We Are In Beta Podcast: Recent Episodes
We Are In Beta
The We Are In Beta Podcast tells the positive, practical and personal stories of inspirational school leaders tackling big challenges in their schools. Each episode takes a deeper look at a different topic through the eyes of the people we speak to, capturing a range of voices - colleagues, parents and students - along the way.
There have been people working on decolonizing the curriculum for a very long time now.
In early 2020 after George Floyd’s death decolonizing the curriculum came to the forefront of the discussion. People who had never considered it, or even understood what it meant, had to grapple with its implications. This whole episode is about exactly that.
Havelock Primary school was by no means behind the curve when It came to things like this but when they decided to decolonize their curriculum (starting late 2019) they realized just how deep-rooted the problem was
Thank you to Jon, Amy, Aisha and Karen for sharing their story
If you enjoyed this episode please share on Twitter, subscribe, and leave a comment.
It really means a lot.
Click here If you are interested in joining the We Are In Beta Community and/or the Curriculum Thinkers Community
Email our producer Jay@weareinbeta or fill out this submission form if you want to share your story on the podcast
A few years ago Solihull was a small, relatively affluent borough in Southeast Birmingham, but they had one big problem. Many factors had aligned to create a situation where Solihull had more permanent exclusions than 90% of the country.
This is when Stephen Steinhaus, the soon-to-be principal of this new school, caught wind they were building a new school in the borough. A school that was attempting to find a solution to their permanent exclusion problem. Making a school like that isn't easy but where there's a will, there's a way.
BIG thank you to Stephen and Josie for sharing her story in the episode.
If you enjoyed this episode please share on Twitter, subscribe, and leave a comment.
It really means a lot.
Click here If you are interested in joining the We Are In Beta Community and/or the Curriculum Thinkers Community
Email our producer Jay@weareinbeta or fill out this submission form if you want to share your story on the podcast
One of the fundamental lessons teachers learn is ‘how to motivate their class’. Historically, For many, this comes down to the Skinnerian model of behaviorism, which is essentially positive and negative reinforcement. John Camp (the Lead of the Compass trust) was taught this too. He began to see things differently when his own headteacher showed him another way of motivation. One called intrinsic motivation.
As Trust leader John has had the chance to share intrinsic motivation with his colleges. Katie Cutajar is the Co-headteacher of Alderwood Primary. She wasn’t sold on ‘intrinsic motivation’ at first.
In this episode, we'll talk about the negative effects of relying on rewards and punishment, How John and Katie have changed their thinking, and what it looks like in their schools.
BIG thank you to John and Katie for telling their story in the episode.
If you enjoyed this episode please share on Twitter, subscribe, and leave a comment, out of the kindness of your heart
It really means a lot
Click here If you are interested in joining the We Are In Beta Community and/or the Curriculum Thinkers Community.
Resources
The authors that helped inform John Camps view on reward and motivation:
Simon Sinek Start With Why
Alfie Kohn Punished By Rewards
Be a guest on the WAIB podcast
Email our producer Jay@weareinbeta or fill out this submission form if you want to share your story on the podcast
Classically, CPD brings all the staff together to learn about a single subject of improvement. By contrast, Instructional coaching has aspects that make bespoke to what each teacher needs at the moment.
So this all sounds good in theory but how does it work? Where do you start? What do you do when it doesn’t go to plan?
When Josh Goodrich became the head of teaching and learning at Oasis South Bank, he was determined to bring instructional coaching to life; but it wasn’t easy.
BIG thank you to Josh, Anna, Carly, and Sarah for sharing her story in the episode.
If you enjoyed this episode please share on Twitter, subscribe, and leave a comment
It really means a lot
Click here If you are interested in joining the We Are In Beta Community and/or the Curriculum Thinkers Community.
Also here are the links to the Pupil premium spending plans and reviews from 19 schools and MATs and the resources from all of our other webinars
Email our producer Jay@weareinbeta or fill out this submission form if you want to share your story on the podcast
During Lucy’s first maternity leave, she felt alienated from her profession. People would tell her that she would lose interest in working full time but she didn’t. In her second MAT leave, she was determined not to be on the outside looking.
While attending an event put on by the MPTP project, for the first time she became aware that she could go on school visits during her MAT leave. Over the next couple of months, Lucy goes on several school walk-throughs with her young child Roland. She learned a lot about how to make this happen and the benefits of visiting schools during her MAT leave. Frances Ashton is the Assistant Headteacher of Dicot Girls School, which is one of the schools Lucy listed. Frances tells us how to prepare for a school with a teacher on MAT leave.
BIG Thank you to Lucy and Frances for sharing their story. This is the tweet Lucy sent to get this all started. Plus, her blog about this story on WAIB.
If you enjoyed this episode please share on Twitter, subscribe, and leave a comment
It really means a lot
Click here If you are interested in joining the We Are In Beta Community and/or the Curriculum Thinkers Community
Email our producer Jay@weareinbeta or fill out this submission form if you want to share your story on the podcast
Many teachers who gravitate towards schools that have fallen on hard times, have been taught in similar schools, and in this way, Sajid Gulzar isn’t very different.
As a headteacher, Sajid has continued to be interested in the schools that require a lot of care; but doing this can eventually spread you too thin if you're not careful. As with most of us, there is a real tension between what needs doing and what WE can do. Sajid and Prince Albert Community Trust find themselves right in the middle of that tension.
BIG thank you to Sajid and Phillip for sharing her story in the episode. This is the blog that started this episode and their 2015 Ofsted
If you enjoyed this episode please share on Twitter, subscribe, and leave a comment
It really means a lot
Click here If you are interested in joining the We Are In Beta Community and/or the Curriculum Thinkers Community
Email our producer Jay@weareinbeta or fill out this submission form if you want to share your story on the podcast
Education should prepare students for the world they are going to live in. That world will require more awareness of the impact humans have on the planet and each other. In 2015 the United Nation set out 17 sustainable development goals, with their mission statement being, “A blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all by 2030”.
Rachel Tomlinson and Karl Cross have become enthusiastic about making this goal a reality and developing their students to become leaders on sustainable development. To do this, they’re weaving the 17 SDGs throughout the whole curriculum at Barrowford Primary, but how do teach primary school students about sustainability and what can they do about it?
