The Unteachables Podcast

Let’s talk about the fiction vs reality of Matilda’s MISS HONEY! 

She has inspired a generation of teachers. For so many she was actually the reason, the catalyst, the inspiration to get into the job of teaching. 

She was the saving grace to the kids she taught. She was generous, she was compassionate, she protected her students and their wellbeing from the incredibly punitive and nasty principal Ms Trunchbull, who used behaviour management strategies that were physically and psychologically abusive to the students at Crunchem Hall Primary School. 

However, her pedagogy wasn’t on point, because it takes a hell of a lot more than just a smile and taking interest to have a class that is engaged, happy and ‘well-behaved’. 

Challenging classroom behaviour is complex and nuanced, and dealing with it, addressing it, resolving it, reducing it, mitigating it, is also complex and nuanced. 

In this episode, I discuss the ‘Miss Honey Trap’ that leads teachers to believe that relationships are the only classroom management strategy needed, and go over my non-exhaustive list of things that actually go into classroom management on top of the relationships and your values around caring for each child:

• Classroom environment 
• Culture setting
• Planning and preparation
• Expectations
• Non verbals
• Routines
• Strategies to de-escalate behaviour - low and high level
• Coregulation / self regulation
• Relationships with parents
• Following up on behaviour
• Understanding behaviour itself

For more information on Approachable vs Credible - Michael Grindrs ENVoY non-verbal language listen to episode 8 - Low Level Behaviours, Big Level Frustrations!

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website

In this episode, I answer the question, “aren’t we just excusing bad behaviour when we look into why it is happening?”

Why bother learning about behaviour? 

Afterall, whatever the reason behind it, it doesn’t change the fact that it IS happening and we need to address it all the same as teachers right? 

So why spend time learning about it?

Doesn’t learning about the why behind behaviour excuse the behaviour in a way? 

No, certainly not. 

In fact, learning more about the why behind the behaviour is incredibly empowering, not just for teachers who are dealing with this behaviour in front of them, but for students as well. 

Listen in as I explore many reasons why knowing the ‘why’ behind the behavior is so crucial for us as teachers and students who display challenging behaviour, including:

• Increased accountability and buy in for students who are able to reflect more authentically on their behaviours
• Supporting us to regulate, de-personalise, and surround ourselves with a protective behaviour bubble
• Giving us the ability as teachers to use strategies we know will have a positive impact and be able to explain why this is the case

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website

Who relates to finishing explaining a task to students only to have a hand pop up and ask…  ”Sir/Miss, what are we doing?!”

If you had a dollar for every time you had just explained a task and you get a question that if they were really listening, they wouldn’t need to ask in the first place, or that was irrelevant, or that forced you to explain what you had just explained, how many dollars would you have?

If you asked me this in my first year of teaching, I would have had many dollars.

But that amount of money I would have has significantly decreased. Of course I’d still have a few bucks in the jar, but it would be far more empty.

This episode is about just that. What to do to minimise the questions and have a much smoother ride into tasks, get the students working from the get go, get rid of the task confusion, and just be able to crack on with things

I am going to break it up into two types of strategies:

• Strategies before the task - so in the planning phase
• Strategies during the task - so in the lesson

All of these things are about being clear and consistent in our practice... one of the many things that helps to mitigate challenging behaviours before they arise. This is why module 5 of my course That’ll Teach ‘Em is so impactful for your practice!

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website

DO YOUR BEST, FORGET THE REST!

If you’re looking for a permission slip to truly embrace the teacher you are, then look no further than this amazing interview with Ceri Sandford. This passionate woman behind the powerhouse Wine with teacher club and podcast goes deep with me as we discuss some of the challenges of teaching.

We discuss some commonly shared feelings amongst teachers such as:

• Am I the only teacher who feels like im winging it all of the time?
• Am I the only teacher who has cried in front of a class?
• Am I the only teacher who feels hopeless not knowing how to address all of the individual needs in the classroom?
• Am I the only teacher who feels like im doing a bad job and i don’t fit in as a teacher?
• Am I the only teacher who feels like i am not doing a good enough job even though I leave work exhausted every day?

So if you have ever felt one of the above, this episode is sure to make you feel less alone, whilst giving you some solid strategies to help you overcome it.

