Listen In: Myatt & Co: Recent Episodes
Listen In: Myatt & Co
At a time when AI tools are increasingly present in education, school leaders are beginning to explore how large language models might support thinking, planning, and decision making alongside ongoing pressures around workload, safeguarding, and resourcing.
In this conversation with David Monis-Weston, the focus is on how AI can be used as a thinking partner rather than a replacement for professional judgement (see the first recording in this collection for a focus on theory). The discussion explores practical ways leaders might use AI to generate alternative perspectives, test ideas, and support scenario planning, while staying critically aware of its limitations and risks.
A key theme is caution and responsibility, including understanding bias, avoiding over reliance on generated responses, and being careful with sensitive data. The conversation also highlights safeguarding and data protection considerations, particularly around what is entered into AI systems and how that information may be stored or reused.
Alongside opportunity, there is a clear warning against over investing in complex or bespoke AI systems that may quickly become outdated. Instead, the emphasis is on developing staff confidence, using established tools wisely, and keeping professional judgement at the centre of decision making.
Ultimately, the discussion frames AI as a useful but limited tool, valuable for reflection, idea generation, and sense making, but only when used critically, ethically, and with a clear understanding of its constraints.
Reflection questions
For school leaders
- How can AI support, rather than replace, professional judgement in decision-making?
- Where could AI help us explore alternative perspectives or scenarios?
- How do we ensure safe and appropriate use of data when using AI tools?
- What types of decisions could benefit from structured “what if” thinking?
- How do we avoid over-reliance on outputs that may be inaccurate or biased?
For middle leaders
- How might AI support planning or curriculum thinking in my area?
- Where could it help anticipate challenges or unintended consequences?
- How do I check the reliability of AI-generated suggestions?
- How can AI support collaboration without replacing professional dialogue?
- How do I maintain subject integrity when using AI tools?
Download additional questions for your teamhere
You can find more recordings on Myatt & Co
Curriculum reform in England is increasingly bringing climate and sustainability education into sharper focus, with the Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) positioning it as a core part of what a modern curriculum should provide for all pupils.
The conversation with Climate Adaptive Pathways Education (CAPE) explores what it actually takes to turn that expectation into classroom reality. Rather than staying at policy level, it looks at the practical work of implementation: how teachers build secure subject knowledge, how climate concepts are sequenced across key stages, and how schools avoid superficial or fragmented approaches that can reinforce misconceptions.
A key argument running through the discussion is that climate education only works when it is treated as curriculum work, not an add-on. That means careful disciplinary thinking in subjects like science and geography, alongside sustained professional development that supports teachers to teach complex, evolving content with confidence and clarity.
The conversation also explores how pupils engage with climate issues emotionally as well as intellectually, and how education can support understanding without tipping into either overwhelm or oversimplification. Questions of equity and context are also central, recognising that climate impacts and lived experiences vary significantly between communities.
Taken together, the discussion frames climate education as a long-term curriculum challenge: one that requires coherence, expertise, and care if it is to move beyond tokenism and become genuinely meaningful for pupils.
Reflection questions
For teachers
- How do I ensure climate and sustainability content is taught with accuracy and appropriate sequencing, avoiding misconceptions?
- In what ways can I connect climate education to the local context of my pupils?
- How do I support pupils to engage emotionally with climate issues while also developing a sense of agency?
- How confident am I in teaching climate-related content within my subject discipline, not just as standalone information?
- What opportunities do I have to emphasise collective action rather than individualised responsibility?
For subject leaders
- How coherently is climate education sequenced across our curriculum to avoid repetition or gaps in understanding?
- Where does climate and sustainability knowledge sit within our subject discipline, and how is it built over time?
- How are we addressing common misconceptions in climate science and sustainability across key stages?
- How do we ensure curriculum materials are high quality and not overly reliant on unmoderated external resources?
- How are we supporting teachers to develop subject-specific confidence in teaching climate-related content?
