The Rest is Education

Part two of our mini-series on school curriculum sees co-hosts Isabel Rich and Ross Borthwick interview Neil Burch, Senior Master and former Deputy Head Academic at Bradfield College, a leading independent senior school.Neil has been teaching for over twenty years having worked in both state and independent sector, here in the UK and overseas. His role has enabled him to be involved with, amongst other things, curriculum design. He has also been a governor at The Willink which is a comprehensive school in Berkshire and at an international school in France.Isabel is a former Head of English, current educational consultant and visits a multitude of schools in her role as an educational consultant. Ross has worked in independent prep and senior schools across the UK, was an Assistant Head at a leading independent prep school in London, Scholars' Master at a former independent boarding 'Prep School of the Year' in the South-East of England and is now a Housemaster at a leading independent boarding senior school in Scotland where he is part of the team responsible for curriculum development.

In this episode, David Marshall welcomes guests James Page and Dr Cindy Gause-Vega to discuss the question:What makes an excellent primary curriculum?James Page is Chief Executive of Haringey Education Partnership (HEP) which has 120 member schools and supports 35,000 school-age children.Dr Cindy Gause-Vega is an educational consultant based in Prague focused on professional learning and collaborative inquiry-based learning. She is former elementary school principal in the Czech Republic with experience working across three countries and two continents.This episode is part 1 of 2 looking at the value of curriculum, with a focus this week on the primary sector.The word curriculum stems from the Latin verb currere, meaning 'to run'. The noun translates as 'racecourse' an apt metaphor for all the things curriculum has come to mean for schools today.Early in this episode, the idea of a road map is mentioned as another metaphor for a curriculum, something which can both define and limit what a it is and can be. What is not in question, is the value of curriculum design to excellent education and the importance of a well-thought-through curriculum to children everywhere.Mentioned or linked to the episode:Haringey Education Partnership website can be found here: https://haringeyeducationpartnership.co.uk/HEP has recently been working with Christine Counsell and Steve Mastin to develop the Opening Worlds curriculum. https://openingworlds.uk/what-is-opening-worlds/Jerome Bruner was an influential psychologist who has set the groundwork for thinking about inquiry-based education: https://www.structural-learning.com/post/jerome-bruners-theoriesMichael Young developed the term 'powerful knowledge' and expanded the concept as a foundation for curriculum design: https://my.chartered.college/impact_article/applying-the-powerful-knowledge-principle-to-curriculum-development-in-disadvantaged-contexts/The ResearchEd Guide to the Curriculum, edited by Clare Sealy and published by John Catt educational is a great collection of articles on curriculum development and can be found here: https://www.johncattbookshop.com/products/the-researched-guide-to-the-curriculum-an-evidence-informed-guide-for-teachersHEP runs its own podcast 'HEP Talks' which can be found here (and on all podcast providers: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/hep-talks/id1608692574The Rest is Education is a podcast founded by Ross Borthwick, David Marshall and Aaron Huber, now with Isabel Rich as a co-host. Email any questions or comments to [email protected] hope you enjoy the podcast. Please do follow us, wherever you get your pods and, if you liked it, please give us five stars and recommend us to friends and colleagues.

In Scotland, the government states that all children will have the opportunity to experience a four-night residential trip at some point during their time at school. With at least two-thirds of our educational experts based in Scotland, we took this opportunity to examine the role of education outside the classroom.This week co-hosts Ross Borthwick and Isabel Rich are joined by Tom Mason, Head of Outdoor Learning, to discuss the value and impact of learning outside. Together, they look at the origins of outdoor education and its transition from the periphery of the education world to its central role in our understanding of wellbeing and child development. Some of the resources mentioned in the episode or linked to it are listed below: Learning Through Landscapeshttps://ltl.org.uk/The Field Studies Council, UKhttps://www.field-studies-council.org/The John Muir Trusthttps://www.johnmuirtrust.org/The Royal Geographical Societyhttps://www.rgs.org/The Duke of Edinburgh Award Schemehttps://www.dofe.org/The Outward Bound Trust, UKhttps://www.outwardbound.org.uk/The Adventure Society, UKhttp://www.adventuresociety.co.uk/PGL, UKhttps://schoolsandgroups.pgl.co.uk/Oppidan Education, UKhttps://culdenfawestate.com/oppidan-camps-2/Salem School, BadenWürrtemberg, Germany.https://www.schule-schloss-salem.de/en/Glenalmond College, Pertshire, Scotland.https://www.glenalmondcollege.co.uk/Gordonstoun School, Morayshire, Scotland.https://www.gordonstoun.org.uk/Kurt Hahn: Inspirational, Visionary, Outdoor and Experiential Educatorhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Kurt-Hahn-Inspirational-Visionary-Experiential/dp/9460914675?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A2D6DCNETSBBFU

Since the age of smart phones, navigating friendship, safety and self-esteem is ever more perilous and challenging for young people. Parents are seeing their children grow up in a world increasingly different from their own, while schools are having to adapt to a blurring of home life, school life and the online world.In Episode 1 of Season 3 of The Rest is Education, we ask what an education centred around the child and seen through the eyes of a child might look like.In this episode, David and Isabel are joined by Ramita Anand, educational consultant and founder of Elevate RA. Ramita has worked in many educational settings as a teacher and SENCO. She is the author of Girl Elevated and presents the podcast Elevate, which can be found wherever you get your pods and here: https://www.elevate-ra.com/podcast/Books or websites recommended or mentioned in the episode:· The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: https://www.unicef.org.uk/what-we-do/un-convention-child-rights/· OECD (2024), What Does Child Empowerment Mean Today?: Implications for Education and Well-being, Educational Research and Innovation, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/8f80ce38-en.· Girl Elevated https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60712996-girl-elevated· Elevate RA https://www.elevate-ra.com/ book· Jonathan Haidt https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-new-yorker-interview/jonathan-haidt-wants-you-to-take-away-your-kids-phone· Marc Brackett – Permission to Feel & The Ruler Programme https://marcbrackett.com/permission-to-feel/· Michael Ungar – I Still Love You https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24792938-i-still-love-you· Lisa Demour – Untangled https://drlisadamour.com/books/untangled/ podcast Ask Lisa· Becky Kennedy – Good Inside https://www.goodinside.com/· Big Feelings – Mollie West Duffy & Liz Fosslien https://www.lizandmollie.com/big-feelings· The School of Life https://www.theschooloflife.com/· Elizabeth Day – Friendaholic https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/67353385-friendaholicEmail us: [email protected]