BIG thank you to Rachel, Karl, Lisa, and Esmae for sharing her story in the episode.
If you enjoyed this episode please share on Twitter, subscribe, and leave a comment
It really means a lot
Click here If you are interested in joining the We Are In Beta Community and/or the Curriculum Thinkers Community
Email our producer Jay@weareinbeta or fill out this submission form if you want to share your story on the podcast
Yamina grew up in the majority Bangladeshi area of Tower Hamlets. When her family moved to Canary Wharf things changed; 9/11 happened and the overt racism began. When she became a teacher years later, she didn’t go back to Tower Hamlets, she went to teach in Lewisham. It was in Lewisham where the prejudice she faced as a kid was still present in her students. This time she made it her responsibility to teach them, not only about English but also how to treat people with respect.
BIG thank you to Yamina for sharing her story in the episode. Her current school, Forrest Gate Community School, have their own podcast about Teaching and Learning check it out.
If you enjoyed this episode please share on Twitter, subscribe, and leave a comment
It really means a lot
Click here If you are interested in joining the We Are In Beta Community and/or the Curriculum Thinkers Community
Email our producer Jay@weareinbeta or fill out this submission form if you want to share your story on the podcast
The We Are In Beta podcast is back.
We -schools, Are In Beta- Always learning. Over the past year, we have done a lot of that learning very quickly and through our own trial and error.
The WAIB podcast shares stories from the experience of teachers in schools, so we can learn from them, challenge our own thinking and see things from an others perspective.
In this season we have stories of change. People changing others, people changing the system, and people changing themselves. From rethinking CPD to Turning around a failing school; each story will feature teachers who saw an opportunity for change…and took it
This season will be eight episodes
Out Every Thursday
Starting March 18th
In this episode, we speak with Kiran Mahil - History and politics teacher in East London. Obviously, things have changed a lot due to covid19, but what might not be obvious is how we will regain the things we’ve lost over this period. Kiran and friend (and fellow teacher) Hannah Dalton, have come up with a document that allows schools to understand what has been lost and consider how they will respond. It’s called the Roadmap to Renewal. We talked to them about it.
Learn more about our guests, their schools, the roles they are recruiting for, and access all resources and bonus content from episodes at www.weareinbeta.community.
In this episode, we speak with Sharifah Lee- The Deputy Headteacher of Dorney School in Windsor. We spoke to Sharifah in a previous episode and she mentioned that they're opening their school to more students. That was a couple of weeks ago... We wanted to see what worked, what hasn't and how it's been.
Learn more about our guests, their schools, the roles they are recruiting for, and access all resources and bonus content from episodes at www.weareinbeta.community.
In this episode, we speak with Chantelle Clarke -Head of Department at Frederick Bremer School, Waltham Forest. We talked about how recent events have led to more support of Black Lives Matter and similar movements. But what do we do with that support?
Learn more about our guests, their schools, the roles they are recruiting for, and access all resources and bonus content from episodes at www.weareinbeta.community.
In this episode, we speak with Anita Woodward-Benn about her role as the trust attendance manager at the University of Brighton Academies Trust. You could say attendance officers have a reputation for being the rule keepers. But Anita thinks about it differently. She thinks attendance practitioners could and should be the front line of support for families. How? By focusing on building relationships with parents.
Learn more about our guests, their schools, the roles they are recruiting for, and access all resources and bonus content from episodes at www.weareinbeta.community.
In this episode, we do something a little different. During lockdown, there's been a lot of online CPD happening. There's plenty of research about what good CPD and good online learning look like. But what do teachers who've been attending these sessions have to say? We spoke to three teachers about their experience of attending over 145 online CPD sessions over the past few weeks. We ask them what makes for good online CPD in their opinion. This is not science but hopefully, it will helpful for CPD leaders when designing and delivery online sessions over the coming weeks and months.
Learn more about our guests, their schools, the roles they are recruiting for, and access all resources and bonus content from episodes at www.weareinbeta.community.
In this episode, we speak to Emily Reynard - Headteacher of MEA Central - about year 7 transition. Emily talks about why transition is so important and how it's not an isolated incident; a transition is felt by every year group.
Learn more about the school, roles they are recruiting for, and access all resources and bonus content from episodes at www.weareinbeta.community.
In this episode, we speak to David Sammels - Headteacher of Mayflower Community Academy - about how the lockdown has sparked David's change from a linear way of working to a non-linear way. We also speak about how David has been feeling more connected to parents, despite the distance and maybe because of the non-linear working.
Learn more about the school, roles they are recruiting for, and access all resources and bonus content from episodes at www.weareinbeta.community.
In this episode, we speak to Mike Wilson - Headteacher of St. Edmund's Catholic School in Dover, Kent - about an issue we discussed in a previous episode, the 'digital divide': the gap between students who have access to data and devices at home and those who don't.
St. Edmund's Catholic School is one where this divide is significant. Around 10% of students have limited or no access.
Shortly after schools closed, the staff at St Edmund's were preparing to take their school online but realised they wouldn't be able to fully. Then they got a call.
Learn more about the school, roles they are recruiting for and access all resources and bonus content from episodes at www.weareinbeta.community.
In this episode, we speak to Amit Hathi - Headteacher of Wembley High Technology College, London.
In the wake of the pandemic, school closures and the cancellation of exams, teachers are being asked to provide centred assessed grades for their students. Grades which they believe their students would have been most likely to get in the summer if they had taken the exams. But doing this fairly and consistently is not without its challenges.
Amit explains the three step approach they are taking at WHTC and the methodology they have designed to rank students.
Access the detailed internal guidance Amit mentions in the episode and bonus content from the episode including our discussion of grade inflation, the impacts on schools on rapid school improvement journey and how to avoid bias here: www.weareinbeta.community
In this episode, we are speaking to Will Mackintosh and Nat Nabarro - Headteacher and Vice-Principal of Ark John Keats in North London
Since we've been working remotely we have had to change the way we do a lot of things. One of them is recruitment. Without being able to visit schools or meet candidates teachers and schools have to change their methods without necessarily changing what they're looking for.
Will and Nat tell us what they've done in their school to change the way they're doing recruitment.
Join the conversation here: www.weareinbeta.community
In this episode, we are speaking to Nicole Fowles - Headteacher at Coleshill Heath School, Birmingham.
