Key Voices

This week we speak to Barry Carpenter, former headteacher, former National Director at The Department for Education and the UK’s first Professor in Mental Health in Education. 

This podcast was recorded in early April 2020. We talk to Barry about the Covid- 19 pandemic and the likely impact on pupil, teacher and parent mental health as a result of school closures. We also discuss Barry’s long and varied career in education,  and the positive shift he’s seen in the increased expectations on SEND pupils. Barry speaks about his own daughter who has Down’s Syndrome and her achievements, which he could have scarcely imagined when he started teaching. Barry also explains his work on the engagement model of formative assessment for pupils performing below the standard of the national curriculum assessments, and how this has been developed into a model of summative assessment, to be adopted nationally when the legislation is passed.

You can learn more about resources  Barry discusses in this week’s episode, Books Beyond Words, here

At the end of this week’s podcast, we also hear from some of the delegates who attended the recent London Unconference on 7th March, on what #WomenEd means to them. 

• Lindsay Patience, Co-Founder of Flexible Teacher Talent @FlexTeachTalent

To celebrate,  National Careers Week, we talk to Will Millard Head of Engagement and Dr Sam Baars, Director of Research at CFEY about careers education.  In particular, they discuss the findings of two recent CFEYreports Careers education: What should young people learn and when? and Effective work experience: Let’s talk about WEX. 

We consider how schools can evaluate their careers education and work experience programmes. Will and Sam also share some examples of good practice and ways in which schools and companies can have more impactful interactions with each other.

This week we talk to Jack Worth, lead economist at National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) about the report he recently authored on the impact of teacher autonomy. We delve deeper into what “autonomy” means and why teachers often feel less autonomous compared with other professionals.

This week we talk Cathal Lynch, strategic director for leadership and school improvement at Washwood Heath Multi Academy Trust, and author of Building Belonging: A systematic approach to school improvement and emotional wellbeing. Cathal shares his fascinating experiences of establishing and leading a school for pupils with social and emotional mental health needs. He explains how working closely with educational psychologists and occupational therapists not only developed his understanding of, and practice with pupils, but also informed  his approach to school improvement. 

Cathal explains more about the school improvement framework he has created, emphasising the importance of surveying all the stakeholders a school serves to inform lines of enquiry. We also discuss the need to build space and time for deep thinking and reflection as part of the school improvement process.

This week we are joined by Laura McInerney, Co-founder of Teacher Tapp, former editor of Schools Week and Guardian Education columnist, for our termly Teacher Tapp Key Voices.

This week we talk to Naureen Khalid, one of the founders of UK GovChat, Trustee of a MAT and Chair of a Local Governing Board. We discuss the skills that matter on the governing body and the need for governors to get a broader understanding of education beyond their own school, by using things like  social media, training and events. 

We also look in detail at the role of governors in supporting and challenging school leaders, and the vital importance of the relationship between the chair of governors and the headteacher.

This week we spoke to Dean Johnstone, Founder and CEO of Minds Ahead. In the podcast, we consider why we are seeing a growing number of pupils experiencing mental health issues, and delve deeper into the specific challenges being faced by schools today.

Dean explains more about how Minds Ahead are pushing for system-wide change,  how schools can take an active leadership role in mental wellbeing, and where the boundaries lie between the education and health systems.

This week we talk to Stephen Morales, CEO of The Institute of School Business Leadership (ISBL). We discuss the challenging and evolving role of the school business professional and the development of ISBL from its predecessor organisation The National Association of School Business Managers. 

We also examine the impact of government policy over the last few years including  encouraging schools to consider Integrated Curriculum Financial Planning and the introduction of School Resource Management Advisors.  And finally, we look ahead to what the future might hold for those working as school business professionals.

This week we talk to our Lead Content Editors Kaley Foran and Adam Wainwright about the education pledges made in the Conservative manifesto, and consider what they might mean for the sector in the coming year.