Pivotal Podcast - Managing Behaviour: Recent Episodes

Mulryne podcasts

This is where we talk about behaviour, safeguarding and every possible different aspect of teaching and learning in free, weekly episodes. We feature guests form all facets of education. Get involved!

JUST FOR KIDS LAW exists to help children and young people overcome all the difficulties they face, from problems at school and issues with immigration status to trouble with the police. They work with and for young people to ensure their legal rights are respected and promoted, and their voices heard and valued. Last time, Lynsie Monroe spoke to three Just For Kids Law team members: Chief Executive Officer, Enver Solomon Natalie Bichard, Youth Advocate Alex Temple, Public Lawyer and Policy Officer For part two of this episode, we hear from two young people, Harry and Kadim, who have been helped by Just For Kids Law and are now advocates themselves.

JUST FOR KIDS LAW exists to help children and young people overcome all the difficulties they face, from problems at school and issues with immigration status to trouble with the police. They work with and for young people to ensure their legal rights are respected and promoted, and their voices heard and valued. Lynsie Monroe spoke to three Just For Kids Law team members: Chief Executive Officer, Enver Solomon Natalie Bichard, Youth Advocate Alex Temple, Public Lawyer and Policy Officer

Kiran began her career in inner-city London, as an English teacher in schools serving the most deprived postcodes in the country. After five years on the frontline, Kiran left to work in education policy, searching for solutions to the rising number of vulnerable children who fall through the gaps. Kiran was working at Social Mobility Commission when she conceived the idea for The Difference. She has led its work full-time since January 2017. In a detailed and wide-ranging conversation with Pivotal Education's Mark Bocker, we learn a huge amount about Kiran - her story, what motivates her, hat The Difference stands for and a lot more.

This week, a new presenter to the Pivotal Podcast, Cathy Duncan, spoke to the Scottish former football star, Kris Boyd. After a very successful career, Kris now works to help improve the mental health of those in need. Kris grew up in the South Ayrshire village of Tarbolton and started his senior football career with Kilmarnock. He transferred to Rangers in January 2006, and was their top goalscorer in each of his seasons at Ibrox. He is the top goalscorer in the history of the Scottish Premier League, with 167 goals in total. Pivotal Education Principal Trainer, Cathy Duncan Boyd had a short spell in English football with Middlesbrough, during which time he was sent on loan to Nottingham Forest. He signed for Turkish club Eskişehirspor in 2011, but terminated his contract after five months and moved to the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer in January 2012. He later returned to both Kilmarnock and Rangers. Having played several games for the Scotland U21 and Scotland B teams, Boyd received his first cap for the senior Scottish national team in 2006. He scored seven goals in eighteen appearances for the senior national side over four years. In 2016, Boyd's younger brother Scott took his own life aged 27. The Kris Boyd Charity was founded in January, 2018. As Kris says:

This week, Lynsie Monro speaks to Harrow International School Hong Kong's Deputy Head of Lower School (Pupil Wellbeing), Serena Clark. Serena is an award winning mentor and the recipient of outstanding leadership judgements from Ofsted in 2014 and 2018. With extensive experience of delivering the highest professional standards of educational and parochial care, she has been a Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead since 2015 with FGM and Positive Handling specialist training. Serena believes in the value of lifelong learning, the equality and rights of every child and the crucial role education has in building our future. As you can imagine, Serena is able to share many insights into her experiences of teaching through lockdown, particularly how to maximise learning at a distance.

Mark Bocker picks the brains of Wellness champion, Adrian Bethune this week. Adrian Bethune is a Healthy Body and Mind Leader and Teacher at a primary school in Hertfordshire. He was awarded a 'Happy Hero' medal at the House of Lords on the UN International Day of Happiness in 2013, and has been on stage with the Dalai Lama and Lord Richard Layard in 2015 talking about teaching happiness in his school. He is passionate about children's mental health and happiness and has been interviewed by numerous national newspapers and other press organisations, including The Telegraph and Teach Primary Magazine. Adrian is founder of www.teachappy.co.uk Adrian is the author of, Wellbeing in the Primary Classroom – A Practical Guide to Teaching Happiness, which is out now. In a wide-ranging, in-depth discussion, Mark and Adrian explore the importance of wellbeing for children and adults in our schools as well as Adrian's story and plans for the future.

This week, Mark Bocker speaks to Shahana Knight, Childhood Trauma and Mental Health Specialist. Shahana is the Founder and Director of TPC therapy Ltd. A mental health service for children and young people. She manages a large team of play therapists who work with vulnerable children in schools, adoption, fostering and homicide across the UK. She is the founder of the ‘Therapeutic Schools Programme’ through which she works with schools across England to put children’s wellbeing at the core of education. Shahana is pioneering a vision/mission for all schools to become therapeutic. Her unique approach is making a significant impact and has been recognised by BBC newsround and BBC Teach who have both done features in which she has appeared. She is also a finalist in the upcoming Ladies First Awards 2020, in the categories of; ‘Inspirational Women’ and ‘Business Entrepreneur’. Shahana writes a regular segment in Headteachers Update, the national magazine for primary schools, sharing therapeutic teaching ideas and techniques. She is also a governor of a primary school and sits on two foster care panels. Her own experiences of childhood trauma inform her work, offering a unique perspective based on empathy, understanding and a raw truth that cannot be found in textbooks alone. In a detailed and expansive conversation, we learn a great deal about Shahana's work and plans.