Download additional questions for your teamhere
You can find more recordings on Myatt & Co
At a time when UK education is shaped by ongoing pressures around curriculum, with new programmes of study and examination requirements in the pipeline, increasing curriculum alignment in some trusts, and fewer specialist teachers, schools are also being asked to respond to a broader and more complex set of expectations: improving inclusion, supporting pupil wellbeing, strengthening curriculum quality and coherence, and addressing persistent challenges around teacher workload and retention.
Within this context, teachers often find themselves navigating competing demands. On one hand, there is a drive for consistency, structure, and reliability across schools and departments. On the other, there is growing recognition that effective teaching relies on relationships, professional judgement, and responsiveness to pupils as individuals, rather than simply as data points or cohorts.
This discussion with Jeffrey Boakye draws on his experiences, and offers a grounded exploration of teaching as a relational and human practice. In reflecting on his career in education, Jeffrey explores the tension between system expectations and classroom reality, particularly the extent to which teachers are able to bring their full selves into their practice while working within increasingly standardised structures. The conversation presents teaching as a craft shaped by identity, experience, emotion, and interaction, raising important questions about how teachers build relationships with pupils over time, how they respond to resistance and difference in the classroom, and how lived experience influences the way curriculum is interpreted and enacted.
It also touches on wider system influences, including long-standing reform narratives that have helped shape an education system increasingly focused on accountability, standardisation, and measurable outcomes. Against this backdrop, it invites reflection on whether current structures fully support the kind of flexible, relational, and adaptive teaching that many educators see as central to effective learning.
The discussion encourages a more nuanced question: how can schools hold both high expectations and human responsiveness, structure and authenticity, in ways that genuinely serve pupils and teachers?
Reflection questions:
For teachers
- How do I build relationships with pupils that go beyond behaviour management to genuine trust and understanding?
- In what ways do I bring my own identity, interests, and experiences into my teaching – and how does this shape pupil engagement?
- How do I respond to resistance or disengagement in the classroom, and what might this tell me about the relationships I am building?
- To what extent do I create opportunities for pupils to connect their own lives and perspectives to what we are learning?
- How confident do I feel adapting lessons in response to what is happening in the room, rather than strictly following a plan?
For subject leaders
- How do we balance consistency in curriculum delivery with flexibility for teachers to respond to their classes?
- Where does our curriculum create space for dialogue, relevance, and pupil voice?
- How do we support teachers to develop relational practice alongside subject expertise?
- In what ways does our subject reflect and connect to the diverse experiences of our pupils?
- How do we evaluate the impact of our curriculum beyond exam outcomes alone?
Download additional questions for your teamhere
You can find more recordings on Myatt & Co
Ruqsana Begum’s story shows how schools can either amplify potential or unintentionally reinforce barriers. Growing up in a community where cultural expectations could have limited her ambitions, she became a world champion athlete, entrepreneur, and advocate for women’s empowerment. Her experiences illustrate both the challenges and possibilities for young people whose opportunities depend on whether schools truly understand and respond to the realities they face.
A commitment to inclusion is not optional. It is central to the success and wellbeing of every child, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds. Yet for many pupils, families, and schools, the system can feel fragmented, under-resourced, and unclear.
Inclusion is central to ensuring every pupil can succeed academically, socially, culturally, and emotionally. The updated Ofsted framework now places inclusion more explicitly at the heart of inspection, highlighting the importance of practices that many schools were already striving to embed. This episode invites educators to reflect on how they make inclusion visible in daily practice and explores practical approaches that teachers, pastoral staff, and leaders can use to create classrooms and school cultures where every pupil is recognised, supported, and able to thrive.
Reflection questions
For teachers
- How do I ensure I am not making assumptions about a pupil’s background, cultural expectations, or family pressures when planning lessons and setting expectations?
- In what ways do I create classroom spaces where pupils feel safe, valued, and able to pursue ambitious goals, regardless of home or cultural context?
- How do I identify pupils whose potential may be underestimated due to social, cultural, or economic factors, and support them to thrive?