If you want to know more about Ceri’s work, be sure to head over to her Instagram @ceri.sandford or listen to her amazing podcast - The Wine with Teacher Podcast (there's a cheeky episode with me there if you want to have a listen!)

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website

Welcome back to season 2 of The Unteachables Podcast - Woooo freaking hoo!

And I am back with a brand new co-host, my 2 month old daughter Ava. Despite me training her up for 9 months, she didn’t contribute much, but I might just let her stick around.

This episode I go through my journey in teaching, from the rapid growth of my first few years from beginning teacher to middle leadership. To burning out, quitting, and skipping the country. To the eventual progression to senior leadership. 

This episode is perfect for anybody who…

• Wants 3 pieces of advice for anybody who is looking to progress through their career and has any desire to move to roles beyond classroom teaching
• The importance of your individual ‘why’ and passion in education
• How getting comfortable with the discomfort shapes you as an educator
• Is burnt out, wants a break, wants to leave teaching, but their heart is torn

Join the waitlist for the April intake of my classroom management course That’ll Teach ‘Em

Or if you want some more info about the course  

I can't wait to be a bit part of YOUR teaching journey!

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website

Wow, teachers, 2022 has been a BIG year hasn’t it?! 

But let me ask you something… how do you really feel about it?

Are you measuring yourself backwards and really appreciating how far you have come, OR have you gotten yourself in the habit of measuring yourself forwards to goalposts that are always changing? 

This concept is from the book ‘The Gap and The Gain’ by Dan Sullivan and Dr Benjamin Hardy, and is so useful in helping YOU see how you can transform your idea of success in the classroom in 2023!

Here are your FINDING THE GAINS journal prompts (as promised!)

• In the past year, what experiences have I had that have made me a better teacher?
• What do I know now or what can I do now that I didn’t know at the start of the year?
• What are 3 things that past me would be so proud of if they saw how the year unfolded?
• What have I done this week that has been a step forward in my teaching?
• How have I taken the steps to being a stronger teacher this week?
• What do I know about classroom management now that I didn’t know when I was still at uni?
• What am I grateful about where I am at in my teaching journey?

Download my free guide “10 Tiny (but mighty) Tips to Transform Your Teaching - https://view.flodesk.com/pages/62dc1deb87802ab6bcaf6015

Or simply come and say hello over on Instagram @the.unteachables https://www.instagram.com/the.unteachables/

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website

If you could sit across from your first year teacher self, what would you say?

Well this episode is me exploring that very question for myself.

If you’re a teacher in the making or a teacher still early in their career, I hope my reflections over this episode help bring a little validation, support and clarity.

And if you’re an experienced teacher, this episode will be an exercise in reflection, to see just how far you’ve come, to look back and consider what you would say to your teacher self when you were still bright eyed and bushy tailed, and help you to put yourself back in that mindset of how you might be able to support newer teachers you are or will be working with.



IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

Doors close to the current That’ll Teach ‘Em behaviour management course on Wednesday 14th December and I am having a ‘GOING OUT SALE’!

Head over now and access the course for the closing down sale! 

If you enrol now at the price of £99, you will be able to access the current course to begin immediately if you choose, BUT you will also automatically secure a space to start in the April intake and be able to access the new version of the course. 

Because it is going to be an offer that is naturally higher touch and support through live sessions and lessons, the price WILL be increasing from what it currently is. So if That’ll Teach ‘Em has been on your mind, then it might be a good time to join now!

Download my free guide “10 Tiny (but mighty) Tips to Transform Your Teaching 

Or simply come and say hello over on Instagram @the.unteachables 

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website

Who feels like they are crawwwwwwling to the holidays? That end of year push can feel impossibly exhausting. 


And it’s obvious why it is hard…. We are tired, we are burnt out.

Buttttt as you know, being a teacher is pretty multifaceted, there's a lot of reasons why this time of year feels really tough, after all it's not just us at a computer getting through that last bit of work. It is us, plus 30 other human beings, who are also exhausted and counting down those days.

So in this episode I'll be discussing WHY it is so tough, for us, and our students, as well as giving you some of my top classroom survival tips leading up to the break.

