Pride & Progress

Season 2, Episode 13

In our final episode of the series, we are joined by the formidable Peter Tatchell (He/him). Peter has dedicated his life to campaigning for human rights and has been involved in activism for over 50 years. In this episode we discuss his fascinating life and career which is featured in the Netflix documentary Hating Peter Tatchell (https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81422831).You can follow Peter's work by signing up to his website, https://www.petertatchellfoundation.org, or following him on Twitter @PeterTatchell.We hope you have enjoyed this series of Pride and Progress, and as ever, please share your feedback with us on Twitter @PrideProgress.The Pride & Progress bookclub is launching this September, and you can sign up for the first meeting using this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-pride-progress-book-club-tickets-383306880197 Thanks for listening and we'll see you soon for series 3!Adam & Jo

Season 2, Episode 13

This week we are joined by the fascinating Paul Baker (he/him). Paul is Professor of English Language at Lancaster University. He has written 22 books on language, sexuality and social history - covering topics that include Section 28, Polari, gay men in the merchant navy, and newspaper coverage of LGBTQ+ people. 

In this conversation we talk about the importance of connecting with older generations of LGBTQ+ people, to learn our history, and the lessons we can learn from their fight for equality. We discuss Paul's most recent book: Outrageous! Which charts the story of Section 28 and the battle for LGBTQ+ education. We loved Paul's book so much that we have started our own Pride & Progress Bookclub! Find out more, or sign up, using this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-pride-progress-book-club-tickets-383306880197

We love to hear your feedback, so please rate and review this episode and you can also follow us on Twitter @PrideProgress and Paul @_paulbaker_. Thanks for listening!

Season 2, Episode 12

This week we are joined by the ray of sunshine that is Nick Kitchener-Bentley (he/him). Nick is a wonderfully positive and encouraging voice in education and among his many roles is a secondary school Lead Practitioner and teacher of Drama, Inclusion & English. Nick is also the Drama subject specific lead tutor for Coventry University’s National Institute of Teaching and Education and has an interest in LGBTQ+ inclusion in education, working with LGBTed as part of their Steering Group.

Nick joins us to discuss his work in making schools more LGBTQ+ Inclusive, his recent contribution to the Diverse Educators: A Manifesto book, as well as a fascination discussion about professional identity.

We love to hear your feedback, so please rate and review this episode and you can also follow us on Twitter @PrideProgress and Nick @NBentleyTweets. Thanks for listening!

Season 2, Episode 11

This week we are joined by an incredible headteacher, writer, and thinker, David Lowbridge-Ellis! David uses he/they pronouns and is an inspirational headteacher, and the Director of School Improvement for Matrix Academy Trust in the West Midlands. He has written and spoken extensively on many aspects of education, especially curriculum and assessment. Inclusion is a recurring theme in his writing and speaking and he joins us this week to chat about the barriers queer people in education face.In this episode, David shares lots of brilliant tips on how to make educational spaces more inclusive, and how to be an effective, authentic leader in education. We love to hear your feedback, so please rate and review this episode and you can also follow us on Twitter @PrideProgress and David @DavidTLowbridge. Thanks for listening!

Season 2, Episode 10

This week we are joined by an incredible educator, researcher and activist, Charlotte Feather! Charlotte uses she/her pronouns and is the founder of the LGBTQ Primary Hub: a website which aims to enhance the delivery of LGBTQ+ inclusive education in primary schools by providing teachers with the support they need. 

Charlotte has just completed her Masters, with research focusing on the experience of queer early career teachers, and is now an academic tutor with the University of Sunderland running one of the UKs only Gender and Diversity University Modules.

She joins us this week to talk all things LGBT+ education, and shares some fascinating insights from her research.

We love to hear your feedback, so please rate and review this episode and you can also follow us on Twitter @PrideProgress and Charlotte @MissFeather_.  Thanks for listening!

Season 2, Episode 9

This week we are delighted to speak to the wonderful Fisayo Akinade (he/him). Fisayo is a brilliant actor of both screen and stage, and plays the teacher we all wish we could have had at school, Heartstopper's Mr Ajayi!Fisayo joins us to talk about his acting career, dancing with Olivia Coleman and, of course, all things Heartstopper!We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it. We love to hear your feedback, so please rate and review this episode and you can also follow us on Twitter @PrideProgress. Thanks for listening!

Season 2, Episode 8

This week we have assembled some special friends of the show to discuss what has been consuming all of our lives for the last week - the new Netflix series Heartstopper. Heartstopper is a British coming-of-age story of queer romance based on the graphic novels of the same name by the brilliant Alice Oseman. The story follows a group of queer young people as they navigate falling in love as an LGBTQ+ young person.In this episode, our guests George White (he/him), Allison Zionts (she/her), Karan Bhumbla (he/him), and Aisling Walters (she/her), come together to discuss their favourite characters, moments, and messages from the beautiful queer love story. You can catch up on all eight episodes of Heartstopper on Netflix, and read about this story and others on Alice Oseman's website: https://aliceoseman.comWe love to hear your feedback, so please rate and review this episode and you can also follow us on Twitter @PrideProgress.Thanks for listening!

Season 2, Episode 7

This week we speak with the brilliant Daniel Tomlinson-Gray (he/him). Daniel is a secondary teacher and co-founder and director of the fantastic LGBTed (https://outteacher.org).

In this episode we discuss the origins of LGBTed, the amazing work they do through their Proud Leadership programme, and the inspiring book, edited by Daniel: Big Gay Adventures in Education: Supporting LGBT+ Visibility and Inclusion in Education (https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/036789422X/ref=cm_sw_r_oth_api_i_8Y15YVSARC87T87K1E9X).

We love to hear your feedback, so please rate and review this episode and you can also follow us on Twitter @PrideProgress, and LGBTed @LGBTedUK. Thanks for listening!

Season 2, Episode 6

This week we are joined by the incredible Professor Catherine Lee (she/her). Catherine trained as a PE teacher before stepping into academia at Anglia Ruskin University. In this episode Catherine shares her personal experience of educating through Section 28, and how she has moved from that experience to set up the Courageous Leaders programme designed to support LGBTQ+ leadership. We discuss Catherine's research, and she shares with us why LGBTQ+ leadership matters, and why LGBTQ+ people are uniquely prepared to make excellent school leaders. We love to hear your feedback, so please rate and review this episode and you can also follow us on Twitter @PrideProgress, and Catherine @DrCatherineLee.Thanks for listening!

Season 2, Episode 5

This week we are joined by the inspirational Bennie Kara (she/her). In this packed episode, we discuss Bennie's journey from Teach First all the way to senior leadership, how her intersectional identity led to the birth of Diverse Educators, and the success of her fantastic book, Diversity in Schools (available here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/a-little-guide-for-teachers-diversity-in-schools/bennie-kara/9781529718546).

Bennie is the master of a metaphor and we can't stop thinking about her amazing 'labels have care instructions' analogy!

We love to hear your feedback, so please rate and review this episode and you can also follow us on Twitter @PrideProgress, and Bennie @benniekara.

Thanks for listening!