This week, new presenter Lynsie Monro speaks to Dr Harry Hope about how he has led his Primary School through the opening stages of the Coronvirus emergency. It's a fascinating interview and Harry shares a huge amount about his approaches and stresses what he thinks is most important for everyone to remember at times like these. Harry earned his medical degree and worked as a Junior Doctor before following his true passion, education. He hung up his stethoscope and trained to become a teacher. Working across a range of settings in both the UK and in Singapore, Harry cultivated a strong belief in lifelong learning and developed a his expertise in the leadership and management of curriculum change. After taking on the role of Deputy Headteacher in East Sussex, Harry was appointed as Principal of Waterfield Primary School in the Summer Term of 2019. Harry holds firm the belief that we all have an important role in developing our children to become global citizens who are equipped with the skills they will require to tackle the world of tomorrow. School should be a happy place, where every child has the freedom to explore and discover their talents amongst a strong foundation of essential core skills. Our interviewee is Dr Harry Hope (MBChB PGCE NPQH) @DrHopePrincipal Waterfield Primary School @Waterfield_TCT

This week, Huw talks to the amazing Baby J about the alternative provision in Derby he runs called Baby People. We use the term 'inspirational' a lot but Baby J is definitely an inspiration to the many young people who have benefited from what he has achieved. Baby J is an established record producer who has been working in the industry for over a decade. Artists he has worked with include Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson, Skinnyman, Jamelia and Plan B. Alongside his production work Baby J runs Baby People, a music and arts development agency that produces events and runs educational provision for young people.

This is a compilation episode with clips from the following episodes: Sarah Wild on girls and autism…it’s not just a boy thing – PP159 Autistic? Genius! with Tom Bowes – PP192 Do we know enough about Inclusion? Tara Elie speaks to Emma Brown – PP204 Emma Brown is back! Listener Questions on Autism – 210 Kevin and Mark Bocker introduce the clips and stress the importance of understanding Autism. You can listen to the full episodes referred to on http://www.pivotalpodcast.com/

Benita is Founder of Place2Be and a qualified counsellor. Benita was CEO for 20 years until 2014 when she stepped down and was appointed life time President and continues to support the organisation enthusiastically through her role as President. Benita received an OBE for Services to Children and Families in 2007; was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Law from the University of East London in 2009; in 2014 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Institute of Education, University of London and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Birthday 2016 Honours List in recognition of services to education. Currently Benita is Trustee of Children of Success Schools, FORWARD TRUST and a Governor at Bridge Academy Hackney. This week, Mark spoke to Benita about the issues and potential solutions around child mental health. They talk about Place2Be as well as how we should be helping schools to provide as much help as they can. Benita believes there is a lot of wonderful practice happening today and discusses the current state of collaboration and co-ordination amongst schools and agencies. https://www.place2be.org.uk/

Rachel Lofthouse is Professor of Teacher Education in the Carnegie School of Education. She has a specific research interest in professional learning, exploring how teachers learn and how they can be supported to put that learning into practice. Mark speaks to Rachel this week about her varied and fascinating background as well as her thoughts on the value of mentoring and coaching - and also what the difference is. There's also, of course, time for our favourite question - "What's the best thing you've ever learned from a child" and Rachel's favourite passage from a book.

This week, Tara Elie speaks to Gavin about how adults need to be more like children and how we should all give ourselves permission to play and enjoy life. He offers suggestions for teachers on how to remain sane at Christmas with their classes and also reads his favourite book - you might be surprised to hear what it is!

This week, Tara was invited onto Voice of Islam Radio to take part in a programme about the link between exclusions and crime, including knife crime. Voice of Islam Radio is a new Digital DAB 24hr radio station which offers news, views, discussion and insight on Islam’s Perspectives on the world today. It is a new channel that will inform, engage and give you a chance to express your views on a range of topics. Broadcasting 24 hours a day the station aims to give everyone a space for discussion, for people of faith, no faith or just those with an interest in social peace and greater justice. http://voiceofislam.co.uk/

This week, Mark talks to Kirstie Mackey from Barclays Life Skills which provides: Tool tips and learning resources for you to help yourself or to support you in the development of others For students, educators and parents, the scheme provides City and Guilds approved activities and resources covering a huge range of work/life topics. https://barclayslifeskills.com/ contains an enormous range of help for student and Mark has very positive memories of working with the scheme when he was headteacher of a Pupil Referral Unit.

This week, Tara speaks to three guests about Maths in the classroom and how technology can help or hinder learning. Dr Christian Salas is a Maths Lecturer from Waltham Forest College, Stephen Farmer, is Head at Cranbrook Education Campus and The conversation goes into depth about the Sparx Maths system and its benefits to schools like Stephen's and Christian presents a slightly different point of view! So what do you think? Is technology beneficial in subjects like maths, is it all just a way to ensure non-specialist teachers can teach maths or is it something different? What's your experience of using technology in the classroom - Maths or any other?

This week, Mark speaks to Mary Meredith, Head of Inclusion at Lincolnshire County Council. In an engrossing and detailed conversation, they cover many different areas of behaviour in English schools - what's going well, what's going badly and what should happen in the future. Mary's in-depth knowledge of research combined with her enormous personal, practical experience of education make this episode a must-listen for anyone who is serious about changing the nation's attitude towards behaviour management for the benefit of every learner and young person. It's packed with evidence-based ideas, strategies and advice for teachers - and government.

This week, Kevin and Ollie speak to the talented Blair Minchin, a primary school teacher based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Blair has been teaching for 5 years, having previously worked in law, practising in commercial litigation. He says he ADORES his job and has a real passion for developing pupil voice inside the classroom and out. He is currently leading a whole school sport house initiative aimed at developing a love of exercise and team sports across his school. Blair is also currently taking part in a practitioner enquiry into outdoor learning in Numeracy.

Mark has 37+ years’ experience in special, PRU and mainstream education; most recently as a headteacher of a small specialist (ASD/SEMH) residental school and a headteacher of a large pupil referral unit (PRU). Prior to headship, Mark also held positions including Director of Inclusion; Lead Behaviour Professional, Senior Teacher, Head of PE and Classroom Teacher. In this episode, Mark shares three of the Pivotal Podcast episodes which have affected him and tells the stories behind his choices.