During the COVID19 crisis Nicole, like many other school leaders., has been dealing with fragments of information and sometimes conflicting messages. She’s been dealing with bereavement, supporting teachers and parents for home learning, and safeguarding challenges. She’s been dealing with staff anxiety and communication overload.
She talks about the four reassurances she gave her team to support them through this crisis. Nicole also tells us about how the other crises in her career and life have (in some ways) prepared for the one we're experiencing today.
Join the conversation here: www.weareinbeta.community
In this episode, we speak with Seb Chapleau - Director of Big Education Conversation. We spoke about an initiative he's supporting to help kids have access to the data and devices necessary to ensure the can access remote learning from home.
Join the conversation here: www.weareinbeta.community
This episode we speak with Shonogh Pilgrim - Principal of Ansford Academy - about how, without knowing it, her school has been preparing her students for school closure. She reveals how their recent school ski trip and the culmination of their 4 year programme of work to increase student independence coincide to to set them up to open their virtual school. We also spoke about how Shonogh's staying in touch with her students and parents with daily videos.
Join the conversation here: www.weareinbeta.community
On this episode, we speak with Josie Mingay - School Improvement Lead, Greenshaw Learning Trust. We spoke about the decision between live or recorded remote teaching and their tutor reading programme.
Join the conversation here: www.weareinbeta.community
This episode, we speak with Ben Layzell - Head of Atherton Community School, Wigan. We talk about taking care of staff first just before closing the school, the current generation of students being more socially conscious and missing the structure of a school day.
Join the conversation here: www.weareinbeta.community
This episode, we speak with Cassie Young - SENCO and Head of School of Brenzett Primary School in Kent. We talk about some of the expectations put on parents at this moment as well the importance of staying connected with the students while they're home.
Join the conversation here: www.weareinbeta.community
After 3 months of research and prep for Series 3, all our in person interviews were understandably postponed due to coronavirus.
In times like these, it’s important we stay connected. So, Niall (host and founder of We Are In Beta) and Jay (Producer) will be making calls to teachers around the country to check-in and find what they’re doing that’s new, the questions they have and a little bit about their life.
This episode, we spoke with Clare Fletcher - Director of Schools, The Yare Education Trust. We talk about some obstacles with catering in the schools, getting meals to students at home, what her new work routine looks like and more.
Join the conversation here: www.weareinbeta.community
Picking up from the last episode on BAME leadership, 'Critical Mass' featuring Allana Gay, which you should listen to first, we’re talking about what it means to be a good ally to your BAME colleagues, what the purpose is and what it looks like when it’s not easy.
We speak to Patrick Ottley O’Connor - Executive Headteacher, North Liverpool Academy - and Allana Gay again about what they’ve done and would like to see done to promote an equitable education system for people of all backgrounds.
We also hear from Pran Patel, teacher and equity activist, who teaches us about power, the racist-anti racist spectrum and gives his advice about how to be an ally.
While, this episode is about being an ally to your BAME colleagues, the principle can be applied more widely.
Subscribe now to get every episode when it's released...
...AND...
...so you don't miss the release of Series 3 in the Spring 2020; this is the final episode of Series 2.
Thank you for listening!
Get access to all the resources mentioned in this, and every episode, via the We Are In Beta Newsletter.
This week Patrick and Pran share a selection of essential reading. Patrick also shares the contents of a closed DM group he set up to prepare for the podcast.
Who needs to hear this episode? Share it with them now.
Join the conversation using #weareinbeta. Follow Patrick Ottley O'Connor, Allana Gay, Pran Patel and me @NiallAlcock.
We’d love to know what you think.
This is an episode on BAME leadership in education. BAME stands for Black Asian Minority Ethnic.
According to the Swan Report (1985) and a recent report by the Runnymede Trust (2017), BAME educators have more difficulty progressing to leadership in the English education system.
We went out to hear some stories from BAME leaders in education about what it was like for them getting to their position…but we made a mistake.
Listen to learn what it was, what we did about it.
Allana Gay, Headteacher at Vita Et Pax School, tells us about her upbringing, her journey to leadership and a striking parallel between the two.
Subscribe now to get every episode when it's released.
Get access to all the resources mentioned in this, and every episode, via the We Are In Beta Newsletter.
This week Allana shares her essential reading and what she thinks every school leaders should have access to.
Who did you think about when listening to this episode? Share it with them.
Join the conversation using #weareinbeta. Follow Allana Gay and me @NiallAlcock. We’d love to know what you think.
Vivienne Porritt, amongst many things is one of the founders of the social equity group called #WomenEd. Vivienne set us a challenge. She asked us to take a message to every man in education.
Chris Hildrew is a contributor to the WomenEd book '10% Braver', and Headteacher at Churchill Academy. He charts his change to becoming a He for She ally, from his early years in school to a speech he heard by Emma Watson at the United Nations.
Later Chris would adopt some tips from Sheryl Sandberg’s book 'Lean In'. Learn how he uses them in his school to promote gender equality.
Subscribe now to get every episode when it's released.
Get access to all the resources mentioned in this, and every episode, via the We Are In Beta Newsletter.
This week Chris shares his favourite research and book, the service he couldn't do without and a copy of the how to chair a meeting document he mentions in the episode.
Know someone who's be affected by this issue? Share this with them.
Join the conversation using #weareinbeta. Follow Chris Hildrew and me @NiallAlcock. We’d love to know what you think.
These days things are going well for Claire Cuthbert. She always knew she wanted to be a teacher. When she became one, she progressed quickly.
The time soon came for her to apply for headship - one at a start up school in a mining community. Both the interviewers and applicants for the position were all, as Claire describes “middle aged white males in grey suits”, and to be honest that’s not really surprising. But what happened next was.
Claire progressed to the second round and when it came down to the last two, the ‘manel’ told her that, while she was a great candidate “we believe the local mining community would more aligned to a male figurehead than a female one”.
Now Claire is the CEO of The Evolve Trust. This experience informed how she does recruitment in her schools in the trust.
We also learn, with the help of a couple of her colleagues, how she gives her team the space to look beyond their trust and even beyond education to design processes to get the culture right.
Subscribe now to get every episode when it's released.
Get access to all the resources mentioned in this, and every episode, via the We Are In Beta Newsletter.
