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.

In this episode, you'll hear two perspectives on children's speech and language. Speech and language therapist Anna Sellers, who works with children in schools, and Derek Munn, director of policy and public affairs at the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, talk about the impact of the pandemic – both negative and positive – on services for young people. They also share their thoughts on what school leaders can do to help tackle the challenges that lie ahead around speech and language support in schools.

Find out more about the work of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists: www.rcslt.org. 

Former Olympic swimmer Steve Parry is the co-founder of Total Swimming Academies and believes every child should have the opportunity to learn and enjoy swimming. Recent figures show a worrying number of children leaving primary school not knowing how to swim. Steve outlines Total Swimming Academies' campaign to invest in school facilities to ensure school pools remain viable while helping to maximise their value to the surrounding community.

Find out more about Total Swimming Academies and the £1million School Pool Legacy Fund to improve school pool facilities: https://www.totalswimming.co.uk/school-pool-legacy-fund

Football Beyond Borders is an education and social inclusion charity which transforms the outcomes for disadvantaged young people who are passionate about football but disengaged at school. In this episode, James Bowen speaks to co-founder and director, Jack Reynolds about the work the charity is doing with supporting young people’s academic and social and emotional learning as they transition to adulthood.

After a year that has seen school leaders “carrying the community” as they steer schools through the pandemic, Sinéad Mc Brearty, CEO of Education Support, speaks with NAHT’s James Bowen about the importance of compassion, connection and showing up in your best shape. Education Support is a UK charity dedicated to supporting the mental health and well-being of education staff.