Powered by RND
PodcastsBusinessThe Pit Pony Podcast - Life After Teaching

The Pit Pony Podcast - Life After Teaching

Sharon Cawley and Sarah Dunwood
The Pit Pony Podcast - Life After Teaching
Latest episode

Available Episodes

5 of 74
  • 074 - Pit Pony Clare Gregg - Classroom to Entrepreneur and Advocate
    In this powerful episode, we sit down with Clare Gregg, whose journey into teaching was anything but ordinary.Statistically, Clare should never have made it into the classroom. As a child, she was a school refuser, on the child protection register, and at 18 found herself homeless and pregnant. Yet against all odds, she fought her way into education, inspired by the teachers who believed in her.Clare went on to teach Religious Education, working in challenging schools, comprehensives, and even a pupil referral unit. Along the way, she navigated personal health struggles, raising a family, and the crushing realities of leadership that left her unsupported and, ultimately, broken by the system.Today, Clare has rebuilt her life as a mortgage advisor, business owner, and activist. She shares her story with honesty and humour, opening up about complex PTSD, breakdown, resilience, and why she still believes in the power of education even after stepping away.Clare’s story is one of survival, transformation, and the fight to create a new identity beyond teaching.With thanks to our episode sponsor (Click to visit):Little VoicesConexus TuitionBuy Us a Coffee ☕️ Loving the Pit Pony Podcast? We’d be so grateful for your support! We’ve set up a Buy Me a Coffee page where you can make a small donation to help keep the podcast running. https://buymeacoffee.com/thepitponyclub Voice Message Us: https://www.speakpipe.com/pitponypodcast Contribute to our 'Silenced by Support' Campaign - complete the questionnaire, read the report, sign up to the mailing list. If you've been affected by any of the issues raised in our podcast there are organisations who can help: Education Support The Samaritans Mind Andy's Man Club Join Us: Subscribe to the Pit Pony Podcast Sign up to our mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/i1L5ck Thanks for listening 🙏Edited with finesse by our Podcast Super Producer, Mike Roberts of Making Digital R...
    --------  
    1:04:24
  • 073 - Nick Smart - Breaking the Silence on Settlement Agreements in Education
    Nick Smart: Silenced by Support and the Fight for ChangeWelcome to Season 2 of The Pit Pony Podcast. We begin with an episode that steps beyond individual exit stories and into the heart of a growing campaign.Our guest is Nick Smart, a primary teacher who entered the profession at 42 and is now, at 58, exiting the classroom. But Nick’s story is not just about his own departure - it’s about shining a light on the thousands of teachers who have been forced out under the guise of “support plans.”In this powerful conversation, Nick explains why informal support plans have become a death knell for so many careers, how settlement agreements and non-disclosure clauses keep teachers silent, and why he decided to contact his MP to raise the issue nationally.Together with Sarah Dunwood, Nick has helped produce Silenced by Support, a report containing over 100 anonymous testimonies and data from thousands of educators. It is a campaign that shows the scale of the problem and demands urgent change.This is more than one story. It’s a call to action.With thanks to our episode sponsors (Click to visit their websites):Conexus Tuition Little VoicesBuy Us a Coffee ☕️ Loving the Pit Pony Podcast? We’d be so grateful for your support! We’ve set up a Buy Me a Coffee page where you can make a small donation to help keep the podcast running. https://buymeacoffee.com/thepitponyclub Voice Message Us: https://www.speakpipe.com/pitponypodcast Contribute to our 'Silenced by Support' Campaign - complete the questionnaire, read the report, sign up to the mailing list. If you've been affected by any of the issues raised in our podcast there are organisations who can help: Education Support The Samaritans Mind Andy's Man Club Join Us: Subscribe to the Pit Pony Podcast Sign up to our mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/i1L5ck Thanks for listening 🙏Edited with finesse by our Podcast Super Producer, Mike Roberts of Making Digital R...
    --------  
    1:16:08
  • 072 - Pit Pony Revisited: The Summer Series - Amy Meade
    In our FINAL Summer Re-Issue episode, we revisit the story of Amy Meade, who spent 14 years in education, moving from secondary English to primary leadership and eventually deputy and acting headship.Amy loved teaching and wasn’t working in a toxic school, but even after a successful Ofsted she realised the treadmill never stopped. Delaying medical treatment, putting family second, and even looking forward to surgery just to rest, Amy reached her epiphany moment: school could not come before her health and her loved ones.She resigned with nothing to go to, pushed through hundreds of applications, and eventually found a new career in learning and development. Amy now thrives as a Learning & Development Manager, using the same training and organisational skills honed in the classroom to make a difference in the corporate world.Her story is about people-pleasing, resilience, and the courage to believe that life outside the classroom can be healthier, more flexible and deeply fulfilling.With thanks to our episode sponsors (Click to visit their websites):Conexus Tuition Little Voices Buy Us a Coffee ☕️ Loving the Pit Pony Podcast? We’d be so grateful for your support! We’ve set up a Buy Me a Coffee page where you can make a small donation to help keep the podcast running. https://buymeacoffee.com/thepitponyclub Voice Message Us: https://www.speakpipe.com/pitponypodcast Contribute to our 'Silenced by Support' Campaign - complete the questionnaire, read the report, sign up to the mailing list. If you've been affected by any of the issues raised in our podcast there are organisations who can help: Education Support The Samaritans Mind Andy's Man Club Join Us: Subscribe to the Pit Pony Podcast Sign up to our mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/i1L5ck Thanks for listening 🙏Edited with finesse by our Podcast Super Producer, Mike Roberts of Making Digital R...