- How do I adapt my teaching and feedback to recognise both academic and personal challenges faced by learners from diverse backgrounds?
- What practical steps can I take tomorrow to celebrate difference, empower underrepresented pupils, and ensure they feel included in learning opportunities?
For pastoral leaders
- How do I understand the realities and challenges faced by pupils from diverse ethnic, cultural, or socio-economic backgrounds, and translate that understanding into meaningful support?
- In what ways does pastoral support address both academic ambitions and social pressures, including those related to family expectations, traditions, or community norms?
- How can I foster mentoring, peer support, or extracurricular programmes that empower pupils from underrepresented groups to explore new ambitions?
- How do I ensure pupils’ voices are heard when designing support systems, so interventions feel relevant and inclusive rather than imposed?
- What structures or practices help reduce barriers to engagement, participation, and confidence for pupils who may feel culturally or socially marginalised?
Download additional questions for your teamhere
You can find more recordings on Myatt & Co
Wellbeing has always been central to effective education, but in a time of rapid policy change, shifting accountability, and systemic uncertainty, it has become essential. Across the UK, school leaders are navigating curriculum reforms, assessment changes, reforms to SEND policy, an updated Ofsted framework, and workforce pressures, all at once.
In this context, staff wellbeing is not a “nice to have”; it is a foundation for sustainable improvement. High turnover, burnout, and presenteeism are not individual failings, they are signals that systems and structures need attention. Leaders shape the conditions in which policy is enacted, and supporting staff is not about lowering standards; it is about creating environments where teachers and school leaders can focus on what matters most, do demanding work well over time, and deliver a coherent, high-quality curriculum.
In this recording, Sam Strickland explores how leaders can protect staff while navigating national change, prioritising curriculum initiatives, and balancing ambition with care, accountability with humanity, and reform with compassion. The reflection questions that follow explore ways for teachers and leaders to balance staff wellbeing with delivering high curricular expectations for every pupil.
Reflection questions
For teachers
- How do I focus my teaching on what matters most in the curriculum, rather than reacting to every new initiative or policy change?
- Which elements of my planning, assessment, or classroom routines could be simplified to allow more time for pupils to build powerful knowledge?
- How do I maintain my subject knowledge and professional expertise while managing competing demands from curriculum reform and accountability expectations?
For middle leaders
- Where could I reduce or remove “white noise” tasks to give staff time and space to focus on curriculum?
- How do I ensure clarity and consistency in the curriculum across my department, so that teachers can deliver it confidently and sustainably?
- What mechanisms do I use to gather teacher input and feedback when implementing curriculum reforms?
- How do I balance the demands of accountability, inspection frameworks, and national reforms with the wellbeing and professional growth of my staff?
For senior leaders
- How does our school’s curriculum strategy reflect our core educational priorities, even amidst national policy changes and reform pressures?
- What systems do we have to protect staff from unnecessary workload while still ensuring high-quality curriculum delivery and pupil outcomes?
- How are we providing sufficient time, guidance, and professional development to enable staff to embed curriculum change thoughtfully and sustainably?
- How are we modelling leadership that balances ambition with care, accountability with humanity, and reform with compassion?
Download additional questions for your teamhere
You can find more recordings on Myatt & Co
Far from being a temporary trend, oracy is a core component of education, vital for attainment, inclusion, and preparing young people for life beyond school. In education, work, and civic life, the ability to think, reason, and solve problems together through talk is fundamental. Research from psychology, linguistics, and neuroscience shows that human intelligence is collective, and that language enables people to think and reason together.
The UK’s Curriculum and Assessment Review (CAR) highlights the importance of spoken language and identifies inequities in how it is taught and supported. It notes that some pupils, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds or with additional needs, are less likely to develop strong communication skills unless schools intervene deliberately. CAR recommends clearer guidance and a structured approach to oracy, alongside frameworks for reading and writing, to ensure it is embedded consistently across the curriculum.