This week Tara speaks to Sevra Davis and Sebastian Conran about the educational work of The Design Museum and the importance of design in the present school curriculum and how it can help all of humanity to solve its problems and make everyone's lives better.

In our first episode for the new academic year, Tara speaks to Daniel Senn whose background and skills helped him to invent a new reading app called Poio which has helped more than 100,000 children aged 3-8 crack the reading code!

Daniel also shares his research and views on the role of fun in education.

This week, Tara Elie speaks to the truly inspirational RIP STARS:
Disabled Young Researchers
We are a group of disabled young people aged 17 – 25 from Coventry, UK. We have been trained by Anita Franklin and Geraldine Brady (Coventry University) to be researchers. We lead our project – research by young disabled people for disabled young people. We have a voice and we want to give a voice to other disabled young people. We want to use research evidence to improve the lives of disabled young people.

This week, Tara Elie talks to Maxine and Ewan from Haileybury Turnford in Hertfordshire. It’s an excellent chance to hear all about how they have embarked on a process of culture change around behaviour and rates of exclusion - and their successes.

Despite serious technical challenges at his school, Lee Parry managed to join Tara Ellie to discuss the progress his school has made in behaviour after adopting Pivotal's approach.

Greetings pop pickers! This is a rundown of the 10 most downloaded episodes from the podcast in the academic year 2018-19.

Will your favourite make it to the top spot?

This week, Tara speaks to Katie from the thriving YouTube Channel, 'For Teachers'. Here's the channel's description:

We are two like-minded, positive thinking teachers who have been working in the UK and internationally for the past 6 years. We aim to share our experiences and suggestions with the teaching community and create a positive space for educators to share their ideas.
Please subscribe!

Katie and Ryan

This week, Kevin and Ollie speak to Ricky Massey and hear his fascinating story. As Principal of Glengormley High School in Belfast, he took over a school which was described as ‘The Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory of Schools’. Ricky explains how he approached this new role and gives lots of practical tips on how to turn a school around and reach out into the community. It’s an engaging and amusing story and we really enjoyed having Ricky on the podcast this week.

In a fascinating interview, Tara Elie speaks to the influential educator, Dr. Todd Whitaker, about phone calls and how to be welcoming to parents.

Todd is a professor of educational leadership at the University of Missouri and professor emeritus at Indiana State University. He has spent his life pursuing his love of education by researching and studying effective teachers and principals.

This week we’re thrilled to welcome two guests to our podcast; Matt Burton, Headteacher at Thornhill Community Academy and Cerys Griffiths, Creative Director, BBC Education.

Matt is probably better known as ‘Mr Burton’ from the popular TV series Educating Yorkshire, who, inspired by watching ‘The King’s Speech’, helped pupil Musharaf Asghar with his speech and delivery.

Charlie was the inaugural Chief Executive of the National College for Teaching & Leadership (NCTL) where he was responsible for overseeing teacher training and professional conduct. Prior to the NCTL, Charlie was the Headteacher at The Willows Special School and a DfE expert adviser on behaviour.

Jamie has over 15 years' experience as a sports coach and teacher and has a UFA license. He also has many ideas about how to change the landscape of how we teach. He begins with sport but his thinking extends to all of education.

Kamil Trzebiatow shares his extensive experience and expertise supporting students with English as an Additional Language in mainstream subject classes. He gives us many practical approaches to try out.

Tara Elie recently spoke to the inspirational Adora Svitak. You may have seen the TED talk she gave when she was 12. Adora is now a writer, speaker, and advocate for causes including feminism, youth empowerment, and literacy.

Also this week, it was great to welcome our Headteacher Audio Diarist, Russell Ingleby back onto the show. This time, it's a fascinating conversation with several parents who have just received personal visits at home as part of ‘The Hightown Way’

In the third and final of three episodes, Paul concludes his remarkable conversation with the world's leading authority on behaviour management, Dr. Bill Rogers.

In the second instalment of Paul's conversation with behaviour guru, Bill Rogers, punishment, zero tolerance and other topics are tackled.

Paul was delighted to have the opportunity to speak at length to the world's leading authority on behaviour management, Dr. Bill Rogers. They sat down for afternoon tea together and this is the first part of their conversation.

Tara Elie hosts the first ever Pivotal Podcast Dinner Party where three guests get to discuss the education topics of the moment:

Callum Wetherill
Mark Goodwin
Zuzanna McClintock
Join us with a beverage of your choice and see if your opinions on the courses match our guests:

Starter: 'Teachers work too many hours' says education secretary
Main: Mobile phones in school
Desert: Behaviour in the classrooms...who's responsibility
Cheese course: Best thing you’ve learnt from a student.

Tara Elie spoke to Laura McInerney this week. Laura is a former teacher and education journalist who currently writes a regular column for The Guardian and for the weekly newspaper Schools Week. She explains her Teacher Tapp data app and some of the issues she campaigns about.

It was such a joy to welcome Carrie Grant onto the Pivotal Podcast this week.

Perhaps less well known than their TV careers is the story of Carrie and David's family life. In this revealing, challenging and inspiring conversation, Carrie explains the struggles she has faced in the English education system and how she has managed to support her children to some remarkable and surprising outcomes.

This week, Ollie went to speak to Headteacher of Hightown Junior, Infant and Nursery School, Russell Ingleby. Russell is going to be sending audio diary entries into the podcast over the coming months so, in this introductory episode, Ollie finds out more about Russell, his school and his philosophy around 'The Hightown Way'.

Kiran is Founder and CEO of The Difference - an organisation which
is creating a new generation of school leaders, specialist in improving outcomes for the most vulnerable children.