This week Claire shares her favourite research and book and Evolve Trust's recruitment policy, their culture deck and reading list.
Know someone who's be affected by this issue? Share this with them.
Join the conversation using #weareinbeta. Follow Claire Cuthbert, Dawn Pare, Natalie Elliott and me @NiallAlcock. We’d love to know what you think.
Progress 8. Grades 9-4. Ofsted. RSCs.
In the current accountability climate in schools, it can be easy to forget that students and their education are about more than numbers.
But at what cost? What opportunities are we missing to connect? To create an important sense of community?
When he was a student, Manny Botwe had a teacher with whom he shared a great relationship. This teacher took an interest in him and his activities outside school.
But when Manny was getting into trouble he was there to have an important conversation with him. A conversation that had a profound effect on him and shaped the leader he is today.
Now, as the Headteacher of Tytherington School in Macclesfield, he remembers the impact taking an interest in students - beyond their academic performance - can have.
In this week's We Are In Beta podcast we learn how Manny Botwe has reversed trends of poor results, falling roll, huge staff turnover and financial deficit at Tytherington School by...
...creating a sense of connection and community.
We also learn how another event makes Manny completely reconsider Tytherington’s role in the community and his role as a leader altogether.
Subscribe now to get every episode when it's released.
Get access to all the resources mentioned in this, and every episode, via the We Are In Beta Newsletter.
This week Manny shares the strategy that lies at the heart of how he builds connection and community.
Who springs to mind while you're listening to this? Share it with them.
Join the conversation. Follow me @NiallAlcock and Manny @TytheringtonSch using #weareinbeta.
Deborah Firat is a parent governor. She has seen first hand the the difference it makes when teachers approach their pupils with unconditional positive regard.
Her son Zak has autism and although he went to a good mainstream school, they didn't have the tools to maximise he potential.
Dave Whitaker (Director of Learning at Wellspring Academy Trust) and Luke Mitchell (Head of Behaviour Support) share what they have learned from years of experience and some guiding principles about how to support the most vulnerable learners.
Dave, Luke and staff at Springwell Academy are changing lives - Deborah's, Zach's and many others' at their school; and it all comes back to unconditional positive regard.
Don't subscribe now if you don't want to get every episode direct to your phone automatically.
Don't check out the We Are In Beta Newsletter otherwise you'll get access to all the resources, research and training mentioned in the episode.
Don't share this podcast online or tag me or Dave Whitaker, Luke Mitchell or me @NiallAlcock in.
Over the course of their careers, the Headteacher of Hawkswood Primary Pru (pupil Referal unit) Marie Gentles and her deputy Katie L'Aimable have begun to see patterns.
They've gone from seeing their students' behaviour as isolated events to understanding that all behaviour is communication.
Marie and Katie tell us what they've learned about what some behaviours are communicating and why understanding the root of behaviour is so critical.
To get access to the podcast before anyone else, extra goodies and bonus content, sign up to the We Are In Beta newsletter.
In this week's newsletter, Marie and Katie share the research that has been crucial to securing such incredible outcomes for their students, the book that had the biggest impact on Marie's career, the service they couldn't do without (it's highly underrated) and a taster of their very popular training programme.
In other news, I set a new listener -Judy Baird- the challenge of tweeting what she has learned from every episode as she listens to them. A challenge she's accepted.
I'd love if you joined her too! Tag me in @NiallAlcock
Having felt the pressure between parenthood and being a senior leader, when Sue Plant had the opportunity to become the Head of School of a brand new school, she was going to make sure her staff didn’t face the same challenges she faced. At John Taylor Free School, Sue tells us how she set out to make her school flexible working-friendly and recruited her whole staff in the first year without spending any money on advertising. All part of her plan to get the culture right and attract the best people.
We also hear from Lucy Rose, co-founder of Flexible Teacher Talent, about the barriers to making your school working patterns more flexible for your staff and how to overcome them.
To get access the podcast before anyone else and extra goodies and bonus content, sign up to the newsletter.
In this week's, Sue Plant shares the book that's influenced her career the most, the services she couldn't do without as a headteacher and the recruitment pack she used to attract her talent team. Lucy shares the evidence that underpins Flexible Teacher Talent's mission, her recommended read and the treasure trove of advice they give to schools looking to make their schools more #flexappeal
Join the conversation. Follow all our guests Sue Plant, Lucy Rose from Flexible Teacher Talent and her co-founder Lindsay Patience (who sadly couldn't be with us the day we recorded) newsletter.
This is the free We Are In Beta Podcast Newsletter - written by me, Niall Alcock. We - the education community - Are In Beta - always learning. Sign up to learn how school leaders are tackling big issues in schools.
This week.
Lisa Farmer had finally got her dream job as a headteacher. Soon after being given the job she discovered she was pregnant. Lisa and her husband were elated but she thought people expected her to step down from her new role.
With no intention of doing so, Lisa began looking into flexible working options. She was looking for a co-headteacher to share the role with. But this was over a decade ago, before more case studies were available. So Lisa had to learn through trial and error...
Want to know what happens?
Tune in to find out. And to hear from the leaders who are changing the way schools structure working patterns: lead teacher - and founder of The Maternity Teacher Paternity Teacher Project - Emma Sheppard, and the co-founders of the Shared Headship Network: Amy Brookes, Catriona Jenkins, Hannah Turbet and Lucy O'Healan.
👂 Listen on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | Libsyn | TuneIn 🔉
💬 Join the conversation. Tweet @LisaFarmer321, @maternityCPD, @SharedHeadship and @NiallAlcock. We’d love to know what you think.
If you’re a new subscriber, you can catch up on previous episodes here.
The best ‘In Beta’ bits
Every episode, I curate the practical strategies and solutions to the challenges guests have faced so you don’t miss out on them - the presentations, the programmes, the books and the blogs.
Next week, Lisa, Emma and the Shared Headship Network share:
The research and evidence that underpin their missions.
The books that have influenced their careers.
The services they couldn’t do without.
The advice they give to all teachers about flexible working and co-headship.
The statutory guidance and legal rights you should know.
The questions you can ask your school leaders if you face some resistance to making work more flexible.
(Emma Sheppard, MTPTP Project)
If you’d like to access these resources via your inbox next week…
Thanks for reading.
