Stef chats about getting the podcast back up and rolling, briefly mentioning what's been going on over the last two years, as well as latest thinking and observations of quality in FE.

Topics mentioned include compliance, quality and transparency of data used to establish quality across and within an organisation, as well as an overview of the events and workshops that we've created as part of the National Quality Network collaboration.

Linktree link for all events, workshops and network gatherings - https://linktr.ee/stefanielw

Stuart is the first principal to come on the Teaching Excellence Podcast. With a keen interest in leadership, Stef chats with Stuart about his leadership journey in FE, the challenges that we currently face and the vision of FE in the future. 

This week Lindsey and I chat about Induction and the things that we think make it meaningful. Its a good time to consider how we best welcome students to college but also move away from induction being about assessment, assignments and course requirements. Its time to be creative and consider all the ways in which we can create a memorable experience that will build a sense of belonging and engage students in their future.

This week Stef and Isla chat about the last few weeks, what we have been up to, where we have been and what we have heard which has caught our interest. Isla talks about the NATECLA conference and I chat about training I ran with Apprenticeships tutors and we both talk about some of our initial thoughts about our Ofsted experiences this year. We could probably talk for a week about Ofsted, but we just threw out a few of our first initial thoughts. We get that usually it generates a lot of discussion, so if you want to ask us a question, use the voicenote or message function in Anchor to ask us something about our experiences or our thoughts. Much Joy. Stef and Isla.

I talk to Paula who is a co-head of a primary school. She shares how this works and how they have aligned CPD and their whole school approach to being curious and inquisitive about improvement.

Its time for Season 5 of the Teaching Excellence podcast. There is podcast news and we chat about things we have been up to recently in 2022, including a project which explores teaching low level English skills as well as exploring collaborative professionalism to create positive quality improvement cultures. If you find any of this interesting be sure to let us know or get in touch and we can point you in the direction of resources or further reading, or we could even include further discussion in future episodes.

I chat to Ben about all things change, technology and how things seem to be going in Term 1. 

Ben is an Educational Consultant working with a number of clients on both digital and cultural transformation. Prior to this, Ben has worked for 15 years in education as an Assistant Principal and Curriculum Manager, focusing on Apprenticeships and formerly in his subject specialisms of Religious Studies & Sociology. He is a governor at a primary school and a trustee of a local charity. For the last 4 years, he has hosted the Edufuturists podcast, interviewing guests from all over the world about loads of topics - cryptocurrencies, innovation, marketing - and applying this to the future of education.

He tweets at @itsbenwhitaker and can be found on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itsbenwhitaker/ 

Stef and Amy chat about Culture Development through TLA and Quality Improvement, the need for focus and rapid action in response to learner needs as well as the 'noise' that can exist when there feels like there is so much to do. We also chat briefly about Amy's research  as part of last years SUNCETT research programme.