Chris Misselbrook is a Mental Fitness coach and training provider. He recently left teaching to become the director of his business MindFirst Education Ltd. which helps both teachers & leaders in schools to overcome stress and reduce burnout. Previously, he was a secondary school PE teacher and the head of the department. Chris went through a crippling mental health episode due to the stress in education and is here to share with us how that changed him and the way he sees mental health. He has delivered talks on school improvement at the London Excel Center & Birmingham NEC, presented at multiple education conferences, coached Headteachers, Leaders and Teachers to live life without overwhelm, facilitated mental fitness workshops to thousands of people both online and face to face, as well as trained over 100 people to become mental health first aiders.

Episode warning:

Brief description of suicidal ideation

Chris's Contact Details:www.mindfirsteducation.com

[email protected]

A resource that was mentioned (I'm not being paid to endorse this):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wherever-You-There-Are-Mindfulness/dp/0749925485

If you're interested in becoming a guest on this podcast, feel free to contact me at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Arthur is a current Yr 3 Bachelor in Mathematics Education student at a University in Hong Kong. I taught him during his first year of university and we also collaborated on a sharing for the Maths Department last year.

If you're interested in becoming a guest on this podcast, feel free to contact me at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Angelina has been teaching Mathematics in Hong Kong for more than 25 years! Before being a teacher she also worked in a hotel and investment bank. I’m excited to listen to Angelina’s vast experience of teaching mathematics.A resource that was mentioned (I'm not being paid to endorse this):https://www.geogebra.org/If you're interested in becoming a guest on this podcast, feel free to contact me at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Isaac is a Yr 12 student at a local grammar school in the area where I live. You won’t believe this, but I met him while helping out at a local Chinese Takeaway. After chatting to him for a while, I found that he was mature beyond his years when talking about education. That’s why I decided to invite him onto the podcast.

If you're interested in becoming a guest on this podcast, feel free to contact me at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Darren began teaching back in 1998 and is currently the headteacher of King’s Road School in Trafford in the U.K.. He has been elected as the chairperson of Trafford Primary headteachers and serves as a trustee for Wilmslow Youth and Chairperson of the Trustees for Trafford Community Collective. Darren is an advocate for leaders’ mental health, including, writing various papers for Education Support Partnership and discussing this issue on the BBC. Recently, he wrote about the difficulties of having autism and being a Headteacher and that’s where I found and connected with him! I’m excited to learn more about Darren’s story. https://www.educationsupport.org.uk/resources/for-individuals/articles/behind-the-mask-school-leadership-and-autism/

If you're interested in becoming a guest on this podcast, feel free to contact me at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

I taught William in my first year of teaching and he actually left our school a few years later, but we somehow stayed in touch, even after he went to the UK to study. He’s currently a GP Pharmacist in the U.K….apparently, he’s also known as the “Honest Pharmacist”. Let’s find out why! If you're interested in becoming a guest on this podcast, feel free to contact me at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Nathan is a metacognitive researcher, author and consultant. He has so far written two books on metacognition, with 4 more in the pipeline, dozens of articles, ‘how to’ guides and recorded multiple podcasts. He currently supports schools around the U.K. with staff training, workshops, student sessions and curriculum development. He previously worked in schools across Derbyshire, as a Head of Maths, pastoral leader and More Able and Talented Coordinator. I’m very excited to learn more about metacognition from Nathan!

Here are links to discover more about Nathan's work:

X: @MrMetacognition

Email: [email protected]

Web: mrmetacognition.com/home

Books (Amazon): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nathan-Burns/e/B0BQZ5N6FNIf you're interested in becoming a guest on this podcast, feel free to contact me at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or find me on LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-cheng-369451166/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠.Here's my website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://alantheteachercoach.my.canva.site/⁠⁠

Kelly was my student for a year in Secondary School, but that was SO many years ago now. She’s currently an engineering consultant working in the railway industry. As she’s had experience studying in different educations systems, I’m excited to hear her story.

If you're interested in becoming a guest on this podcast, feel free to contact me at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Simon was born in Hong Kong but moved to the U.K. with his family when he was just 10 years old. He returned to Hong Kong and has since trained to become a primary school teacher. Currently, he is an English teacher at a primary school in Hong Kong. It’s going to be intriguing to see how his experience of living in both Hong Kong and the U.K. has shaped his views of education.

Here are some resources that Simon mentioned: 1. https://kahoot.it/

1. ​ https://wordwall.net/
2. ​ https://padlet.com/

(I am not being paid to endorse these) If you're interested in becoming a guest on this podcast, feel free to contact me at: ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠

I’ve never taught Sadie before, but I knew her because I saw her reading, literally every time I saw her around school. She was the model student in terms of her love for reading. I joked on a number of occasions to my colleagues that we should make a statue of her in the library!

Here are some of the books / videos that Sadie mentioned (I'm not being paid to endorse these):

- The Magic Treehouse Series by Mary Pope Osborne

- The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

- The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee (contains strong language and graphic action/fighting scenes)

- FONDA LEE Talks Developing Jade🟢, Researching -Organized Crime🔬, and Fantasy!https://youtu.be/VCOHJIg4t0M?si=1w_3i42m2QFspbDj

- The Locked Tomb Series by Tamsyn Muir (contains strong language and graphic action/fighting scenes)

- Percy Jackson and The Olympians by Rick Riordan

If you're interested in becoming a guest on this podcast, feel free to contact me at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