I’ll be talking about:

• What makes teaching so much harder at the end of the year.
• What could be escalating the behaviour of our students at the end of the academic year and other school terms.
• What you can do to keep a settled and productive classroom environment to reduce the low-level behaviours in the lead up to the holidays.
• How to just get through to the end, even if you’re in survival mode!

Download my free guide “10 Tiny (but mighty) Tips to Transform Your Teaching

Check out my full training program That’ll Teach ‘Em. Enrol for 20% off with the code PODCAST20

Or simply come and say hello over on Instagram @the.unteachables 

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website

I don’t need to sit here and tell you that building a positive relationship with a student is a pretty important part of the work we do. 

I am sure you also know that the students who really need that relationship the most to trust you and learn from you, are also sometimes the ones who display the most challenging behaviours!

This is why it is SUCH a double edged sword, because you will then NEED to address more of their challenging behaviours. And every time you address a challenging behaviour, it can be like one step forward and three steps back in our efforts to build that relationship!

But I say POTENTIALLY because it doesn’t have to be like that, there ARE ways that we can manage behaviours that do strike that very delicate balance, and we NEED to be able to do this to progress with our most vulnerable and challenging students. 

How??  

In this episode, I give you a run down of classroom management that connects and disconnects, and explore the concept of using a students ‘emotional piggy bank’ to be very crafty and conscious of the way we establish and reinforce boundaries and expectations with ALL students!

• How to make investments in a relationship with even the toughest students
• How to still hold boundaries and address challenging behaviour without being detrimental to the relationship
• What is behaviour management that connects and disconnects and how to use it effectively

Join the masterclass - Unlocking Your Teaching Superpower: Non Verbal Classroom Management.

For 20% off enrolment, use the code POD20 or click here

Add both the masterclass AND my full comprehensive classroom management course ‘That’ll Teach ‘Em’ to your basket to bundle them together and receive 25% off the total price of enrolment!

Download my free guide “10 Tiny (but mighty) Tips to Transform Your Teaching 

Check out my full training program That’ll Teach ‘Em. Enrol for 20% off with the code PODCAST20

Or simply come and say hello over on Instagram @the.unteachables 

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website

Mistakes, blunders, slips, errors… all of these are NOT dirty words… ESPECIALLY in teaching. 

In fact, I celebrate mistakes, I encourage mistakes, I welcome the vulnerability of teachers standing there and just doing their thing in the classroom KNOWING that mistakes are a part of the learning process.

When it comes to classroom management in particular, there are some very common patterns in the mistakes that we can make that actually FUEL low-level behaviours with our students.

The good news? These are all really easy to identify, reflect on, and then FIX! This means that if a teacher is open and willing to own up to their blunders, massive amounts of growth can happen, and happen FAST!

In this episode, I go over some of these very common and very simple mistakes you could be making in the classroom, and give you some very real and practical advice on how to quickly and easily develop. 

For anybody who came to the show notes for those reflective questions - here they are!

• What are the structures and routines I have in place? Can I strengthen these?
• Do my students know what to expect when they walk in the room?
• Can I make this lesson more visual?
• Is this lesson pitched appropriately?
• Is there anything more ‘hands on’ I can do to get this content across?
• How could they reach this learning objective through exploration rather than my explicit teacher talk or instruction?
• Is this conceptually relevant to them and their lives in some way?
• How can you harness your non-verbal classroom management to mitigate SO MANY of these behaviors from occurring?

Join the masterclass - Unlocking Your Teaching Superpower: Non Verbal Classroom Management! Check out the details and let me support you in your classroom!

Add both the masterclass AND my full comprehensive classroom management course ‘That’ll Teach ‘Em’ to your basket to bundle them together and receive 30% off the total price of enrolment!

Download my free guide “10 Tiny (but mighty) Tips to Transform Your Teaching 

Check out my full training program That’ll Teach ‘Em. Enrol for 20% off with the code PODCAST20

Or simply come and say hello over on Instagram @the.unteachables 

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

RESOURCES AND MORE SUPPORT:

• Shop all resources
• Join The Behaviour Club
• My book! It’s Never Just About the Behaviour: A holistic approach to classroom behaviour management 
• The Low-Level Behaviour Bootcamp
• Free guide: 'Chats that Create Change'

Connect with me:

• Follow on Instagram @the.unteachables
• Check out my website