Kiran is driven by her own family experiences. Growing up with two adopted sisters, Kiran witnessed the long-term effects of childhood trauma and the lack of support for young people with complex needs. This insight is what keeps Kiran striving for the most vulnerable children to get the education they deserve.

You will probably know Vic Goddard from the TV show, Educating Essex but in this week's episode he talks candidly to Tara Elie about a wide range of topics including:

Whether he would agree to filming in his school now
His experiences with Ofsted
How damaging he thinks overtesting is
Tips for surviving in school at Christmas

Ollie Frith gives an exclusive insiders' viewpoint on Pivotal's Recent Instructors' Conference this week. There are clips from some of the sessions and lots of inspiration from delegates and organisers.

Ollie encourages us all to Stop, Collaborate and Listen, rather than blindly following 'what we have always done'.

Siobhan has been headteacher of a Primary school in Morecambe, Lancashire for 14 years. Morecambe is a coastal town with pockets of extreme deprivation from which the school's intake is drawn. The school has established outstanding Pastoral Support systems and makes excellent use of links with other agencies and sectors. Mike talks to her about her experiences of working in this environment and how the school she leads seeks to 'close more than one gap'.

Tara Elie talks to Ashley Mclaren about her work in the area of criminology. They explore themes of ethnicity, criminology and the existence of the so-called 'School to Prison Pipeline'.

Tara Elie welcomes Emma Brown back shortly after her previous visit to answer some questions about autism from podcast listeners.

Emma is a Practice Development Coach working in Social Care with clients who have learning disabilities and/or Autism. The answers to the questions posed are equally applicable to those in mainstream settings who come into contact with children with learning disabilities and/or Autism.

This week, Paul speaks to Elaine Halligan. director of The Parent Practice, Elaine has been a parenting facilitator since 2006, teaching parents in the Wimbledon and Clapham centres.
One of the most powerful aspects of the interview with Elaine is when she tells the remarkable and shocking story of her own son's experience in education. It was these experiences which led Elaine to leave her job and devote her time and talents to helping her son and his teachers - and then to helping other parents.

Ruth McKay is Headteacher at Portobello High School, a large comprehensive in the east of Edinburgh.
Ruth began her career as an English teacher and quickly moved into Guidance and Pastoral Care. Following a national secondment looking at new ways to measure progress and improvement in education, she spent time working in a local authority as a Quality Improvement Officer before returning to school as a Depute Head Teacher. This is her second headship.

Victoria Tait is Education for Sustainability Coordinator at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge.

As EfS coordinator, Victoria's role is to ensure that sustainability is an integral part of both staff and students’ experiences and learning whilst at our University. Victoria works with staff to explore how sustainability links to the curriculum, and supports individual staff members to carry out a funded learning project on a sustainability themed topic of their choice.

Mike is joined by a former Assistant Chief Constable and a former Chief Constable this week for an extremely helpful update on what schools should be doing around Safeguarding, following some recent changes.

Mike Glanville and Martin Baker founded 'One Team Logic' to provide high quality safeguarding software as a service across a wide range of organisations responsible for protecting children, young people and vulnerable adults. You may have heard or already be using their 'My Concern' software.

Ollie Frith is back this week and shares a great conversation with Chris Kilkenny. Chris came himself from adverse childhood experiences and now uses his experiences to spread the word about ACES and how to take positive steps to alleviate its effects.

Chris is involved in giving keynote speeches and training around ACES. He received no qualifications and as an adult started to question why this happened.

Tara Elie is back on the podcast this week after about a year away! She speaks to Emma Brown, a Practice Development Coach working in Social Care with clients who have learning disabilities and/or Autism. She shares a great deal of her knowledge which is equally applicable to those in mainstream settings who come into contact with children with learning disabilities and/or Autism.

Andy Oliver was appointed as an NQT at Holte School, Lozells, Birmingham in 1998. Holte was graded 'Outstanding' in 2009 and 2012, is an Inclusion Quality Mark Flagship School and also recently achieved the Equalities Award.

In this episode we meet Andy and some of the NQTs at his school.

For Mike's last episode of the academic year, he speaks to the remarkable Clare Erasmus who shares her insights around wellbeing - what a great end to a great year!

Making a welcome return to the podcast, Jon Tait tells Paul why CPD should never be referred to using that 'C word'. They discuss Jon's innovative approach to professional development and why it works for his school.

In the celebratory episode 200 of the podcast, Paul speaks to the inspirational Tony Meehan. Paul met Tony for the first time as part of the TBAP Multi-Academy Trust. He is a headteacher, a consultant, Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching and an expert in working with some of the most vulnerable "and damaged young people.

Pivotal Education trainers visit the office to update colleagues on their experiences and areas of work. This week, Ollie has selected some fascinating clips of Senior Trainers Hannah Hall and Alastair Burnett which cover some diverse topics such as gang culture and the new territories Pivotal is working in!

Pivotal Education's own Mike Armiger has personal experience of children who find themselves in foster adoption care. This week, he has an opportunity to share his experience and expertise around:

The practicalities of being an adpotive parent or carer
The challenges faced by adopted children which are not encountered by others
How practitioners can best support these children in classroom settings
How to shape therapeutic approaches to meet the needs of care experienced and adopted children

Emma Kell has written a great book based on the crowd-sourced research for her doctoral thesis and her own diverse teaching experience. It's called 'How to Survive in Teaching: Without Imploding, Exploding Or Walking Away' and this week Mike Armiger speaks to her about the journey in teaching which brought her to the point at which she could write this very helpful book and also some of her more controversial opinions and beliefs.

Ollie catches up with one of the pivotal people in his own life story - his old drama teacher, Carole Davies. They discuss the importance of arts subjects, positive relationships and much more in this fascinating episode.