Thanks for playing your part in making education the place we all know it can be.
Speak soon,
@NiallAlcock
(Shared Headship Network)
What you are up to—positivity from the We Are In Beta community
I’m playing around with when to run this section and how often. Maybe Sunday with the podcast release - like this? Or as part of the midweek follow up with the resources from the latest episode - like this? As a separate post on a Saturday perhaps?
Let me know what works for you by replying to this email.
Want to share your news? Let me know here. I’ll include next time and tweet if I can.
❤️ Please take a moment to “like” this post - either up top or down below - take your pick. It helps others discover We Are In Beta. It’ll make my day too.
👍If you found this newsletter useful share it with your colleagues so they can benefit from wonderful, collective knowledge.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit weareinbeta.substack.com
Lisa Farmer had finally got her dream job as a headteacher. Soon after getting the job she discovered she was pregnant. Lisa and her husband were elated but she thought people expected her to step down from her new role. With no intention of stepping down Lisa began looking into flexible working options. She was looking for a co-headteacher to share the role with. But this was over a decade ago, before more case studies were available. So Lisa had to learn through trial and error...
We also hear from lead teacher - and founder of The Maternity Teacher Paternity Teacher Project - Emma Sheppard, and the co-founders of the Shared Headship Network: Amy Brookes, Catriona Jenkins, Hannah Turbet and Lucy O'Healan.
To get access the podcast before anyone else and extra goodies, sign up to the newsletter.
In this week's Lisa, Emma Sheppard and the Shared Headship Network share the research and evidence that underpin their missions, the books that have influenced their careers and the treasure troves of advice they share.
Join the conversation. Follow all our guests LisaFarmer321, maternityCPD, SharedHeadship and host NiallAlcock. See you there or via the newsletter.
Leann Swaine was the Associate Headteacher of East Barnet School when she wanted to make a change. One day she was in the school corridor when an event inspired her to go on the journey to make the school phone free.
East Barnet is a mixed secondary with 1400 students. It’s a school big enough to make tasks like “going phone free” seem daunting.
This week on We Are In Beta, Leann, now the Headteacher tells us how she prepared her staff and students for the upcoming change.
Whether you agree with phones being banned in schools or not, this is a fascinating case study of change.
To get access the podcast before anyone else and extra goodies, sign up to the newsletter.
In this week's newsletter Leann shares the slides she used to communicate the change, the leadership model she used to plan for it, her favourite piece of educational research, the book that changed the way she leads, the service she could not do without as a headteacher and some amazing news about EBS's amazing Robotics Department.
Join the conversation. Follow @Leann_Swaine me @NiallAlcock. See you there or via the bonus content newsletter.
We Are In Beta opens its second series. Host Niall Alcock gives you a taste of what's new and what to expect from upcoming episodes. There's a new addition to the team too. Meet our new producer, Jay.
Don't miss the first episode - out on October 27th 2019 - hit that subscribe button now.
To get access the podcast before anyone else and extra goodies like our guests' research and book recommendations, the services they couldn't do without and links to the policies and documents they talk about in their episodes, sign up to the newsletter:
https://weareinbeta.substack.com/subscribe
Coming up in this series, learn how school leaders are:
- driving whole-school, organisational behaviour change
- breaking ground in co-headship
- building schools from the ground up with flexible working in mind
- understanding what student behaviour is really communicating in PRUs
- meeting students' needs through unconditional positive regard in special schools
- building school communities through traditions
- using experiences of sexism to design recruitment processes
- promoting gender equality as a HeForShe advocate
- improving BAME leadership, representation and diversity
- providing allyship to support under represented groups
Featuring appearances from:
- Leann Swaine (Headteacher, East Barnet School)
- Lisa Farmer (Co-Headteacher, Thomas Russell Infants School)
- The founding team of The Shared Headship Network
- Sue Plant (Head of School, John Taylor Free School)
- Lucy Rose (Teacher & Co-Founder, Flexible Teacher Talent)
- Emma Sheppard (Lead Practitioner & Founder, MTPT Project)
- Marie Gentles (Headteacher, Hawkswood Primary PRU)
- David Whittaker (Director of Learning, Wellspring Academy Trust)
- Manny Botwe (Headteacher, Tythertington School)
- Clare Marie Cuthbert (CEO, Evolve Trust)
- Chris Hilldrew (Headteacher, Churchill Academy & Sixth Form)
- Allana Gay (Headteacher, Vita et Pax Preparatory School / BAMEed Network)
- Patrick Ottley O'Connor (Executive Principal, North Liverpool Academy) @ottleyoconnor
- Pran Patel (Decolonise the Curriculum)
- and...
- ...their colleagues, parents, students and governors.
Join the conversation. Follow me @NiallAlcock and these inspiring school leaders. See you there or via the bonus content newsletter.
In this episode, Jeremy Hannay, Headteacher of Three Bridges Primary School in west London, shares his thoughts on
- How a trip to see the London 2012 Olympics gave him his life’s mission
- The best bits of the UK and Canadian education systems
- How teacher recruitment and retention crisie could become a thing of the past in every school
- The false dichotomy between high performance and happiness that exists in schools
- What performance management has been replaced with at Three Bridges
- How they have fostered the autonomy and trust that has been key to the success at the school
- The curriculum programmes they run and how they have adapted them to suit their context
- The importance of ‘building cathedrals’ rather than ‘cutting stone’.
- How co-construction can make accountability redundant
- The biggest challenges Three Bridge has had to overcome and what still stands in their way
- The conflict interests he sees between Ofsted’s two main functions and how that compares to the Canadian system
- How they have designed their programs of professional development
- The multi academy trusts he holds in the highest regard
- The book that has given him his mission and what that mission is
- How Three Bridges is supporting other schools
- The national and international trips he has made to find best practice
- How he uses the phrase “Teach me everything” along with Twitter to meet the needs of his school
- How he’s using external support to help his team drill down into their own strengths and weaknesses
- The question he wants every headteacher to ask themselves and why
- What he thinks the future of education will look like and why he is optimistic about it
To learn more about We Are In Beta head over to:https://weareinbeta.substack.com/about
Join the conversation. Tweet @NiallAlcock and @HannayJeremy. We’d love to know what you think.
