Key Voices

“The pandemic has given us the confidence to change, potentially in quite a quick way, to be creative in what we do and to focus on the most important things which, at the end of the day, are the children, the families and the staff.” 

This week we talk to senior leaders at TEAM Education Trust: Sarah Baker, CEO, Alison Bingham, Director of Development, Rachel Watson, Associate Principal and Director of Education and Achievement, and Alan Brown, Principal, Model Village Primary.  We look back at the year gone since the start of the pandemic, think about the difference working together as a trust has made to them and hear about the plans they have currently underway to further develop their work on a wellbeing charter. 

We talk about: 

• Their reflections on the previous year

You can learn more about TEAM Education Trust  and its work here 

“Parents probably learned more by accompanying their child in an online phonics session for instance, than in all the workshops we put on for them around phonics.”

“Nobody has asked me about how I, as an individual person, am feeling about the whole pandemic... because I am the headteacher and that is my job and that is what I do… I am the face of the school and that’s how I have to present. I don’t tend to share my opinion and feelings on a personal level, they tend to be more on a professional level because actually, it is not about me It’s about the children, the families and the staff. 

This week we speak to Kate Owbridge, Executive Headteacher at Ashdown Primary School. She shares with us some of the lessons she has learned across 4 very different headships. Kate also includes some practical tips about engaging with school communities and school improvement. We briefly discuss engaging parents with remote learning, catch up and the challenges of leading a school community as they all return to school. We end with Kate enthusiastically explaining why she absolutely loves the work she does. 

We talk about:

• The different schools Kate has led during her career and how in each case she got to know the community and how best to serve it

This week we talk to Cheryl Campbell, Business, Finance and Operations Director at Thomas Tallis School, Founder of ABBLed (Association BAME Business Leaders in Education) and Stephen Morales, CEO at ISBL, about the recently released ‘Exploring Ethnicity: School Business Leadership in England’ report.  We acknowledge that the report found very limited BAME representation in the school business profession and look at practical ways it can be increased. We also think about the lack of visibility of the school business profession and the ways in which that could be addressed.

We talk about: 

• Cheryl’s journey into school business leadership 

You can read the full Exploring Ethnicity School Business Leadership in England report here

Follow ABBLed on Twitter here and learn more about its work here 

“It’s been brutal. I’ve never experienced anything like this in my career in terms of the intensity, speed of thought, emotional demands, holding a community together as best you can, while not really knowing the answers to the questions you are being asked. But at the same time, what’s been really clear is the strength of the community we work within and work for.”

This week we talk to Simon Knight, Joint Headteacher at Frank Wise School and National SEND Leader at Whole School SEND. We talk about his route into special school leadership and his experiences of running the school during the pandemic. We also talk more broadly about the structural inequality that impacts the lives and life chances of young people with special educational needs. We discuss how the education sector, other government departments and society as a whole, have much more work to do to make sure everyone has a place in society where they can contribute and feel valued. 

We talk about: 

• What he loves about working with children with SEND 

Do take the time to read this heartbreaking report, A Fair, Supportive Society, from the Institute of Health Equity that Simon and I discuss in the podcast. 

“Let’s create a bit more space for people who’s lived experiences can inform what we do and stop making the presumption that those with the qualifications are best placed to make the decisions - because actually, it is those who experience it day to day who can help us work together to come up with the best ways of taking things forward.” 

“The pandemic has shone so many lights on possibilities for how we could really harness flexible working. Historically, the infrastructure and organisational structures that we had within education were so deeply ingrained, that nobody dared challenge them… It’s thrown everything up into the air and has said, there is no aspect of our work... that we can’t explore doing in a different way.”

This week we talk to Emma Turner, author and Research & CPD Lead, about her book Let’s talk about Flex.  We hear about Emma’s experiences of working flexibly and how schools can benefit from offering their staff opportunities to work differently. We also bust some common myths along the way.  We consider how remote learning during the pandemic could actually accelerate the adoption of flexible working in education, a sector that still lags behind others when it comes to the number of people accessing flexible working. 