Andrew is a Chartered Consultant Clinical & Forensic Psychologist and co-director of Changing Minds UK. He has over 20 years’ experience in delivering high quality applied psychology provision across a range of settings including; Elite Sport, Business, Mental Health, Social Care and the Criminal Justice System.

Jonathan Clucas is the headteacher of a large three form entry Primary school in Blackpool with over 600 pupils with 50% in receipt of pupils premium funding.

In October of 2017, Layton was judged as Outstanding in all areas. The key to the school's success is - understanding pedagogy, a relentless focus on a growth mindset and philosophy of improvement for all staff and pupils, and innovative use of ICT to develop children’s independence in their learning.

It was great to speak to Claire Birkenshaw this week. Claire is a former headteacher and has also done a huge amount for LGBTQ rights. Whilst in post as the headteacher of an alternative provision academy, Claire became (as far as she knows) the fist serving head to go through a transition. Subsequently, Claire decided to change her career to working to promote trans awareness and LGBTQ rights.

Ollie interviewed the self-proclaimed 'Autistic Genius' this week in a great interview about the condition and what we should, as teachers and human beings, be doing about it.

In one of the most thought-provoking and important episodes we have ever had on the podcast, Paul talks to founder of Independent Thinking, Ian Gilbert. The result is a no-holds-barred, uncompromising critique of the state of education in England today and what we should be doing about it. Listen at your own risk - you might end up changing the world.

James is Head of Academic Progress for Upper School at Plymton Academy. We were keen to speak to him because he combines a leadership role with being in the classroom himself.

Ollie spoke to Kate Milman from Wild Things Ecological Education Collective this week. The group aims to help children and young people build a relationship with the natural world and an awareness of the diversity of other species, to illustrate basic ecological processes, and to encourage hands on participation in activities which will improve our local, and wider, environment. It's an amazing chat and Kate shares some of the remarkable effects of her work on children!

Mike and Kevin spoke to one of the most relentlessly positive educators we have ever met this week. Rae Snape is headteacher at The Spinney Primary School in Cambridge and shares her infectious enthusiasm for leading with hope and optimism.

This week, Paul spoke to Susie Speller, Associate Professor of Materials at St. Catherine's College, Oxford. She is also one of the admissions tutors in the Materials Science Department at St. Catherine's College and is therefore right at the 'sharp end' of the process of assessing applications and interviewing prospective students.

Skye Caves is a Learning Technology Apprentice at Basingstoke College of Technology working as a part of their in-house digital team, BCoT Digital, to curate, research, train and assist with the implementation of digital tools throughout the college. She also works closely with Specialist Provision and, as of this year, has been curating self-directed learning resources for the Level 1 Future Pathways students’ blended learning.

We really enjoyed speaking to Thomas Rogers this week. Tom is a Head of History, classroom teacher of 10 years and columnist for the TES. He teaches in an International School in Spain. We spoke about the importance of teaching history and Tom's views on enabling great teachers to stay in the classroom instead of automatically being funnelled into leadership roles.

Tom also shares a little of what it's like to live in Spain and teach in an International School - there's cheap beer...

Ollie spoke to Mine Conkbayir this week about the brain and why we all need to know so much more about it than we do. She helps to de-bunk some myths which are still very prevalent in today's schools and presents a high level of challenge to all educators to examine their practice.

There's also some education news about bullying and the latest on Pivotal Education's upcoming training opportunities!

In a week when there was a surprise change of Education Secretary in England, it was a delight to welcome Alison Kriel to the podcast.

Alison has the experience of turning round a school which was in a remarkably challenging state and as Mike puts it, 'leading with compassion'. She also has a focus on wellbeing and the dramatic difference it can make to staff and students.

Mike spoke to an ex-Chief Inspector from Manchester Police, Shane O'Neill. Shane loved Policing but wanted to leave in order to work in different ways to help to avoid criminalising young people who have just made mistakes.

Global Policing Ltd helps schools with behaviour, safety and security but at the same time educating children on what choices they have and what the consequences of their actions are.

It's time for the annual Pivotal Podcast Christmas quiz. This year, we've changed the format a bit so you can play along in your staff meeting or even at your Christmas party!

Podcast presenters are:

Paul Dix
Ollie Frith
Hywel Roberts
Kevin Mulryne

Ollie welcomes Pivotal Principal Trainer, Paul Woodward onto the show this week. Paul Dix interviewed Paul shortly after he joined Pivotal Education and we have included some of that conversation this week.

More recently, Ollie had the pleasure of interviewing Paul again to find out a lot more about his educational beliefs and approaches.

Nina Jackson is the next resident of the Pivotal Podcast Time Out Room. She is a former teacher and an International Education Consultant. She has a breath-taking grasp of what makes classrooms, children and their teachers tick. She's a leading practitioner in all areas of Teaching & Learning with particular expertise in Special Educational Needs, Digital Technology and Mental and Emotional Health.

Jodie is a Senior Leader at Laurence Jackson Secondary School in North Yorkshire. Last year, she undertook Pivotal 's Leading Behaviour Change in School course with a colleague which she describes as:

"A bit of a game-changer."

It convinced her to proceed to the Pivotal Behaviour Management Instructor Course:

"[The course] gave me the vision I needed to go away and make changes that were needed in my school."

We speak to Ceri Stokes about her role as a Designated Safeguarding Lead at a residential school to find out about how she found herself looking after this crucial area of school life.

Ceri works at Kimbolton School, which is a co-educational day and boarding school of 950 pupils aged 4 to 18.

In a varied episode, Ollie Frith speaks to Primary Headteacher, Anne Cooper, from Bell Farm Primary.

She has taken her school to a 'Good rating' and shares some of her successful approaches.

In a new segment, we find out Who's Been at Pivotal HQ This Week and there's more Education News as well.