To stay up to date with interviews and updates from the We Are In Beta community and access links to all the resources, people and organisations Jeremy mentions, including his top book recommendation, his favourite piece of research and some internal policies sign up here
In this episode, Stephen Munday (Chief Executive, The Cam Academy Trust; Executive Principal, Comberton Village College & President of The Chartered College of Teaching), shares his thoughts on:
In his interview, Stephen shares his thoughts on:
- How a cup of tea with his Mum’s friend was the catalyst to becoming the President of the Chartered College of Teaching
- His purpose and what he finds deeply inspiring about teaching
- Which role in a school prepares you well for becoming a headteacher
- What you need to keep reminding yourself as a headteacher
- The biggest thing he has learned about headship
- The biggest challenge of his career and how he overcame it
- The moral duty that led to his school becoming a multi-academy trust
- What he welcomes about changes to the Ofsted framework
- What he questions about changes to the Ofsted Framework
- How schools can reduce the problems with exclusions
- The question school leaders need to ask themselves to reduce workload
- The best CPD he’s ever done
- How to get external support when needs can’t be met in-house
- How to judge the quality of external CPD
- How the Chartered College can solve the budget crisis
- How schools can ensure they ring-fence enough money for investing in professional development
- Tips for schools on how to balance the books
- How he’s using technology to make professional development more scalable and accessible across the trust
- The one question he would ask every headteacher in the country if he could
- Why he is optimistic about the future of education and the role the Chartered College has to play
- What one ‘less positive’ student shouted as Ofsted approached the school to begin an inspection
To learn more about We Are In Beta head over to:https://weareinbeta.substack.com/about
To access a full transcript of the interview:
Join the conversation. Stephen isn’t on social media and Twitter is the poorer for it. But I know that @AlisonMPeacock and @JoeTreacy would love to hear from you about his interview. You can also tweet @CharteredColl and me @NiallAlcock. We’d love to know what you think.
To stay up to date with interviews and updates from the We Are In Beta community and access links to all the resources, people and organisations, Stephen mentions, including his top book recommendation sign up here
In this episode, Linda Emmett, Headteacher, All Saints Catholic College Chesire, shares her thoughts on:
- Why her job in IT inspired her to teach
- What she thinks is the most important thing when growing students as individuals
- The programme that inspired her to take on headship
- The organisations she’s worked with that have helped transform All Saints
- The language her team uses to encourage staff to speak up about their challenges
- Why she thinks Ofsted has a positive role to play and why schools need to be careful when they are considering how to fulfill their requirements
- How she is improving teacher retention
- How she chose the external organisations that supported All Saints’ journey
- How she evaluates their success
- How she secured £60,000 of funding to invest in her staff
- The two questions she would ask every headteacher in the country if she could
- The single most impactful thing she and her team have done at All Saints
- The biggest mistake she has made as a headteacher
- How she ensures staff morale is at its highest at the time of year it’s typically at its lowest
- To learn more about We Are In Beta head over to:https://weareinbeta.substack.com/about
To access a full transcript of the interview:https://medium.com/@WeAreInBeta/how-to-create-a-culture-of-absolute-joy-and-support-on-the-journey-out-of-special-measures-6c5118785056?postPublishedType=repub
Join the conversation. Tweet us @NiallAlcock and @LindaEmmett4 @allsaintsccduk. We’d love to know what you think.
To stay up to date with interviews and updates from the We Are In Beta community and access links to all the resources, people and organisations, Linda mentions, including her top book recommendation and her 'leadership non-negotiables' sign up here
To get access to the podcast before anyone else and receive a curated list of organisations and resources guests recommend, join the free We Are In Beta community mailing list here
In this episode, Dr, Chris Tomlinson, Director of Harris Secondary and soon to be CEO of Coop Academies Trust, shares his thoughts on:
- Why his experience of education wasn’t great and what gave him confidence
- What he believes headteachers should all still do
- What he says is the key to leading 5 schools from inadequate to outstanding
- Which groups of students he thinks defines you as a leader
- Why he disagrees with tabloid newspapers
- What he thinks about Ofsted
- His advice to new leaders about how to approach Ofsted
- What he believes is the most effective CPD
- Which external organisations he recommends working with
- How to get the most out of SEN funding
- How he responds to the criticism that Harris academies are exam factories
- How schools and the government can tackle teacher retention problems
- Why his weaknesses might be his biggest strength
- What advice he would give to aspirant headteachers
- What one question he would ask every headteacher if could
- How one student helped him out when is new accountability structures weren't very popular
- Why he is optimistic about the future of education
- To learn more about We Are In Beta head over to:https://weareinbeta.substack.com/about
To access a full transcript of the interview:https://medium.com/@WeAreInBeta/the-one-budget-you-keep-moving-up-the-importance-of-investing-in-staff-development-in-schools-d04311537e94
Join the conversation and tell me what you think by tweeting @NiallAlcock. I'll let him know as he's not on Twitter!
To stay up to date with interviews and updates from the We Are In Beta community and access links to all the resources, people and organisations Hannah mentions sign up here
To get access to the podcast before anyone else and receive a curated list of organisations and resources guests recommend join the free We Are In Beta community mailing list here
In this episode of the We Are In Beta Podcast, Hannah Wilson, Executive Headteacher, Aureus Primary and Secondary Schools, Oxfordshire shares her thoughts on:
- How she got into teaching
- The time when could’ve left teaching for good and the time when she left a school without a role to go to next
- The skills she’s learned that she never knew she’d need as a head
- What the NPQs don’t teach that she learned when winning her local community over
- How the values at Aureus have driven the design of their curriculum
- The award they’ve been working towards that’s given them strategic vision on mental health
- Why so many qualified teachers are not in the classroom anymore and how she’s tempting them back in
- How she has recruited 2 years into the future without spending any money
- How she manages to fund a very healthy CPD budget through both saving and generating income
- The organisations she partners with to keep her team’s skills up to date in behaviour, values, literacy, leadership, and coaching.
