Hear former secretary of state for education and cabinet minister Ed Balls reflect on his experiences of – and views on – leadership in this April 2022 episode of NAHT's School Leadership Podcast. He talks to NAHT’s James Bowen about his time as education secretary and his memories of working for Tony Blair and Gordon Brown at pivotal political moments. Ed is a keynote speaker at this year’s Inspiring Leadership Conference, which takes place on 28 and 29 June in Birmingham. 

What is the best way to ventilate a classroom, what do you need to know about CO2 monitors and are air-cleaning machines worth the investment? NAHT’s James Bowen puts these key questions and more to the scientists involved in a critical research project looking at the effectiveness of ventilation and air purifiers in classrooms. 

Professor Mark Mon-Williams, chair in cognitive psychology at the University of Leeds and professor of psychology at the Bradford Institute of Health Research, and mechanical engineer Catherine Noakes, professor of environmental engineering for buildings at the University of Leeds, are currently involved in a trial involving 30 primary classrooms to help our understanding of how air-cleaning technologies can help reduce the build-up of covid particles, as well as how they could have advantages in the longer term too.

As part of LGBT+ History Month in 2022, hear Dominic Arnall, chief executive at LGBT+ young people's charity Just Like Us, in conversation with NAHT’s Natalie Arnett about the role schools play in empowering young people to champion LGBT+ equality, and how the charity can help schools do this.

Plus, there’s more on school mottos – you'll hear from Chilton Primary School in Oxfordshire about their motto and why it was chosen.

For more about Just Like Us, including resources and lesson plans, talks and School Diversity Week, see justlikeus.org.

In this episode, Tes editor Jon Severs talks to NAHT’s James Bowen about tackling covid guidance, teachers on Twitter and Tes being a voice the profession can trust.

Plus, following on from last month’s episode, we have more on school mottos.

What does this autumn’s budget really mean for school spending? Will schools be better off in 2022, and beyond? And what will changes in the funding formula mean for head teachers? Luke Sibieta, an economist specialising in education policy at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, answers these questions and more in this conversation with NAHT’s director of policy James Bowen.

Plus: what’s your school’s motto, and why was it chosen? You’ll hear a head teacher talk about her school’s motto and what it means for them, and find out how to get in touch to share – and celebrate – your own school’s motto.

In this episode, hear primary head teacher and director of Educating for Equality Sabrina Edwards talk about her work supporting leaders on their journey to embedding anti-racism and gender equality in their schools, and the role schools can play in bringing about long-lasting and sustainable change in the world.

Geraldine Trotman, Black History Patron for Wales, reflects on the contribution of her lifelong friend, champion of multiculturalism and Wales' first Black head teacher Betty Campbell.

Betty was born in Butetown, Cardiff, in 1934. She qualified as a teacher in the 1960s and later became head teacher at Butetown’s Mount Stuart Primary School, where she made sure her pupils learned about the positive contribution made to British society by people of colour.

In this episode, you’ll hear conversations that reflect on student and staff experiences of discrimination and explore how school leaders can take steps to understand and promote the equalities agenda in their schools. Michelle De Leon, founder and CEO of World Afro Day, talks to NAHT’s Natalie Arnett about why she set up the Big Hair Assembly and how schools can get involved, before Iona Jackson, head of research at Edurio, outlines the key findings of a survey looking at the experiences of 16,500 school staff members around equality, diversity and inclusion.

In March 2020, head teacher Alan Garnett decided to start a weekly column for a local paper chronicling the experiences of his school community as it responded to the pandemic. He ended up writing the diary for a whole year, and his articles have now been turned into a book, A Headteacher's Diary: Making it up as we go Along – Trying to lead a school through a pandemic.

Here, Alan shares some of his observations – talking honestly about how stressful it was reacting to last-minute announcements, and explaining why he wanted to tell the stories of “remarkable people doing remarkable things”, as they did in so many school communities across the country.

What does research say about the science of learning, and what does it mean for school leaders? In a conversation that takes in his experience of working with Manchester United and Olympic athletes, plus the impact of high expectations, lack of sleep and mobile phones, registered psychologist Brad Busch talks to NAHT’s James Bowen about how we can start to make sense of the wide range of educational research that exists. 

Brad is a co-author of The Science of Learning: 77 Studies That Every Teacher Needs to Know. You can see 30 summaries from the book free at blog.innerdrive.co.uk/studies, and for more about Brad’s work, see www.innerdrive.co.uk.