This week's inhabitant of the Time Out Room with Mike Armiger is Daryn Simon. Daryn works in teacher training as well as working in schools. He tells us a little about his classroom philosophy as well as what he would change if he went back into the classroom.

There's a new flavour to this week's episode as we join Hywel Roberts who finds himself in the Pivotal Podcast Time Out Room. We also have the first in another new series - Pivotal Trainer, James Clark, gives us a rundown of his initial experiences on a 5 day Pivotal Fastrack Instructors Training Programme.

In a very special episode, Chris Dyson returns to the Pivotal Podcast to tell us the full story of his recent Ofsted inspection.

Educating Greater Manchester Headteacher, Drew Povey joins Paul for a fascinating behind-the-scenes conversation about the series, the school and his leadership. There's lots of insight into how Educating Greater Manchester came about as well as plenty about the characters and situations shown.

Mike and Kevin are joined by headteacher, Simon Smith, this week to talk about his experiences of using children's books to inspire and develop imagination. He talks about the importance of giving children access to great books and encouraging all staff to be experts in helping children to find the books which capture their imagination.

Paul interviewed Dr. Ian Cunningham from The Self Managed College in Brighton this week. He has some amazing things to share about handing control of everything over to students. There's also lots of education news and Pivotal news!

Meet the newest member of the Pivotal Education team, Ben Toettcher. Ben shares his views on what schools are doing in behaviour management and how Pivotal can help.

We're back for the new academic year 2017 with an amazing interview with Ross McGill, better known as Teacher Toolkit. He shares his unguarded Ofsted opinions and gives us exclusice information about what he's been up to!

Mike interviews @theprimaryhead about what his children get up to in the playground!

Ollie Frith has spent this week with some amazing educators on Pivotal's Fast Track residential training. 6 of them volunteered to talk to him for the podcast about the importance of culture change in schools. As Ollie says, 'culture eats strategy for breakfast'. If we get the culture right in our schools and colleges, then great change can happen, otherwise we are just fire-fighting or being reactionary. The teachers are: Jeremy Heath, Jemma Harris, James Clark, Katie Meadows, Priscilla Joseph and Hannah Griffiths.

Ollie speaks to Nicholas Taylor-Mullins this week about underachievement and race.

Joe is Director of Learner Services at Bridgend College. After realising that Primary teaching wasn't for him, he did some work experience as a teaching assistant in an FE college, working with learners with complex needs and emotional and behavioural difficulties. He loved this work so decided to do a PGCE. After projects with young people with autism, he moved to Wales to join the team at Bridgend FE College. How might a young person with additional needs find the FE environment particularly challenging? Joe thinks that the structure and operation of FE colleges are so different to schools that it can cause issues. For example, a lot of FE colleges cannot offer a 5-day provision and the timetable is looser than in a school. There won't be a school bell or a uniform and teachers aren't addressed as Mr., Mrs., Sir or madam. It's essentially becoming an adult with all the challenges that presents to young people. There's also a perception that the support for young people in FE college won't be as personal as at a school. Joe works with staff, parents and carers to dispel this myth and ensure these young people receive the care and attention they need. How do you work with parents in an FE setting? Joe says that the biggest difference is in how they build relationships with parents and carers. They take time to understand what they need and make sure there is a face and a name of someone they can contact. Joe has been involved in parent/carer forums going out to coffee mornings in local schools providing information which is accessible He is particularly keen on the use of technology and produced a virtual, 360 degree tour of the college campus so that prospective parents and students could begin to explore the environment from home. What does an inclusion-focused college look like? Joe's college mission statement is: 'Be All That You Can Be'. What that looks like is different for all of us. Inclusion is how the college responds to the students' prior achievement, how it looks at programmes which are fully inclusive and allow learners to work at t level which is appropriate for them. That will be different in maths to an independent living qualification and you need to start with the person, rather than the subject. Then you can work back to define what provision will help them to meet their needs and to progress. Subsequently, Joe is cautious about how he uses transition information and tries not to let it govern the way provision is designed. What needs to be done to ensure no learner arrives in FE without the support they need being in place? Joe believes that early intervention is crucial. It's vital to build relationships with learners, parents and feeder schools as early as possible and to help you ensure you have the skills and knowledge necessary to support new learners in your staff before its needed. The curriculum offering also needs to be fluid and responsive to the needs of the individuals you are catering for. It's alos important to consider what other services might be needed - for example in the 'third sector' (voluntary sector). It's essential that everyone involved understands their role in supporting the young person. There is a huge amount more detail and examples in the episode so do listen right to the end!

Paul is back on the podcast and spoke to primary headteacher, Chris Dyson, about his experiences in schools in deprived areas, times tables, competition and lots more!

Ollie speaks to Andy Swartfigure, Head of The Peartree Centre at Stanley Primary School in Teddington.

Tara Elie visted the Varndean Goats this week and found out how they are supporting students and staff in stressful times through mindfulness and wellbeing.

Sarah Wild is headteacher of Limpsfield Grange school, Surrey which caters for the needs of girls with autism. She shares some amazing insights into a side of the autistic spectrum which is widely misunderstood.

Co-founder of The Holistic Life Federation in the US, Andres Gonzalez joins Mike Armiger to talk about the power of mindfulness and meditation. He describes how the group have eliminated detentions by giving students the tools they need to self-regulate. It's an amazing conversation - a revelation!