- How she generated a significant £64,000 of income through a number of different streams
- Why SEND funding isn't fair and how to improve the situation
- Why negativity about Ofsted doesn’t really bother her and why she’s looking forward to Aureus’ first inspection
- How the off-rolling debate has made her question her previous experiences working in turnaround schools
- The huge personal impact excluding students has had on her
- The one question she would ask every headteacher is she could
- Why she is optimistic about the future of education
- To learn more about We Are In Beta head over to: https://medium.com/@WeAreInBeta
To access a full transcript of the interview:https://medium.com/@WeAreInBeta/how-to-create-a-mentally-healthy-school-8ff5a05329c7
Join the conversation and tell us what you think by tweeting @NiallAlcock and @Ethical_Leader
To stay up to date with interviews and updates from the We Are In Beta community and access links to all the resources, people and organisations Hannah mentions sign up here
You’re reading the We Are In Beta Podcast Newsletter. We - the education community - Are In Beta - always improving.
Welcome to all you new subscribers too. Thank you so much for joining us. Check out previous episodes here.
It’s such a pleasure to see more and more you wanting to tune in to learn from inspiring school leaders like my guest this week, Clare Rees, Headteacher at Havelock Primary School.
Clare has spent the last three years asking some big questions:
How do you develop trust to move a school forward?
How do you develop an openness that sometimes isn’t there?
How do you develop a new style of leadership?
Not easy to answer, especially when you’re you are doing a research doctorate as well as your full-time headteacher role.
Clare is a phenomenal leader. I’m really excited to release Episode #6 of the We Are In Beta Podcast. She shares how she built trust in her school by creating a coaching culture.
So, take a break or schedule some time on your commute:
👂 Listen on Spotify | iTunes | Stitcher | Libsyn | TuneIn 🔉
⭐Leave us a review and I’ll give you a shout out in the next episode
👀 Read the full transcription 📖
Why are people loving this episode?
What do we talk about in the podcast?
Why it’s her ‘grandmother’s fault’ she became a teacher
The advice her colleague gave her that she ignored
Why she didn’t believe she could do a doctorate but took it on anyway
How, over the course of three years, she gradually implemented and embedded a coaching culture
The difficulties she and her team faced and how she overcame them
What you need to get in place that makes building trust surprisingly easy
Why looking to hospitals could help solve teacher retention
What we need to do that will help teachers exceed all performance goals
The problem they face when implementing a zero-tolerance behaviour policy and what they did to make it disappear
How good behaviour for learning helps them to balance the books
The one question she could ask every headteacher if she could
Why she is optimistic about the future of education
💬 Join the conversation. Tweet us @NiallAlcock and @ReesCM4. We’d love to know what you think.
📰If you’re reading this as a public post, get access to all future episodes before anyone else as well as insights and resources from our inspiring guests by subscribing here 📧
The best In Beta bits
We Are In Beta is a positive space that aims to capture the knowledge of inspiring school leaders.
As a thank you for being a valued member of the community, I curate the practical strategies and solutions to the challenges they’ve face so you don’t miss out on them - the partnerships, the programmes, the books and the blogs.
So what’s come up via Clare's interview?
This will be a trip down memory lane for most of you but it’s what inspired Clare to be a research informed practitioner
Where Clare is doing her Doctorate. Want to follow in her footsteps?
The external consultant who trained her teachers to coach
An event Clare organised. This one’s been and gone but she is always organising community led events and there are some inspiring colleagues in here you could connect with.
The slides that capture what Clare said about Alison Peacock and irresistibility
Clare’s recent paper for the Chartered College of Teaching’s Impact Journal. If you’re not a member you can read it here.
An absolute treasure trove of action research projects, presentations and articles that demonstrate what a phenomenal leader Clare is and what an inspiring school Havelock is. Be sure to check out all the sessions.
A book that completely challenged their approach to behaviour management and transformed pupil behaviour at her school
The model that underpins their behaviour approach
A tool Havelock Primary used to amplify pupil voice and gain insights to inform their feedback policy
The software they used to track and reward positive behaviour successfully
The organisation that helped them get FREE books from their library
The 30- hour offer for nursery they do at Havelock
An overview of the community of practice Clare Runs with an upcoming We Are In Beta guest Jeremy Hannay (well worth following if you don’t already). I know they’d love t host you. Get in touch with them. @ReesCM4 @HannayJeremy
The first piece of research she always shares with teachers
Get involved in the community
🙋🎙️ If you’d like tell your story or nominate a school with an incredible story to tell on the podcast check out the topics we’ll be exploring or let me know what you’re working on here.
🙋📰 Not ready to share your story on the mic but still want to share what you are doing in your school with the community? Let me know and include it in community news.
Thanks for playing your part in making education the place we all know it can be.
Best,
@NiallAlcock
❤️ Please take a moment to “like” this post (the button is at the top of the mail). It helps others discover We Are In Beta. It’ll make my Sunday too.
👍If you found this newsletter useful hit that forward button to share it with your colleagues so we can benefit from more wonderful, collective knowledge.
📧 If you’re reading this as an email, you can keep an eye on it online as we add resources and links to it.
What have people been saying?
