Episode 143: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by the wonderful Rachel Ball for an exploration of how we might develop and engage with an evidence-informed culture of school leadership. As part of the chat we discuss... 1. What are your guiding principles for developing an evidence-informed and responsive CPD culture in school?  2. Research comes in many shapes and sizes and, arguably there’s “evidence” for most things in education. What’s your quality threshold for education research and the findings it presents?  3. What does implementation look like on the ground and can we generalise the process so that others might adopt a similar approach in their own setting? 4. How do you ensure buy-in from everyone? Is that even possible?  5. Have you ever realised that a change you made or a direction you had taken wasn’t working? And, if so, what did you do about it? 6. Any final advice for anyone who is trying to develop the professional development culture in their school and feeling enthused having listened to this episode? ...and much, much more! Whether you're new to the profession or an experienced senior leader, you won't want to miss this one! Support the podcast via www.ko-fi.com/tdape or by subscribing to www.youtube.com/@TDaPE  If you would like to submit a question, email us at [email protected] or join the TDaPE discord, where we have a special channel for unseen question submission.

Episode 142: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Stuart Tiffany for the second episode of Season 6. Stuart has been a guest on the podcast before but this time we sit down 1:1 to go far into the depths of primary history. Stuart shares his thoughts on subject leadership, locality and curriculum sequencing as well as his unrivalled passion for the subject of history. As part of the chat we explore...   1. How local is local history (the context) and how do we become sufficiently expert in our school’s local history to execute our role as effectively as we might hope (the question)?  2. What does a typical history lesson (I know that might be an oxymoron) look like in your classroom? 3. …and what role does cognitive science play?  4. If you had to convince someone who was less than enthusiastic that considerations of world building were an effective use of time, what would you say to them?  5. What are your guiding principles for historical enquiry?  6. In your book you provide readers with worked examples. How do you hope they will be used?  ...and much, much more. Whether you're new to the profession or an experienced senior leader, you won't want to miss this one! Support the podcast via www.ko-fi.com/tdape or by subscribing to www.youtube.com/@TDaPE  If you would like to submit a question, email us at [email protected] or join the TDaPE discord, where we have a special channel for unseen question submission

Episode 141: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Shannen Doherty for the first episode of the eagerly awaited sixth season of the Thinking Deeply about Primary Education podcast. Shannen shares her reflections on leadership, her own professional growth and how to lead meaningful change across a number of settings. As part of the chat we explore... 1. When we last spoke, you outlined your plan for establishing Walkthrus across your trust. How has that gone over the last 18 months? 2. Things appear to be going very well. What do you think is the secret to your success? 3. Have there been any instances when you’ve realised that a change you made or a direction you had taken wasn’t working? And, if so, what did you do about it? 4. With change on any scale it is difficult to get everyone moving in the same direction. How do you ensure buy-in from everyone? 5: How have you maintained your own professional development at the same time as supporting so many others? 6: You spend quite a bit of time supporting schools outside your trust as a Walkthrus mentor. What is this like, and would you recommend it to other leaders with a similar interest in coaching? 7: Any final advice for anyone who is trying to develop the professional development culture in their school and feeling enthused having listened to this episode? ...and much, much more. Whether you're new to the profession or an experienced senior leader, you won't want to miss this one! Support the podcast via www.ko-fi.com/tdape or by subscribing to www.youtube.com/@TDaPE  If you would like to submit a question, email us at [email protected] or join the TDaPE discord, where we have a special channel for unseen question submission!

Episode 140: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Deputy Head Teacher, Tom Oakley as we discuss persistent problems in the classroom and how we might approach trying to solve them. As part of the chat we explore... 1. What are the most persistent classroom problems? 2. How can we approach these problems? 3. Why do you think x will be the next big research-informed explosion? ...and much, much more. Whether you're new to the profession or an experienced senior leader, you won't want to miss this one! Support the podcast via www.ko-fi.com/tdape or by subscribing to www.youtube.com/@TDaPE  If you would like to submit a question, email us at [email protected] or join the TDaPE discord, where we have a special channel for unseen question submission!

Episode 139: This week on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, I'm joined by Ben Ebdon (@TeacherInTrain). Ben changed careers 25 years into his working life and I wanted to know what that experience was like, what his motivations were and how things had gone since making the leap into the world of education. As part of the chat we discuss... 1. What did you do before you were a teacher? 2. Why did you make the change? 3. What have been the positives? 4. What have been the challenges? 5. Have there been any surprises? 6. What advice would you give to anyone considering becoming a teacher? Support the podcast via www.ko-fi.com/tdape or by subscribing to www.youtube.com/@TDaPE  If you would like to submit a question, email us at [email protected] or join the TDaPE discord, where we have a special channel for unseen question submission!