Paul makes a welcome return to the Pivotal Podcast this week and our very special guest is Andy Buck. Originally a geography teacher, head of year and head of department, Andy went on to become a headteacher in east London for thirteen years. In the last year of headship, his school was judged outstanding in all categories and Andy was designated a National Leader of Education. In 2009 he become a Director at the National College for School Leadership, leading on the London Challenge programme. He was subsequently responsible for setting up the government’s flagship Teaching Schools programme before being appointed as Managing Director at United Learning, one of the country’s largest academy groups. Since 2014, Andy has founded two organisations: Leadership Matters and #honk. Both aim to improve the educational outcomes for pupils by supporting great leadership development. Leadership Matters is a web-based membership organisation which offers school leaders access to high quality online development tools and other leadership articles, videos and blogs. #honk is the organisation through which Andy works directly with educational leaders on executive coaching, team development, training and conference keynotes.

Ollie and Kevin speak to David Bowman from Crown House Publishing about the educational book market and why it's booming again. David also talks about how they find educational authors and what makes a great educational book.

Tara recently visited Oldham Colege who have implemented the Pivotal approach to behaviour management. Tara asked staff and stdudents to explain the differences in their college since the new behaviour appraches have been embedded. They share their relflections and talk openly about their experiences. It's a great listen!

Pivotal's own Mike Armiger discusses the state of Mental Health in our children and young people. He suggests a range of ways in which schools can cope with the situation and best support those young people who are struggling with their own mental health.

In an unusual but very engaging episode, Paul and his son, Bertie, interview Netta, a year 9 student and her mother, Penny. Netta tells us about her personal experiences of whole class punishment and her feelings about it. We also discuss many other aspects of school behaviour and it was great to get a student and parent's point of view on this essential subject!

We welcome Parenting Expert, Sue Atkins, onto the podcast. It's the first time we have spoken to a parenting specialist and it was a fascinating interview with Sue, who regularly appears on radio and TV - even sharing the sofa with Piers Morgan!

Tara Elie shares with us an amazing interview she recorded with the Dutch Detective Inspector Thorlief. It's an amazing, thought provoking and deeply affecting episode with lots of parallels in every educational setting.

We had such a fun time talking to Juliet Robertson all about outdoor education. We learned some amazing things about settings which spend 90% of their time out of doors as well as a huge heap of tips and strategies for every classroom!

In a different kind of episode to normal, Paul and Kevin discuss a voicemail from Hannah who is looking for inspiration on research topics around behaviour and answer a question about how to persuade the last few children in a school to wear black shoes. The Varndean Goats get a mention as well...

Jonathan Lear, Independent Thinking Associate, practising teacher and deputy head at an inner-city primary school, joined us for an epic and fascinating conversation covering a huge amount of ground including his 'gerrilla teaching' philosophy and book.

We had a fascinating chat discussion with Dr. Phil Wood this week. We picked his brains on teacher training, the role of research and its difficulties and a topic which is often at the forefront of educators' minds - how to retain great teachers.

Our first guest in 2017 was English teacher and author of 'Reading for Pleasure', Kenny Pieper.

It was great to have Lisa Ashes as our last guest of 2016. Lisa is an Advanced Skills English teacher, a development trainer, a writer, Independent Thinker, charity worker and a Reflective Learning Geek!

In the first of a couple of shorter episodes over the festive period, we raid the cutting room floor as well as some of the most interesting episodes of 2016 in search of what's important in education. We find fun, motivation and creativity!

For the third year in a row, we present the mayhem and madness which is the Pivotal Podcast Xmas Quiz. Play along with our guest participant, Pivotal Education's own Mike Armiger, as our Mystery Question-master takes us through rounds about Education - past, present and future!

Mary Bousted, General Secretary of ATL joined us this week to talk about the state of education, initial teacher training, recruitment and retention and a lot more besides!

We were joined this week by Bigfoot Arts Education's Creative Director, Lizzie Clancy. Lizzie is a passionate advocate for creativity in education but that doesn't mean just the arts subjects. She believes that creativity should pervade everything we do in schools.

This week we tackle one of the most controversial subjects amongst teachers, parents and learners - homework. We are joined by Mark Creasy - Teacher, ITL Associate, author of 'Unhomework' and Sky News guest! Mark has completely changed the way he, his classes and a lot of schools think about homework.

It was great to speak to the new President of the National Association of Headteachers this week. We also heard from Tara Ellie as she heads off to Australia for Pivotal and there's plenty of other news as well!

We had a great conversation this week with author, educationalist and Ofsted inspector, Mary Myatt, this week. We talked about why high challenge and low threat are a good combination and we also answered an email question about noisy lunchtimes!

Paul returned to the podcast this week and we answered an email from an NQT who completed her PGCE recently. She says she is now struggling with her behaviour management. We also have our first mini case study of a school which has gone over and above in behaviour. This time it's Fochriw Primary School in South Wales.

Ollie and Kevin managed to catch up with former headteacher and creator of the 100 Word Challenge, Julia Skinner, this week about how to create enthusiastic writers and readers.

We speak to Marcus Cherrill about how he uses music in the classroom and the positive impact it can have.

It was a privilege to speak to Natalie Scott this week who is TES Blogger of the Year 2016 and, amongst other topics, shared her experiences of teaching in the 'Calais Jungle'. It's an amazing story you need to hear.

Carlene Firmin joins us to share her wealth of research on and practical experience with gangs, exploitation and how violence amongst young people. We learned a huge amount and you will too.

This week, Ollie Frith spoke to Dave Whitaker, Executive Head at Springwell Special Academy in Barnsley. He shares the concepts of 'Unconditional Positive Regard' and how this transforms many aspects of schools in which it is practised.

In an episode packed with news, Paul and Kevin discuss what's important in behaviour management when starting a new year.

As we approach the new academic year in the UK, I’ve been looking back through archive and once again amazed to see the breadth of topics and range of speakers we have featured over the past 130 episodes.

The Pivotal Podcast has always been about bringing you inspirational moments to inspire from educational experts. Sometimes we have to cut parts of interviews out due to time contraints so this week I have been back through what's on the cutting room floor. I've found a couple of excellent examples of snippets from two of our favourite guests, Nancy Gedge and 'the real' David Cameron, which would otherwise have be lost.