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit weareinbeta.substack.com
To get access to the podcast before anyone else and receive a curated list of organisations and resources guests recommend join the free We Are In Beta community mailing list here
In this episode of the We Are In Beta Podcast, Clare Rees, Headteacher, Havelock Primary School, Ealing shares her thoughts on:
- Why it’s her ‘grandmother’s fault’ she became a teacher
- The advice her colleague gave her that she ignored
- Why she didn’t believe she could do a doctorate but took it on anyway
- How, over the course of three years, she gradually implemented and embedded a coaching culture
- The difficulties she and her team faced and how she overcame them
- What you need to get in place to make building trust surprisingly easy
- Why looking to hospitals could help solve teacher retention
- What we need to do that will help teachers exceed all performance goals
- The problem they face when implementing a zero-tolerance behaviour policy and what they did to make it disappear
- How good behaviour for learning helps them to balance the books
- The one question she could ask every headteacher if she could
- Why she is optimistic about the future of education
To learn more about We Are In Beta head over to: https://medium.com/@WeAreInBeta
To access a full transcript of the interview:https://medium.com/@WeAreInBeta/how-to-build-trust-in-schools-by-creating-a-coaching-culture-daf5da896b4d
Join the conversation and tell us what you think by tweeting @NiallAlcock and @ReesCM4
To stay up to date with interviews and updates from the We Are In Beta community and access links to all the resources, people and organisations Clare mentions go sign up here
To stay up to date with interviews and updates from the We Are In Beta community and access links to all the resources, people and organisations guests mention sign up here
In this episode of the We Are In Beta Podcast, Ed Vainker, Executive Headteacher, Reach Academy Feltham, shares his thoughts on:
- How he got into teaching
- How North America influenced his education philosophy
- Why Reach Academy Feltham may never have come to exist
- Why is he reluctant to shout from the rooftops about Reach Academy’s success
- Which strand of work runs through everything they do and which organisations have been pivotal to their success
- An unpopular opinion he has about student attainment data
- How they can afford to timetable teachers to not be teaching to make teachers lives easier
- How this work will be shared with other schools and thousands of trainee teachers
- Why he thinks teachers leaving the profession might actually help the retention
- His latest thinking on offering staff more flexibility
- Which leadership model has been central to improving teaching and learning
- Why two cross sectors training programmes were the best professional development experiences he’s ever had
- What he thinks the school can do better to improve CPD
- How he makes sure the organisations Reach partners with are worth their salt
- Why he’s glad he isn’t a headteacher in France
- Why he is surprisingly bullish about the funding crisis
- How he has reduced costs and increased income for the school
- What one question he would ask every headteacher if he could
- When he had a heart attack in the first year of teaching
- Why he thinks supporting families and communities before students begin school is the key to a bright future in education
To learn more about We Are In Beta head over to: https://medium.com/@WeAreInBeta
To access a full transcript of the interview:https://medium.com/@WeAreInBeta/academic-and-rigorous-or-nurturing-and-cuddly-ab0398d1ee74
Join the conversation and tell us what you think by tweeting @NiallAlcock and @edvainker
To stay up to date with interviews and updates from the We Are In Beta community and access links to all the resources, people and organisations Ed mentions go sign up here
In this episode of the We Are In Beta Podcast, Will Smith, Chief Exec at Greenshaw Learning Trust, shares his thoughts on:
- How acids and alkalis altered his life direction
- What everyone at Greenshaw is entitled to
- What impact changes to the Ofsted framework will have
- How he re-defines accountability
- The organisations that you probably think about that MATs are accountable to
- The leader mindset shift he thinks is required in the system
- His trust’s statement of intent around inclusivity
- The other side of the exclusions debate he thinks should be recognised
- How he works to embody the culture of the organisation and who helped him realise it
- The strategies Greenshaw uses to value staff
- What they ask schools to stop doing when they start working with them
- The best CPD initiative he has ever pursued
- Why he has found himself in car parks with tears in his eyes
- The one question he says he would ask every head if he could
- How Greenshaw has developed a healthy pipeline of new leadership talent into the trust
- Why he thinks the politicisation of education is a problem
- How one parent changed him forever using a bucket!
To learn more about We Are In Beta head over to: https://medium.com/@WeAreInBeta
To access a full transcript of the interview with links to all the resources, people and organisations Will mentions go to: https://medium.com/@WeAreInBeta
Join the conversation and tell us what you think by tweeting @NiallAlcock and @MrWill_Smith
To stay up to date with interviews and updates from the We Are In Beta community sign up here
In this episode of the We Are In Beta Podcast, Evelyn Forde, Headteacher at Copthall School, shares her thoughts on:
- how her daughters inspired her to make a change,
- how she overcame the odds to secure her dream role at Copthall,
- how she led the school to achieve exceptional results,
- how she improved teaching and learning through incremental coaching,
- what she is doing to improve staff wellbeing,
- which stakeholders she included in developing the school’s culture,
- which headlines do headteachers a disservice and why,
- how performance tables can actually deter schools from off-rolling rather than incentivise them,
- the one question she would like to ask every headteacher if she could,
- what excites her about the future of education and why,
- how running for presidency always make her smile, even when she’s feeling a bit down.
To learn more about We Are In Beta head over to: https://medium.com/@WeAreInBeta
To access a full transcript of the interview with links to all the resources, people and organisations Evelyn mentions go to: https://medium.com/@WeAreInBeta
Join the conversation and tell us what you think by tweeting @NiallAlcock and @Evelynforde1
To stay up to date with interviews and updates from the We Are In Beta community sign up here
In this episode of the We Are In Beta Podcast, Elroy Cahill, the newly appointed headteacher at Kingsley Academy in Hounslow, shares his thoughts on:
- How one teacher transformed his view on education when he was going down the wrong road,
- What he thinks would be a grave error in relation to the new Ofsted framework,
- What Ofsted should do in circumstances of inappropriate off-rolling,
- Why he thinks morally driven leadership is important,
- Why is he thinks coaching is so important and where best to access it, often for free,
- His initial scepticism about a pilot project that has been having a huge impact on teacher development
- How to set up live lesson coaching effectively,
- The one question he would ask every headteacher is he could,
- How the worlds of Lego and Ofsted can collide,
- How recent education documentaries could influence the electorate and shape the future of education.
To learn more about We Are In Beta head over to: https://medium.com/@WeAreInBeta
To access a full transcript of the interview with links to all the resources, people and organisations Elroy mentions go to: https://medium.com/@WeAreInBeta
Join the conversation and tell us what you think by tweeting @NiallAlcock and @KingsleyAcadHT and @Elroy_cahill
To stay up to date with interviews and updates from the We Are In Beta community sign up here
In this first episode of the We Are In Beta Podcast, Rob Carpenter, CEO of the Inspire Partnership - a group of 5 primary schools in southeast London, Medway and Kent shares his thoughts on:
- How the challenges he faced as a student led him to becoming a teacher
- What he believes great professional development to be
- How we can improve teacher retention
- Why school exclusions are on the rise and what we can do about it
- Why the new Ofsted framework offers schools an important opportunity
- How his partnership is helping students connect more deeply with the world and the local community
- The one question he would ask every head in the country
- Why he's optimistic about the future and
- How an Ofsted inspection left him on his hands and knees.
To learn more about We Are In Beta head over to: https://medium.com/@WeAreInBeta
To access a full transcript of the interview with links to all the resources, people and organisations Rob mentions go to: https://medium.com/@WeAreInBeta/ofsteds-2019-curriculum-focus-the-opportunity-for-schools-a8b55d15367e
Join the conversation and tell us what you think by tweeting @NiallAlcock and@carpenter_rob .
To stay up to date with interviews and updates from the We Are In Beta community sign up here