For this latest podcast episode we were thrilled to be joined by Heather McAvan, former primary school teacher, Twinkl employee and now founder of educational resource business 'Mrs Mactivity'. 

On the show Heather discusses how she started her teaching career abroad in Japan and Spain before settling in Bradford where she spent 10 years as a primary school teacher. She opens up about the reasons behind leaving the teaching profession discussing workload, senior leadership and juggling being a mother whilst teaching.

With Heather's passion still in education she talks about working for Twinkl, her drive to keep helping children and how this led to her forming her successful education resource business 'Mrs Mactivity'. 

A brilliant chat with Heather and we can't wait for you guys to listen. We hope you enjoy!

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For this podcast episode we were joined by the brilliant Phil Naylor, Deputy Headteacher and creator of the superb education podcast 'Naylor's Natter'. 

Phil joins us to discuss his unique journey into teaching from football coach to Biology teacher, before chatting about his various roles en-route to becoming Deputy Head. The chat then turns to the success of his very own education podcast 'Naylor's Natter' where he tells the story it it's famous jingle, opens up about some brilliant guests he's interviewed on the podcast before giving us an exclusive into the writing of his first book. We hope you enjoy!

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For this latest episode Matt and Sam take the time to reflect on their first placement experience as PGCE students. The lads speak about the positive relationships with their mentors, areas of teaching they need to improve going into phase 2 and what they are most looking forward to about their next placement post. We hope you enjoy!

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For this weeks podcast episode we were delighted to be joined by the brilliant Professor Rachel Lofthouse, an ex secondary school geography teacher who now heads the fantastic CollectiveED research centre at LBU. 

Throughout the episode we discuss Rachel's passion for coaching, mentoring and supporting current and future teachers, the importance of teacher identity and how networking and peer collaboration helps influence this and finally her role as founder of CollectiveED, a fantastic space where people in all walks of education can share ideas and knowledge with the purpose of coaching and developing teaching practise.

A fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable episode you won't want to miss. We hope you enjoy! 

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For this podcast episode we were joined by current NQT Meg O'Shea to talk about her teaching journey whilst living with Bi-Polar. We learn more about Bi-Polar as an illness, how Meg manages her daily routine as a newly qualified teacher and what schools can do to raise more awareness of the Mental Health disorder. We hope you enjoy!

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For our latest podcast episode we were joined by the brilliant Nicola Bennett, current headteacher and Sam's former employer!

On the episode we discuss the important topic of building positive relationships with parents, particularly for teachers at the beginning of their careers. We discuss Nicola's illustrious teaching career from PGCE student to headship, how being both professional and personable is vital in building strong parents relationships and we have Nicola answer a few questions sent in by you guys, the listeners. You really won't want to miss this episode! We hope you enjoy!

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For our latest podcast episode we were joined by secondary science teacher and author Omar Akbar to discuss his brilliant first book 'The (Un)official Teacher's Manual'.

We talk to Omar about the reasons behind him writing the book, how it covers important areas of teaching that aren't taught through your training years and he gives us an exclusive insight on what he's currently writing! We hope you enjoy!

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For this latest podcast episode it's back to being just Matt and Sam, as they introduce a new mini-series around the topic of building Teacher Relationships!

The first episode in the series focuses on teachers building relationships with colleagues both professionally and personally, as the lads talk about their own experiences in schools and what they hope to find in the staffroom ahead of their PGCE year. We hope you enjoy!

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For our latest podcast episode we were joined by the current Dean of Education at Leeds Beckett University, Professor Damien Page, where we focused on the important subject of 'Wider Social Inclusion'.

Damien introduces the role of Dean and reveals his passions and love for the job, particularly how providing an inclusive setting for students to train as aspiring teachers is central to the schools ethos. We chat about the importance of tackling social issues through education and teacher training such as racial inequality, LGBTQ+ representation and SEND inclusion alongside the influence of politics within the system. We look at how students nowadays are more socially aware of these issues because of social media and what universities are doing to put more emphasis on the importance of social issues within both education and society. We hope you enjoy!! Please Rate, Review and Subscribe!!

For this week's podcast episode we were joined by the brilliant Ben Hobbis, a trainee teacher at Birmingham City University heading into his final year on the QTS degree. Having worked in retail for 4 years before heading back to university, we talk what influenced his the decision to change career and his experiences volunteering in primary schools. We also discuss the importance of networking and sharing teaching experiences, the positive influence of working walls in the classroom and some top reading recommendations for new and current trainee teachers. We hope you enjoy! Please Rate, Review and Subscribe!