have changed over the past decade and why variability in the approaches of inspectors makes it difficult to determine inspection outcomes. Carolyn is one of the best informed safeguarding colleagues and is passionate about helping settings where children live and learn to be as safe as possible. If you are wondering whether your approach to safeguarding is sufficiently embedded into the school's culture then this chat is worth a listen. It also includes the upbeat story of a defibrillator saving a Headteacher's life.
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45min
March 27, 2023 Frank and Stan Chat No.142: The Anne Morris Returns Edition
This week with Stan away Frank undertakes the chat with Susan Breckell, a regular guest on the show. The guest is Anne Morris, Founder and CEO of Yipiyap, a longstanding tutoring organisation that employs students on gap years to work with pupils in secondary schools and Colleges. Anne explains how Yipiyap has grown and how it remained positive despite some setbacks in getting accredited to the National Tutoring Programme. All is well now, and the number of students it supports is at record levels. The chat considers the devastating news of a Headteacher committing suicide following a disappointing Ofsted inspection. A wider discussion follows reflecting on the inadequate accountability measures that often result in burn out and despair for far too many senior leaders. Consideration is then given to the problems around attendance and why the ITT reforms are impacting so negatively on the most disadvantaged communities. Anne then has two issues that she believes would improve education in England.
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44min
March 13, 2023 Frank and Stan Chat No.141: The Jonny Uttley Edition
The latest guest on the Frank and Stan Chat is Jonny Uttley, the CEO of The Education Alliance. The gents have been trying hard to secure Jonny as a guest because he is noted for his principled and value laden approach to leadership. The chat starts with Stan reflecting on the recent death of Bill Tidy, a longstanding cartoonist who worked for The Mirror. Jonny then considers the possible impact of Bridget Phillipson's keynote at the ASCL conference a few days ago. He focuses in on the accountability measures and the negative impact of OFSTED. Frank then draws attention to the impartiality issues surrounding Gary Lineker and brings this back to RSE, history, politics and philosophy teaching. He believes teachers manage this extraordinarily well despite the noise being made by a few. Jonny then states that he would like to see more consideration given to the context of settings and the circumstances teachers and pupils work within. It's a great chat. Enjoy.
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41min
March 10, 2023 Frank and Stan Chat No.140: The Headrest Edition
A very special and important Frank and Stan Chat this week. Following the recent publication of the Annual Report from Headstart, the support network for senior school and trust leaders, the gents chat to key members of the organisation, Ros McMullen and Peter Crockett. These colleagues have played crucial roles in establishing, developing and maintaining Headrest and offer quite worrying and at times disturbing insights into the calls they receive. We have produced 140 editions of Frank and Stan Chat and this one is the most concerning so I would urge all education leaders to watch/listen. The edition covers the story of how Headrest was formed, how it works and what the key stressors have been in the past year. if offers a deeply worrying insight into the role of Ofsted. We urge all to watch.
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36min
February 28, 2023 Frank and Stan Chat No.138: The Zaitoon Bukhari Edition
This week the two gents chat to Zaitoon Zukhari, a former Science teacher who has now become a leading educator for digital education within her trust and also for Google in the UK. Zaitoon explains how she led the transformation of learning and the introdcution of digital devices for pupils and students across the trust she works for. We havent forgotten the popular 'What's caught your eye?' slot so Stan chips in with a view on the lack of national guidance regarding what is an acceptable reason for a pupil having time off school. Zaitoon considers the need for effective mentoring and supporting for new teachers and is surprised that large national trusts do not appear to give this sufficiently high priority. Frank then reflects on the recent TeacherTapp survey that found significant differences in workload issues between primary and secondary colleagues. Zaitoon offers a clear change that could improve teaching quality across the country. It's a fascinating chat. Hope you all enjoy it.
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38min
February 17, 2023 Frank and Stan Chat No.137: The Dan Worsley Returns Edition for World Book Day
This week's Frank and Stan Chat is slightly different. The two gents have invited Dan Worsley, a children's author who previously worked in a Blackpool primary school, to return for a chat in the build up to World Book day in early March. The chat has been created to enable schools who cannot secure an author to find out how they come up with their ideas, how they develop them and how many times they revise the writing before the book is published. Dan is an extraordinary guest and this chat allows him to explain the story lines behind his six publications. He also reads the opening page of a short story and shares the origins of it and how he grabs the attention of the reader. Stan shares some of his early reading books and Frank explains why the book he is currently reading reminds him of his childhood.

