The Cultivating Change Podcast

Join Tish and Ellie, a secondary school early career teacher, as they explore the transformative power of 'fresh starts' in the spirit of spring and a new term.

In this episode of the Cultivating Change podcast, Tish speaks with Glen, a teacher who grew up and currently teaches in London.

The pair discuss the changing landscape of modern childhood, and the challenges that this comes with.

Children are not born bad yet can sometimes bring their 'worst' self to school. What is the context of young people struggling to self-regulate? Tish takes a look at the broader picture joining up her knowledge as a psychotherapist and teacher with 14 years of working with children who struggle at school. She is a passionate advocate that behavioural changes for the better are possible.

How can we create a genuine sense of belonging within the school and within the classroom? Listen to Tish Feilden share her thoughts alongside two young people who are coming to the end of their time in secondary school.

Following on from our latest webinar focused on reimagining of the education system, we’ve been talking to young people about their experiences of school and how well they think the system prepared them for their future lives.

Speaking openly with Tish Feilden, they identify the skills they feel they needed more support with, including handling finances and understanding tax returns!

They also clearly identify the power of strong and supportive relationships in their development. This is something we champion at Jamie’s Farm and we will be exploring the tools needed to build positive relationships and communicate well in our next webinar on 11th July.

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Doubly disadvantaged? Do stricter behavioural policies adversely affect vulnerable children?

In this episode of Regenerative Education, Tish discusses the implications of strict behaviour policies with Wayne from BCP Council. Wayne works to improve outcomes for children with a social worker and children in care. Here, they delve into the consequences of stricter school policy and how this can put children and teachers up against each other. At the same time, children share that they sometimes appreciate the clear boundaries that come with a strict, no-nonsense approach.

Where do we draw the line?

In this podcast, Tish Feilden talks to writer and teacher, Clare Deal about why a sense of belonging is so critical to children's development, and how we can foster this in schools.

In a recent TES article, Clare Deal found that according to 2020 research, one in four young people feel they do not “belong” in school - a figure that is rising. This is a problem, the report finds, because a sense of belonging has been linked to increased motivation, higher attainment and reductions in absenteeism, as well as other positive social outcomes. Young people who “experience a sense of exclusion from school”, meanwhile, are more likely to “seek ‘belongingness’ elsewhere”. In this podcast Tish Feilden talks to Clare how we can foster a sense of belonging.

Are children equipped for their futures? What teachers and employers think

In November last year I wrote a blog post questioning how well our schools prepare children for their futures. In this podcast I had the pleasure of talking to ex-teacher Lloyd and current teacher Serafina about what schools are doing or could be doing to prepare young people for the working world and life’s challenges. Lloyd trained to teach English with Teach First at a large comprehensive in London before teaching in Dubai and finally becoming a consultant with Deloitte. Serafina has just completed her Teach First training as a teacher of languages at an academy in Leeds and is about to move into alternative provision. Together we explore the question whether children are being equipped for their futures. 

The digital world is powerful and are we as adults helping children sufficiently to set boundaries and develop the skills to navigate this positively? The human qualities of good social and emotional relationships can be usurped if we don’t set boundaries and create time and space for more ‘real’ interaction. In this next podcast I delve into this deeper speaking to young people about their perspective on the digital world. 

We have produced our latest podcast and resources (including this PDF Support Sheet on Sensitive Conversations) to try to help to meet the needs of teachers who have been telling us how worried they are about the mental wellbeing of the pupils they teach. With the NHS and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) struggling to meet the current demand, many teachers are reporting that they feel out of depth with the levels of self-harm and suicidal ideation that are exhibited at school. In this podcast I explore the psychology behind self-harm and introduce you to Julie, Therapy Co-ordinator at Jamie’s Farm, who has over 10 years’ experience supporting vulnerable young people. Together, we share practical advice for those working with young people, empowering them to have these difficult but important conversations.