The School Should Be Podcast

Kirsty Went, Year 13 Student in the UK, Deputy Head Girl and upcoming English Literature Undergraduate talks to me about her explorations and understanding of intersectional feminism. Kirsty first spoke to me about the need for more relevant, in-depth and practical support for students about consent, gender equality and equity, sexual harassment, allyship and keeping womxn safe. Our conversations continued and we shared our experiences and feelings about the gaps, lack of representation and understanding of the lived experiences of women on the National Curriculum. Kirsty's experiences, although diverse in some ways, were still predominantly limited to the mainstream White, Western theories and understandings of feminism. 

After reading Lola Olufemi's Feminism, Interrupted, Kirsty got back in touch with me with a passion to share and push more learning and representation of the different cultural, political, economic, familial, historical, generational (and more!), experiences of womxn. Her readings and explorations have led to her great interests in intersectional feminism, which effectively breaks down and challenges the mainstream feminism the majority of us are familiar with. Kirsty is keen to ensure students and teachers at every school learn to ally with womxn and promote gender equity for all by learning about nuance, diverse perspectives, diverse histories and how we can all be social justice activists and gender equity allies from simply lifting a book, reading and learning. 

This is a fantastically candid episode in which we can all learn about the art of discussion and nuance from a student who wants to encourage more empathetic, curious and challenging conversations at school: exactly what school should be! 

David is the organiser of the Neurodivergent Professional Network LinkedIn Group and blogs frequently on Medium and other platforms about the professional and adult experience for Neurodivergent individuals. David has a wealth of professional experience and navigating professional networking is something he speaks and advises on frequently.

A late diagnosis of autism in his mid twenties, whilst working and developing his career led David to realling think about his professional career, persona and environment. What started as face to face meetups, creating a psychological safe space  for neurodivergent professionals, has resulted in a collaborative and strong LinkedIn network. David also supports neurodivergent students and early career professionals carve out their professional identities in systems and structures not necessarily designed for neurodivergent individuals. David talks to me about resilience, how neurodivergent students can successfully and confidently navigate the professional world and how parents and teachers can support the success of neurodivergent students too. 

Feel free to get in touch with David via social media using the links tagged above. David is also available on Twitter if you would like to reach out for careers advice and support for neurodivergent students. 

Hannah Wilson, previously a secondary school Executive Headteacher, is a Leadership Consultant, Coach and Trainer, talks to me about how teachers can strategically manage change, difficult conversations and create opportunities for diversity and inclusion within schools. A podcast aimed at teachers and school leaders, this practical and valuable conversation walks teachers and leaders through creating sustainable, inclusive cultures in which their staff and students can thrive. Hannah talks to me about various change management theories in leadership and how staff (whether you are teaching or not) can create and enable positive, diverse opportunities for themselves and their schools.   

Hannah is co-founder and director of DiverseEd, a training and education platform to help educational establishments embed a culture of DEI and belonging. Hannah is also co-founder of grassroots organisation, WomenEd, supporting, empowering and representing women in education. Hannah has worked on DfE-funded diversity grants including development programmes for diverse, global majority individuals and women leaders. Hannah specialises in diversity, equity and inclusion training and is an advocate of flex in the workplace, the focus of her MA in education; she also coaches leaders from a range of sectors and leads Leadership development training programme for individuals in the education sector.

Feel free to get in touch with Hannah if you are looking for a leadership coach for yourself or your staff, or interested in DEI training for your organisation: [email protected] 

Matt Messias, Leadership and Resilience Coach at Matt Messias Impact Leadership, former Premier League, FIFA, UEFA and Football League referee, AND a headteacher who has led schools internationally in the UK and New Zealand…I couldn’t think of someone more perfect to talk to about what the athlete mindset is and how students can develop the mindset we all know is the key to their success. In this episode, Matt shares the many facets of the athlete mindset, from creativity, play, failure, well-being and mental health, agility, patience, responsibility…and of course, how parents and teachers can enable the athlete mindset.

With his experiences in education, Matt also shares how schools, parents and the community can link the teachings of the athlete mindset to what we know is a priority for school leaders: results and academia. Matt argues the case for both and how schools, parents and carers can healthily create a culture that harnesses the athlete mindset and academia, without sacrificing either.

This is such an important episode, the foundation of what school should be - I hope you enjoy it, learn from it and schools, please contact Matt to implement lasting change in your organisations - the best thing you could do!

In this episode, Michaela, founder of The Prosperity Project, explores how schools can have conversations about anti-racism and embed anti-racism proactively and consistently in schools. It's not as simple as an anti-racist, equality policy; Michaela advises on how schools, teachers and students can take an intersectional approach to anti-racism work. We also discuss practical things students and teachers can do on a daily basis to navigate racially fuelled incidents in schools and how individual school communities (students, parents, teachers and the locality) can do more to nurture an anti-racist society. 

Michaela, founder of the Prosperity Project. Former Primary School Teacher and Philosophy graduate, Michaela also founded the Black Thought Experiment to enable conversations and topics which concern the Black Community and Diaspora. Now, through the Prosperity Project, Michaela and her team of experts facilitate, train and support schools with anti-racism policies, diversifying the curriculum, leadership and teacher training too.