Frank and Stan Chat would be interested in hearing from schools that share this edition with schools, classes and groups of pupils to find out whether they should continue with this approach and how following editions might be improved.

Enjoy!
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35min
February 10, 2023 Frank and Stan Chat No.136: The Professor Mel Ainscow Edition
When we started the Frank and Stan Chat in May 2020 we never envisaged anything more than two ol' educationalists chatting about issues that caught our eyes recently. Now, after 136 editions we have to pinch ourselves when we consider how lucky we have been to have so many brilliant guests joining our chats. This week is no exception and we were blown away with the issues considered by Mel Ainscow. He explains how his focus on equity has led to him contributing to education research that has influenced strategies and policies across the Globe. He explains how impressed he has been with the work undertaken over many years in Portugal and how he is supporting new thinking in Dundee. Stan considers how the White Paper published with great fanfare last year has been decimated. Mel stresses the need for stronger local collaboration to improve education before Frank considers the research being undertaken into indicators of poverty and why data alone is simply not good enough. It is a truly amazing chat and we urge school leaders to share with staff the sections where Mel explains why schools need to be for all pupils and how competition has been corrosive for too many. Enjoy, cos we certainly did!
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38min
February 03, 2023 Frank and Stan Chat No.135: The Peter Wright Edition
This week the two gents discover the world of Ancient Civilisation and how it is becoming increasingly popular together with the teaching of Latin. Peter Wright from Blackpool 6th Form College explains vividly how he is exciting a wide range of students and encouraging more and more to study his area of expertise. The chat is truly an education for Frank and Stan as both have a shallow understanding of Ancient History and no knowledge of Latin. When the chat gets on to recent education matters Stan draws attention to a recent study that suggests female Lead Inspectors are more harsh than their male colleagues when inspecting Primary Schools. Unsurprising HMI are even more harsh. Peter then considers the place of the British Empire in society and how other civilisations also struggled at times to come to terms with past glories and how best to refer to them. Frank offers some insight into recent dismissals of senior politicians and how it appears easier to keep their role if they are unpopular than senior education leaders. Peter closes the chat with a desire for a return to more modular examinations, a topic raised in the past by Barry Norris, and Dr James Mannion. It's a fascinating chat with a highly engaging guest.
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39min
January 27, 2023 Frank and Stan Chat No.134: The Alan Kinson Edition
This week the two gents chat to Alan Kinson, an experienced Chair of Governors and a Digital Infrastructure Lead at a major retailer. The chat starts with Stan reporting on the encouraging signs coming from a large MAT that is planning to strengthen the role of parents within its governance structure. Alan then considers the amazing visit made by King Charles III when he visited GCHQ in Central Manchester and met pupils from Coop Academy New Islington. Alan ponders on the knowledge and skills required for new entrants coming into a business and why it is so much more than certificates. He explains the efforts the Coop is making to attract a wider range of candidates to posts and how their recruitment processes have needed to radically change. Frank then reflects on an amazing visit he made this week to Blackpool and Fylde College where he met the relatively new Head of Computing. He was struck by the way the College is trying to make digital qualifications easier to understand and was delighted to hear that those on Digital T Levels were being swallowed up by the businesses they have been allocated to for the practical work experience element of the qualification. Alan closes the chat considering the impact of austerity on special education needs provision and the effect it is having on the most vulnerable. A far reaching and interesting chat. Enjoy.
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46min
January 20, 2023 Frank and Stan Chat No.133: The Louise Salmon Edition
This week the two gents have a fascinating chat with Louise Salmon, CEO of Primary Goal, a digital training provider. The conversation includes the impact of the announcement of teachers striking in the coming weeks and the decision to allocate levelling up funding to some, but by no means all, areas that bid for it. Louise manages to include three issues that cover the age of children using smart phones, cyber attacks on schools and trusts as well as the negative impact of Ofsted on subject leaders for computing. The chat finishes with Louise suggesting businesses should be affiliated to schools in their area to energise work experience and related issues. Once again a great guest contributes so much to our chat. Well worth a listen.
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52min

FAQs about Frank and Stan Chats:

How many episodes does Frank and Stan Chats have?

The podcast currently has 144 episodes available.