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Should school leaders teach? What are the potential benefits or drawbacks to senior leaders getting back into the classroom? In this episode we delve into this topic, drawing upon the opinions of our followers online.

After a quiet spell, Russell checks in to reflect on the human element to working in education. There is always more going on for you and your colleagues, and it's time we appreciate this fact. Trigger warning: Russell refers to the sad news of the death of Headteacher Ruth Perry in this episode.

With thousands of teachers set to strike over the issue of pay and school funding, we discuss the reasons so many teachers and leaders are feeling both frustrated and undervalued at the moment.

Take a short pause with Russell as he reflects on the natural fluctuations we all experience in our moods whilst navigating the many challenges of education.

Andrew Percival returns to the podcast to discuss behaviour. We learn about how a curriculum for behaviour transformed his school, creating a calmer, happier environment for both staff and children. Lots of great advice for leaders and teachers.

In this episode, we take an honest look at Russell's recent Ofsted experience. We unpick advice drawn from both successes and failures, in the hope of supporting other teachers and leaders to have as positive inspection experiences as possible in future.

Executive Headteacher Nick Hart joins us to discuss a helpful framework for thinking about the impact leaders can make in schools. Lots of sage advice and useful insights from a passionate and experienced leader in education.

In this episode, we look at why being a reflective practitioner is so important - whatever your role is in school. We then examine some specific scenarios teachers and leaders might face and consider what a reflective, useful response might be.

A unique episode as Russell reflects at the end of a long week. In a profession full of highs and lows, what is it that keeps him going?

Emma Turner returns to the podcast to talk about primary curriculum design and effective subject leadership. This is a brilliant interview with someone who fully appreciates the complexity and beauty of teaching and leading in primary schools. Emma's new book is called Simplicitus and we highly recommend!

In this episode, we're joined by Adam Boxer to consider why it's useful for teachers to spend more time thinking about how to make their explanations as effective as possible. Adam shares insights from his book 'Teaching Secondary Science', which we believe is full of sound advice for teachers of any age-range, and any subject.

In this episode, we are joined by Professor Rob Coe to discuss the topic of 'proxies for learning'. How do we know if children are learning? What are some unreliable indicators that learning is happening, and where might we focus instead? How might this understanding affect the way we plan our lessons?

It is essential that young people have a healthy relationship with their emotions, and are able to express them in a way that is positive for them, and those around them. In this episode, we explore 8 ways to develop emotional literacy in your schools. Lots of advice for both leaders and teachers.

Assistant Headteacher Jade Pearce joins us to talk about making an evidence-informed culture work in your school. We address lots of issues around this topic, including workload, teacher-autonomy and whether the 'art' of teaching is compatible with this focus on evidence.

Gareth Metcalfe returns to the podcast to talk about mathematical problem-solving. What knowledge underpins effective problem-solving? How can we scaffold to success? How would we model solving different types of problems? A fantastic discussion with lots of great advice from the creator of the brilliant 'I See Reasoning' and 'I See Problem-Solving' resources.

This inspiring interview with Elly Chapple is all about the importance of inclusion, and valuing a truly diverse society. We explore the power of positive relationships with parents, seeing beyond labels, and embracing the true 'complexity' of every human being. An uplifting and informative listen!

In this fantastic conversation with Lekha Sharma - an experienced teacher, senior leader and author - we delve into some big issues of curriculum design and implementation. How can we ensure we keep a sense of the 'big picture', while also being immersed in the fine detail? How do we get teachers on the ground to understand the complex links in and across our curricula? How do we effectively enact the curriculum that has been designed?

In this interview with experienced teacher and senior leader, Aidan Severs, we look at how our teaching can be effective, whilst also being efficient and manageable. With a particular focus on planning and managing our workload, this is must listen for both teachers and the leaders who have such an enormous influence over in-school policies.

In this episode, Russell and Steve explore 8 scaffolding strategies that any teacher can use in their lessons as alternatives to setting different work for different groups of children. By combining a range of these strategies, teachers can ensure that all learners get access to the same rich curriculum content. These techniques are shared within the 'Differentiation' chapter of our upcoming book: 'Talking Teaching with the Dynamic Deputies: Inspiring CPD for Every Teacher'.

John Walker returns to the podcast to talk about Etymology and Morphology. We explore why they are useful, interesting and eye-opening for children. We also look at the extent to which they connect to the work we do with children on spelling. In the episode, John makes reference to the following recommended reading: 'Prefixes and Other Word- Initial Elements of English and Suffixes' and 'Other Word- Final Elements of English' (Laurence Urdang, Verbatim Books.)