In this recording, Omar Jennings and Mike Gardner discuss how schools can embed oracy as a protected, long-term priority rather than leaving it to chance or “initiative status”. They explore how leadership can build a culture that values language, learning, and inclusion equally, and how oracy can help all pupils communicate, reason, and collaborate confidently.
They also share practical, evidence-informed examples of classroom practice, including approaches to vocabulary instruction, repeated reading, dual coding, and creating safe, dialogic classroom spaces. The discussion covers curriculum design, staff development, and workload management, highlighting ways to protect staff wellbeing while sustaining high-quality oracy practice.
Reflection questions
For teachers
- How do I create classroom spaces where pupils can develop their oracy skills safely and confidently?
- In what ways do I explicitly teach vocabulary and language structures to support comprehension for all pupils, particularly those with less exposure to spoken English at home?
- How can I use dialogue, repeated reading, and dual coding strategies to embed oracy as a consistent part of learning, rather than a supplementary activity?
- How do I help pupils reflect on how they are developing as communicators, critical thinkers, and collaborators, not just as readers or writers?
- What small changes could I make tomorrow to ensure that talk and discussion are integrated across all lessons and subjects?
Download additional questions for your teamhere
You can find more recordings on Myatt & Co
This podcast reinforces themes in the Education Secretary’s speech at the CST Conference (October 2025), which emphasised literacy, inclusion, and evidence-informed teaching as core drivers of curriculum quality. It follows two other videos based on Chris Such’s book Primary Reading Simplified (‘Primary reading simplified’ and ‘Reading - the process’), exploring the pedagogical heart of reading - moving beyond mechanical decoding or extract-based comprehension towards reading as a rich, communal, disciplinary act.
The discussion challenges the dominance of carousel guided reading and extract-led test preparation, proposing instead a coherent model of reading instruction grounded in three interrelated priorities:
- Fluency through active, supported decoding practice.
- Breadth through sustained engagement with whole, high-quality texts.
- Depth through discussion of authorial craft, meaning, and reader response.
Crucially, this model positions reading as both curricular substance and pedagogical method: pupils learn through books as much as they learn to read them. It invites teachers - particularly in primary settings - to think of reading as the curriculum, and leaders to create conditions for teachers’ professional growth through deep engagement with children’s literature. For secondary colleagues, this perspective matters because the habits, fluency, and attitudes to reading built in primary education form the foundation for disciplinary literacy, critical thinking, and subject engagement throughout a young person’s time in education. Chris also discusses principles of powerful practice that could underpin approaches to reading in secondary schools, and which are crucial for consideration with introduction of a reading test for Year 8 pupils.
Reflection questions:
For primary practitioners - whole-class pedagogy
- How does the argument against carousel/ability-grouped reading align with your current classroom practice?
- What would it take to make whole-class reading the “default” in your school?
- Are pupils regularly experiencing whole texts - novels, poems, information books - or mainly extracts?
- How might you sequence reading across the year to balance fluency, breadth, and depth?
- Which of the three lesson structures (fluency, extended, close reading) feels most developed in your practice? Which needs more attention?
- How can echo reading be used to increase accessibility?
- How do you currently develop teachers’ knowledge of children’s literature
- What could change in staff meeting time or CPD structures to make reading and discussing texts part of professional learning rather than an “extra”?
- How are book choices for classrooms and libraries made?
Download additional questions for your teamhere
You can find more recordings on Myatt & Co
In her 2025 CST Conference speech, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson called for an education system that moves 'from narrow to broad' - one that values the whole experience of schooling: academic achievement, cultural development, community engagement, and personal growth. This vision echoes a growing national conversation about how schools can cultivate great learners and great people by re-centering purpose, values, and breadth at the heart of the curriculum.
This discussion with Rob Shadbolt, Headteacher of Wood Green School, offers a grounded example of how that aspiration can look in practice (see the other videos in this collection: Challenge and Breadth and Balance and Cohesion). Over several years, Rob and his team have developed the Wood Green Baccalaureate - a curriculum framework that unites academic learning, personal development, and community contribution into a single, inclusive entitlement for every pupil.