Follow The Prosperity Project on Socials: 

Twitter: @tprosperityproj

Instagram: @theprosperityproj

Nic Ponsford, Co-Founder and the CEO, Education, of the Global Equality Collective, a movement and community of over 15 000 and a Collective of over 450 diversity, equality and inclusion subject matter experts, joins me to talk about how schools can integrate effective diversity and inclusion education in a sustainable and effective manner. The GEC has designed and launched the world’s first app for diversity and inclusion, which provides workplaces and schools with necessary D&I research and data, education, resources and advice - all tailored and relevant to the organisation's needs.

Nic was also a secondary school leader and is a digital education specialist, and now an education and technology thought leader. Nominated for national diversity and inclusion awards in 2020 and 2021, Nic has long been an inclusion activist for adults and students. The GEC brings together an array of experience, expertise and knowledge to ensure diversity and inclusion are not something organisations just 'do' and tick off; rather, the GEC aims to make D&I an embedded and integrated, working part of every organisation and its stakeholders too. 

Nic talks to me about her experiences in schools, how she managed integrating diversity and inclusion practices in her leadership, systems and processes, and how schools can overcome certain barriers associated with effective diversity and inclusion education, from environment, demography and parents too. Follow the GEC on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Meena Wood, MBA Ed Leadership, FRSA, is an Education Consultant & Trainer, former HMI Ofsted Inspector, Secondary Academy Principal, Principal of Adult Education, DfE & LA Education Advisor. Meena joins me to talk about what makes a great school culture and how schools can embed healthy, effective and successful school cultures into their everyday working practices, environments, staff body and students. 

Culture is everything for any organisation - it is what defines an identity, an organisation's values, ethos and their output too; this is most certainly no different for a school, especially when it comes to student wellbeing, academic success and staff wellbeing too. 

Meena is an inspirational leader with an array of experience in working with schools and students to help enhance and build strong cultures for the benefit of students, staff and their parents. Meena shares her experiences with me along with her experiences as an Ofsted Inspector to provide a real insight into how every school can be great for students, no matter where they are or what school they choose to go to. It's so important we overcome a postcode lottery when it comes to schooling and developing a great school culture is perhaps a key part of making this possible. 

Meena has recently co-authored a book Secondary Curriculum Tranformed: Enabling All to Achieve, which can help headteachers and teachers across the country and beyond create a highly successful, efficient and rich, skills-based and values-led curriculum for all - it should be on reading lists for teacher training, worldwide! 

Anusheh Attique is a teacher, mentor and innovator in curriculum design and training and development in Pakistan. This conversation is such an energetic, lively, engaging and authentic discussion of everything school should be: learning about different perspectives, unlearning our biases and understanding to listen and empathise with compassion, curiosity and an open mind. Anusheh speaks to me about schooling in Pakistan, decolonising the curriculum, the sheer importance of teaching students humanity and understanding and why education is such an important and foundational tool for success no matter where you are in the world. 

A truly uplifting, informative and heart-warming discussion on how students should learn, how we should teach and how we can all connect as students across the world. 

This week, I speak to Harry Moore, Business Management graduate with a Masters in Psychology...and a fitness professional of over 10 years. Harry is founder of Team for Never Lean, a platform of over 19k subscribers, that aims to discuss and centralise topics and discussions that can often make the fitness industry feel like an uncomfortable place. Team For Never Lean is are centred on research and aims to dispel misinformation about fitness and exercise in order to make fitness and health accessible for everyone. 

Harry talks to me about his own school experiences with fitness and how schools, teachers and students themselves can normalise conversations around male body image, a topic that is perhaps not explored enough, especially for impressionable teenagers. The conversation takes many turns and in essence, Harry shares simple yet effective advice on how we can move away from aesthetic body image goals for young people and focus on a holistic approach to mental, physical and emotional health - something all students need to do for their wellbeing. 

Noor-ul-Huda Sheikh and Liberty Thomas, both university students join me to discuss Linda Scott's excellent book, The Double X Economy, in which Scott explores the level of global, female 'economic subordination'. In her book, Scott draws upon an array of sources from her own research and data, to her own exchanges with women in Ghana, Bangladesh and in the US. The book is fascinating and a wonderful read, especially for students aged 17 and above; as Scott says, reading the book is activism in itself and you cannot help but be compelled to work towards global economic equality for women...it really is better for all of us, politically, socially and economically too.  

Noor, a French and Business student and Liberty, an aero engineering student, both attended an all girls' comprehensive school. Now at university, we discuss the impact the book has had on their own thinking and how schools can tailor teaching, learning and school culture to enable equality of opportunities for female students. They draw upon their own experiences along with their experiences in their student leadership roles. Both students are studying very different subjects and they explore the impact of studying STEM based subjects for young women at school too. 

A wonderful conversation, which is of great benefit to those young people and schools interested in Scott's work, justice and equality for women and how we can academically and economically empower women from a young age.