    --------  
    1:12:14
  • 071 - Pit Pony Revisited: The Summer Series - Gareth Isaac
    In this deeply reflective reissue, we revisit the story of Gareth Isaac, who entered teaching through the Teach First route in 2014. Within just a few years he was experiencing disassociation, exhaustion and a sense of living outside his own body.Gareth opens up about how perfectionism and people-pleasing pushed him to burnout, the eerie experience of teaching on autopilot, and the moment he confided in a colleague who urged him to see a doctor. Signed off for stress, anxiety and depression, Gareth’s time in the classroom ended far sooner than he ever expected.What followed was a difficult period of recovery, therapy and rebuilding. In this conversation he shares how mindfulness became a lifeline, why therapy was transformative, and how he now teaches mindfulness to others while running men’s mental health groups. His story is one of honesty, vulnerability and learning to live in the present moment.With thanks to our episode sponsors (Click to visit their websites):Conexus Tuition Little Voices LS25 Web DesignBuy Us a Coffee ☕️ Loving the Pit Pony Podcast? We’d be so grateful for your support! We’ve set up a Buy Me a Coffee page where you can make a small donation to help keep the podcast running. https://buymeacoffee.com/thepitponyclub Voice Message Us: https://www.speakpipe.com/pitponypodcast Contribute to our 'Silenced by Support' Campaign - complete the questionnaire, read the report, sign up to the mailing list. If you've been affected by any of the issues raised in our podcast there are organisations who can help: Education Support The Samaritans Mind Andy's Man Club Join Us: Subscribe to the Pit Pony Podcast Sign up to our mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/i1L5ck Thanks for listening 🙏Edited with finesse by our Podcast Super Producer, Mike Roberts of Making Digital R...
    --------  
    1:05:44
  • 070 - Pit Pony Revisited: The Summer Series - Katie Stone
    In this powerful reissue from our archive, we revisit the story of Katie Stone, a teacher who resisted the profession for years before finally entering via the TA route and discovering a love for the classroom.From her PGCE at Manchester Met to seven years in teaching, Katie describes how the joy of working with children was eroded by pressure, exhaustion and an informal “support plan” that left her anxious, confused and eventually signed off with work-related stress. Pregnant at the time and coping with grief after losing a child, the relentless scrutiny pushed her into panic attacks and left her unable to continue.Katie opens up about the guilt of stepping away, the impact on her young family, and how she slowly rebuilt her confidence. Today she runs a thriving virtual assistant agency, supporting education businesses with the very organisational and communication skills that once went unrecognised in school.Her story is a reminder that teaching skills are transferable, resilience can be rebuilt, and there is life - and success - beyond the classroom.With thanks to our episode sponsors (Click to visit their websites):Conexus Tuition Little Voices LS25 Web DesignBuy Us a Coffee ☕️ Loving the Pit Pony Podcast? We’d be so grateful for your support! We’ve set up a Buy Me a Coffee page where you can make a small donation to help keep the podcast running. https://buymeacoffee.com/thepitponyclub Voice Message Us: https://www.speakpipe.com/pitponypodcast Contribute to our 'Silenced by Support' Campaign - complete the questionnaire, read the report, sign up to the mailing list. If you've been affected by any of the issues raised in our podcast there are organisations who can help: Education Support The Samaritans Mind Andy's Man Club Join Us: Subscribe to the Pit Pony Podcast Sign up to our mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/i1L5ck Thanks for listening 🙏Edited with finesse by our Podcast Super Producer, Mike Roberts of Making Digital R...
    --------  
    1:07:30

More Business podcasts

About The Pit Pony Podcast - Life After Teaching

Sharon Cawley and Sarah Dunwood talk to former teachers about exiting from the classroom and thriving.Don't forget to leave us a VOICEMAIL, quickly and easily at https://www.speakpipe.com/pitponypodcastSupport the podcast by buying us a coffee here:https://buymeacoffee.com/thepitponyclub
Podcast website

Listen to The Pit Pony Podcast - Life After Teaching, The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett and many other podcasts from around the world with the radio.net app

Get the free radio.net app

  • Stations and podcasts to bookmark
  • Stream via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth
  • Supports Carplay & Android Auto
  • Many other app features
Social
v7.23.9 | © 2007-2025 radio.de GmbH
Generated: 10/6/2025 - 10:41:18 AM