requires improvement

003// Teaching in the Refugee Crisis, Green New Deal, Diversity, Experiences of an NQT

In this third episode of RI, with lead-host Lee, we are joined by our first guest Dr. Alex Collins for an interview about his experiences as a teacher and voluntary worker on the front lines of the refugee crisis in Athens, Greece. Hosts Lee, Charlie, Nick and Lauren are all in the room in order to cast a critical eye over the current hot topics in education news, with an unashamedly radical left-wing political outlook.

In this episode we cover the teaching staff retention crisis, future careers and the green new deal, poor diversity practices in schools, and climate change deniers. The interview covers topics such as working conditions for new teachers in the UK, structural problems with the UK education system, the refugee crisis in Greece, and the work of voluntary groups in trying to help child refugees.

Links to Organisations Mentioned:

Khora (http://www.khora-athens.org/) is an association of services for and working in solidarity with the migrant community in central Athens. We currently operate three premises; a free shop (like a shop - but everything’s free) in Exarhia offering non-food items, mostly clothes, toiletries and toys; a social centre in Kipseli, housing our asylum support team, a makers/craft/creative space (“The Beehive”), a co-working/open office space used by a variety of other small-scale local projects, a women’s space (run collaboratively with the United African Women’s Organisation), and a music/sound/tech studio in the basement; and a free restaurant/community kitchen in Kipseli (opening soon!).

Love and Serve Without Boundaries (LSWB) https://v4r.info/orgs.list.php?ID=721

is a grassroots organisation which started as a street outreach programme providing hot food to the homeless (mostly migrants) around Victoria Square, which now also runs a very busy education project out of their premises in Patissia. They offer volunteer-taught language classes for (hundreds of) adults and children (on a budget of close to zero pounds). The project is run by Maria, herself an asylum seeker from Kenya.

002 Requires Improvement - Conferences, 4 Day Week, OFSTED And Headteachers, Testing, Decolonising The Curriculum

In our sophomore episode of RI, with lead-host Charlie, we are joined by a new co-host Tom, along with Anu, Lauren, Lee and Nick from our first episode, to cast a critical eye over the hot current topics in education news, with an unashamedly radical political outlook.

In this episode we cover the Labour and Conservative party conferences, discuss the merits and pitfalls of a 4-day week, headteachers who defend OFSTED, primary school testing and decolonising the curriculum.

Links to Articles/Website mentioned:

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2019/oct/01/is-labour-right-to-want-ofsted-gone

https://folukeafrica.com/category/decolonising/

In this debut episode of "Requires Improvement", a friendly bunch of classroom teachers, trade unionists and education activists based in Bristol cast a critical eye over the hot current topics in education news, with an unashamedly radical political outlook.

In this week's episode, lead by Nick and joined by Charlie, Anu, Lauren and Lee, we cover private schools, education funding promises and Facebook advertising controversies, support for student climate strikers, recent governmental attempts to mandate what is "Cultural Capital" and the nature of exclusions in the present education system.

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Ideas, guest contributor suggestions, feedback all welcome - please email [email protected]