What does it actually take to build a great school? Not just good exam results – but a place where kids genuinely thrive.
This week Adam and Andy are joined by Mark Wignall, a former headteacher with 36 years in education, to talk values over rules, the attendance crisis, marginal gains in the classroom, and why understanding your brain might be the most important lesson schools aren't teaching.
If you need any specific help with this, don't hesitate to email the show [email protected]
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Chapters:
00:00 - Clip
00:50 - Intro & waffle (ft. the heatwave & cold pan nonsense)
01:57 - Meet Mark Wignall – 36 years in education
02:53 - What Action Your Potential does & why small changes matter
05:50 - Mark's career journey to headteacher
07:00 - What makes a great school?
09:30 - Exam results vs. the whole child
11:20 - Building a school around values
13:38 - School as a community – it takes everyone
14:47 - Values over rules: building behaviour into the brain
17:09 - The kindness & compassion curriculum
19:50 - Marginal gains & the Team Sky parallel
21:14 - Does the 1% approach actually work in schools?
23:10 - Ofsted & why inspection misses the point
24:09 - The attitude shift — parents & schools
25:49 - Post-austerity & the collapse of support services
26:14 - The attendance crisis
28:00 - Why kids build up school in their heads (& how the brain does it)
30:01 - Neuroscience as an icebreaker — not a blame game
31:27 - What school actually teaches you (beyond the subjects)
32:00 - The power of doing things you don't love
32:24 - Emergence claxon 🚨
34:07 - Outro
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This podcast will change your life, if you let it.
Welcome to One Brain At A Time, an Action Your Potential podcast.
At the top of your neck you have the most powerful processing device in the known universe. But no-one's ever told you how it works... until now.
Each Monday, Action Your Potential consultants Adam Wright and Andy Feist strip away the jargon and break down the neuroscience into practical tools you can apply straight away.
Entertaining, evidence-based, and 100% woo-woo free. That's a guarantee.
Subscribe today wherever you get your podcasts and watch the full episodes on Youtube.
If you want to learn more about the work we do at AYP, you can find out more information on our website!
📧 Email us questions at [email protected].
👀 Watch our episodes on our youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@OneBrainPodcast
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📬 Subscribe to the AYP Newsletter: https://substack.com/@actionyourpotential
One Brain At A Time is written and presented by Adam Wright & Andy Feist. Production from Adam Wright and Andy Feist. Intro Music: “Happy Life” by Fredji (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvQ-5RCt9xs&list=PLfP6i5T0-DkK-1uhfhicxlQ2FJwbuA7uU&index=26). One Brain At A Time is an Action Your Potential production.
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