👩‍🏫💬 Single-Sex Schools, Safeguarding & Safe Spaces

This week, Hannah and Lucy are back after whirlwind weeks of OCR championships, youth conferences and one very public stumble on stage. But it’s not all travel tales and heatwave woes, today’s conversation tackles one of the more controversial issues in education: should boys and girls be taught separately?

Prompted by a recent Ofsted ruling against a grammar school in Kent, the episode questions the role of single-sex classes in the modern education system. Were the school’s curriculum practices outdated or genuinely beneficial? And what happens when girls are expected to perform while boys are given a pass?

Lucy draws on her own experience of attending an all-girls grammar and reflects on whether it truly served her. Hannah offers a different angle, sharing how she’s adapted her curriculum to reach boys in art and food tech, and how separating groups—at least occasionally—might offer both respite and results.

🏫 Topics include:

• Why girls often outperform boys in co-ed settings

• Whether girls' quieter success masks a lack of challenge

• The impact of school structure on confidence, competition and identity

• How subject choices reflect gendered expectations

• Male teachers and PSHE: are we still squeamish about periods?

• Why both boys and girls need safer spaces—and where that leaves non-binary students

• Whether tailoring texts and topics to boys or girls is helpful, harmful, or both

The conversation is packed with classroom anecdotes, curriculum critiques, and the kind of candid humour that makes the show so popular with teachers across the UK. There’s no simple conclusion - both hosts admit they’re torn - but the episode shines a light on the messy realities schools are navigating when it comes to gender, learning, and behaviour.

👂 Listeners can expect:
🗣️ Honest reflections from two educators with different school experiences🎒 Real talk about safeguarding, student dynamics, and unconscious bias🎭 Banter, boldness and moments of unexpected karaoke📉 Stats and reports, including data on attainment in single-sex vs mixed schools📢 Critical questions for staffrooms and SLT to consider, especially around equity and curriculum design

From influencers' shadow in the classroom to the power of protest art, the conversation blends warmth with weight. The hosts don’t pretend to have all the answers but they do ask the right questions.

🎓 Who should listen?Teachers, TAs, school leaders, parents, trainees, and anyone interested in the changing shape of education. Whether you’re reflecting on your own school experience or shaping policy today, this episode offers stories, data and food for thought.

💌 Have a story or opinion? Want to be a guest? Drop us a message - because education isn’t one-size-fits-all, and the conversation’s just getting started.

#TheHannahAndLucyShow #EducationPodcast #UKSchools #GenderInEducation #Ofsted #TeachingChat #StudentVoice #SingleSexEducation #CurriculumDesign #SafeSpaces