We talk about: 

• The different ways in which Emma has worked flexibly during her career

As mentioned by Emma, you can find a range of data and case studies via the following organisations:

Flexible Teacher Talent 

Maternity Teacher Paternity Teacher  Project 

Chartered College of Teaching 

“A healthy happy staff are much better teachers, it is about looking at your culture and your ingrained systems rather than thinking “if we implement this new shiny approach to doing something this will solve it all” no it is actually: What do our staff need? What would benefit them? What can we tweak and offer?”

This week, in our 100th episode of the podcast,  we talk to Loic Menzies, CEO, Centre for Education and Youth (CFEY). We look back on Loic’s time creating and building the organisation as work begins around appointing his successor. We think about what has changed and shifted in education during the 12 years he has been running CFEY and look ahead to the forthcoming publication of his book “Young People on the Margins: Priorities for Action in Education and Youth”. We also consider what is needed to make sure all children and young people get the best start in life. 

We talk about: 

• How the CFEY began and how it has developed over time

You can learn more about the work of the CFEY here and their search for a new CEO here

The Youth Social Action Toolkit Loic mentions can be found here

The Primary Schools Careers resources Loic mentions can be found here

You can pre-order your copy of Young People on the Margins: Priorities for Action in Education and Youth here. You can save 20% by using the offer code (FLY21).

This week we talk to Adam Arnell, Director, Oxfordshire Teaching Schools Alliance, Patrick Garton, Director Oxfordshire Teacher Training and Robbie Haddock, Associate Teacher. We discuss how their teacher training and CPD have had to adapt to provide a compelling remote offer. We consider the ways in which teachers training this year have benefited as well as some of the challenges they have faced. We look forward to the introduction of the Early Career Framework and think about how schools might want to prepare for it.

We talk about: 

• How Oxford Teaching Schools Alliance have developed to provide remote CPD 

The list of questions for NQT’s choosing the right school to do their induction can be found here

You can register for the National Virtual Recruitment Fair that Adam is organising on the 4th March here

Robbie’s blog is here 

“However hard it’s been, and it has been very difficult most of the time, schools never stopped, not once, to put themselves first. At every moment they have done their civic duty. I think they are exceptional. I think they are a national treasure.” 

This week we talk to Leora Cruddas, CEO of The Confederation of School Trusts (CST), about her views on the role of trusts in the education system and how CST has been supporting its members during COVID-19.  We think about the various ways in which schools in trusts have potentially fared better over the past year and consider some of the longer-term consequences of the pandemic. 

We talk about: 

• Leora’s career journey and what motivates her 

Leora ends the podcast by reading some extracts of a poem by Maya Angelou called ‘Continue’ you can read it in full here

You can learn more about CST and its work here

“As we were going into a global pandemic and a national crisis, what CST members needed was an organisation that pivoted to speak directly to them and act directly for them, so that’s what I decided CST had to become.”

This week we talk to Karen Wespieser MBE, Chief Operating Officer at Parent Ping and Teacher Tapp. Karen talks about the Parent Ping app, why it matters to collect survey information from parents and some of the findings to date. We also hear a little bit about Teacher Tapp’s growing international work. 

We discuss:

• The Parent Ping model and the benefits of daily polling especially during a period of such rapid change 

You can find out more about Parent Ping and how to sign up here. 

The blogs we mention in this week’s podcast can be found here.

This week we talk to Professor Adam Boddison, CEO of nasen about his new book The Governance Handbook for SEND and Inclusion: Schools that work for all learners. We consider what every governor needs to know about SEND, the legislation schools need to comply with and how they can understand the quality of provision for children with SEND in their school. 

We talk about: 

• Why it is important for all governors to know about their school’s responsibilities around SEND 

In the podcast, Adam recommends governors familiarise themselves with chapter 6 of the SEND code of practice 

You can find free resources to support a SEND review of governance here

From Monday 25th January, nasen membership will be available to all (including governors) for free, more details are availble here 

If you purchase Adam’s book ‘The Governance Handbook for SEND and Inclusion’ from Routledge you can use the code BSM20 to get 20% off at checkout.