Rather than bolting on enrichment for some, their approach embeds breadth as the entitlement of all. Pupils are recognised not only for exam outcomes, but also for their research, creativity, service, and wellbeing - captured through a personal transcript that celebrates the full scope of their achievement.
The conversation raises essential questions about how schools - primary and secondary - can design curricula that value more, not less; that grow aspiration alongside inclusion; and that define success in ways that truly prepare young people for life, not just qualifications.
Reflection questions:
For teachers
- How do I help pupils see the purpose and joy of learning - not just the outcome or grade?
- In what ways do my lessons show pupils that being curious, kind, and creative are as valued as being correct?
- How can I design tasks that connect classroom learning to the wider world, community, or personal identity of my pupils?
- Do I make space for pupils to reflect on what kind of learner - and person - they are becoming through our curriculum?
- How can I balance academic stretch with opportunities for self-expression, service, and collaboration?
Download the questions for subject leaders, pastoral leaders and senior leaders here.
You can find more recordings on Myatt & Co
Inclusion has always been at the heart of great teaching - but with Ofsted’s updated Education Inspection Framework placing it even more prominently, this feels like the right moment to pause and reflect in depth. In this podcast, Nic Ponsford reminds us that inclusion isn’t an optional add-on or compliance exercise (see here for Part 2 of this collection). It’s a daily moral and professional commitment to see every child, remove unnecessary barriers, and ensure learning is both ambitious and accessible for all.
The following questions are designed to help you and your colleagues think deeply about what inclusion really looks like in your classrooms, curriculum, and leadership practices.
Reflection questions:
For teachers
- How do I create classroom environments where every pupil feels safe, seen, and valued - not just supported, but genuinely belonging?
- In what ways do I adapt my teaching to pupils’ emotional as well as cognitive readiness to learn?
- How do my assumptions about pupils’ behaviour, background, or family circumstances shape my interactions and expectations?
- What practical strategies help me flex lessons around pupils’ needs rather than expecting pupils to fit a single model of learning?
- How might I use technology or collaborative tools to better capture and respond to pupils’ lived experiences and voices?
Download the questions for subject leaders, senior leaders and all staff here.
You can find more recordings on Myatt & Co
Steve and Lucy discuss the vulnerability of teenagers to exploitation, highlighting the growing issue of child exploitation in the UK and the concept of "county lines" in drug distribution. They explore signs that might indicate a child's involvement in criminal activities and emphasise the importance of educators and parents being aware of these indicators. The recording also covers the changing landscape of safeguarding in schools, introducing the concept of contextual safeguarding and discussing the role of local authorities and Safeguarding Children Partnerships in addressing these issues.
You can find more recordings on Myatt & Co
We all have our views on the education system but how often do we seek to really understand our education system through the lens of a pupil?
In the extended podcast Rachel Higginson chats to Douglas Finch. Doug has experienced three education providers. They reflect on their journey, the difference in the phases and the transitions between and their thoughts on the education system as a whole...
David outlines how to build a strong curriculum by including high quality texts in every lesson.
David is currently head of KS4 and a Geography teacher at a school in Lincolnshire. He is also an SLE specialising in teaching and learning, and curriculum thinking. Previously a head of faculty, in charge of geography, history and MFL. Currently writing a book (with Oliver Caviglioli) titled Organise Ideas, Graphic Organisers for Meaningful Learning.
David is also one third of a grassroots movement called BrewEDClee which aims to bring evidence and research informed practice to our local region.
Twitter: @MrGoodwin23
Blogs: mrgoodwin23.wordpress.com and brewedcleethorpes.com
You can watch the episode on Myatt & Co here.
Chris Moyse is a leadership and education consultant with over 35 years of experience in education. He was a teacher and middle leader for 18 years, a local authority consultant before moving into senior leadership in an all-through school in Somerset for 7 years.
Chris is now Head of Staff Development for Bridgwater and Taunton College Trust in Somerset, a 3-19 multi academy trust, as well as being Managing Director of TLC Education Services Ltd; an education and leadership consultancy company. In addition, he is senior SLE for North Somerset Teaching Alliance and an ambassador for Leadership Matters. Chris has now worked in over 700 colleges, academies and schools across the UK and beyond.
Twitter @ChrisMoyse
Website https://chrismoyse.wordpress.com/
You can watch the episode on Myatt & Co here.
Aurora is an author, school leader and educational consultant. She has worked in several schools in areas of high disadvantage, across London and the South West leading inclusion, safeguarding, SEND and curriculum.
Aurora holds a NASENCo qualification and an MA in Leadership from the UCL Institute of Education.
Alongside her work at Reach Academy Feltham, Aurora currently works as an educational consultant with the charity OpenMind.Ed offering reflective practice, supervision and workshops on interpersonal neurobiology to school leaders. Her book 'Leading Mindfully for Healthy and Successful Schools' will be published by Routledge in 2022.
Blog: streamlinedsendco.com
Twitter: @MsReidRE
You can watch the collection on Myatt & Co here.
Adam Robbins is Head of Science in a large coastal comprehensive. He is managing editor of CogSciSci, a grassroots organisation which aims to bring the findings of cognitive science into science education. He is also the author of Middle Leadership Mastery.
Blog www.adam-robbins.com
Twitter @MrARobbins
You can watch the film on Myatt & Co here.
Jennifer Webb is an English Teacher and the Assistant Principal for Teaching, Learning & Staff Development at a large secondary academy in Leeds. In the past she has worked as a Head of English, Lead Practitioner and an AST in a number of schools in West Yorkshire. Jennifer is a best-selling author ('How to Teach English Literature: Overcoming Cultural Poverty' 2019, 'Teach Like a Writer' 2020), speaks at conferences both home and abroad, regularly delivers CPD, and is interested in challenge and aspiration in inner-cities.
She writes a widely read T&L blog funkypedagogy.com and tweets @FunkyPedagogy.
You can watch the film on Myatt & Co here.
John shares his incredible and moving story from school exclusion, personal tragedy, character building jobs and social mobility.
Chris discusses his childhood, his journey into education, his views on the system and some nuggets of wisdom.
Yamina Bibi talks with Mary Myatt and shows how Socratic debate puts everyone on their toes, in a good way, through asking deep and demanding questions. She shows how it is possible to include every member of the class, and through this how they develop their own ideas and improve their writing.
Twitter @msybibi
You can watch the films on Myatt & Co here
In this wide-ranging discussion with Andrew Morrish, Sajid Gulzar talks about his background and his experience of joining the profession. He highlights the teachers who made a difference to him as a pupil and the ongoing work that needs to be done if we are serious about diversity. He also offers insights into what might need to be considered to open up the curriculum for pupils from all backgrounds.
Twitter @sajid_gulzar
You can watch the film on Myatt & Co here
Emma Turner talks with Mary Myatt about the importance of flexible working at all levels of education.
Twitter @Emma_Turner75
You can watch the film on Myatt & Co here
Tom Sherrington discusses with Mary Myatt the importance of culture so that we are motivated to change our practice. He argues that we need to get rid of the language of judgement and makes the case for instructional coaching. Tom outlines three levels of improvement where teacher development is working well.
Twitter @teacherhead
You can watch the film on Myatt & Co here
AJ Smith discusses with Mary Myatt his approach to curriculum planning, how he draws on the expertise of subject specialists and how to evaluate external resources.
Twitter @MrSmithRE
You can watch the film on Myatt & Co here
Ahmed Khattab talks with Mary Myatt about how he stumbled across direct instruction and dual coding when he had to teach an exam group a year’s worth of material in a term.
Twitter @AhmedKhattabUK
You can watch the film on Myatt & Co here