This is the fourth and final week of the Pivotal Podcast Summer Shorts from recent TeachMeet London Boat. More than 100 educators met at Westminster Pier and took to the water to discuss a wide range of issues in education. The fourth session I recorded dealt with issues around English as a Foreign Language - EFL. It was facilitated brilliantly by Amjad Ali and led to a lot of useful tips, approaches and resources being shared. By this time we had sailed past the Houses of Parliament and had turned round for home so listen out for the bells of Big Ben’s clock tower striking a quarter to nine and some police sirens in the background. As this is the last of the Pivotal Podcast Summer Shorts from this event, we also hear as many take aways from TMLondon Boat as I could capture from the educators on the boat and even after we disembarked, there was still time for some fun as Action Jackson and Jaz Ampaw Farr sat down on the steps leading up from boat and started singing. I hastily retrieved my sound recorder so you can hear me bumping it about a bit but I wanted to see if I could capture some of the singing - there’s also violinist busking in background. Then some passers by gave Jaz their baby to hold and you can hear they had to reduce the volume of the song It was an amazing end to a great experience.

The third session I recorded at #TMLondonBoat was based on the question, ‘What job satisfaction do you get from your role?’ It led to a brilliant number of different answers and the focus on positive responses was lovely to hear. It left us all with a warm glow and reminded us what’s great about being in education.

In our second Summer Short from TeachMeet London Boat, a group of teachers and educators talk about mental health and mindfulness. They cover areas such as student anxiety around exams, ADHD, how and why to use mindfulness techniques and practical, classroom approaches to making a positive impact on the mental welbeing of their classes.

This is first of four Summer Shorts which were recorded at TeachMeet London Boat recently. This one is about Policy and Politics.

Over the Summer 2016, we will be releasing 4 sessions from Teach Meet London Boat as 'Pivotal Summer Shorts'. This week we report back on that event and play Garth Smith's last audio diary as a trainee teacher. Will he send us more in the future from his teaching career? We will have to wait and see!

This week we have no guest but Paul answers questions from our old friend, Benny Bagels, and an email about how to maximise your classroom display. You might well be surprised by his ideas... There's also some very exciting news about the new Pivotal Flare in tweet of the week from Ellie Dix and a strange thing! Look out for next week's episode which will include some fly-on-the-wall audio from TeachMeetBoat!

This week Ollie and Kevin spoke to Ros Wilson, creator of Big Writing. Ros has over forty-five years experience in education, including twenty-seven years in schools, ten years in Senior Management positions and fourteen years in advisory and inspection w

We had a great time talking to Heath Monk this week. Heath has just taken over as Executive Director of the Schools of King Edward VI in Birmingham. He was previously Chief Executive of The Future Leaders Trust, which he led from a small start-up to its present position as an established and highly regarded leadership charity. As well as creating more than 160 new head teachers, the Trust is notable for its recent work in designing and delivering Executive Educators, a development programme for those leading Multi Academy Trusts.

The REAL (and really Scottish) David Cameron, presenter, trainer, consultant on all areas in education and children's services. And he doesn't pull any punches about the notion that what we are doing in the education system, in England particularly, isn't helping.

In this episode, Rob Carpenter joined us to talk about his work in several Primary Schools in the London borough of Greenwich. Rob is now Executive Headteacher with Woodhill & Foxfield Primary Schools in South East London. He describes himself as ‘passionate about sharing best practice and learning together’. Read the blog post about the episode. Connect with Rob on Twtter: https://twitter.com/carpenter_rob

We had a great time talking to Rob Jewell this week. Rob is Strategic Leader for Looked-After Children in the Gower consortium covering six boroughs in North Wales. Something of an educational celebrity in Wales, Rob shares his insights into the Welsh educational system as well as his experience of supporting looked-after children for many years.

It was a privilege and a pleasure to talke to world-renowned educational thinker Sugata Mitra about his work and his thoughts on an unusually wide range of educational issues.

Paul is busy in Wales this week so, in his absence, Pivotal Education Senior Trainer, Mike Armiger, joined Kevin to speak to someone he knows well, Julie Farmer. Julie is headteacher at Cefn Fforest Primary School in Wales. She became a deputy head in 2001 in a school in Caerphilly and took up her first headship in 2007 at a school which had a BESD (behavioural, emotional and social difficulties) unit. She has been at Cefn Primary School since 2009 and her school hosts a social needs class and a social inclusion class for Key Stage 2 children.

We were joined this week by Kathryn Lovewell who is passionate about teacher wellbeing after having some serious issues herself as a new teacher. Learn haow to look after teachers with Katheryn!

We had a great conversation this week with Jill Berry. A teacher
for more than 30 years, Jill is former senior leader and
headteacher of state and independent schools, has worked for the
National College for School Leadership, is currently doing
educational consultancy work and has just finished a part-time
Doctorate in Education. She also spends 'a disproportionate amount
of time' on Twitter which she believes is a wonderful source of
CPD.

We were joined today by Hannah Wilson who is co-founder
of the #WomenEd movement. She is also a CPD Consultant, an
SLE, a facilitator, a coach and an events organiser!
Over the years, Hannah has picked up curriculum, pastoral,
whole-school and cross-schools responsibilities. She became
assistant principal and has led on cross-curricular strands in a
variety of settings including across her Multi-Academy Trust. She
started an NPQH last term.
Hannah feels it's a very exciting time to be in educational
leadership because the range of opportunities is much greater than
in the past.
Do we need #WomenEd because the men have messed it all
up?
Hannah believes the problem is the system - and the system is
all of us in society. There are still many institutionalised
practices, even though it's the 21st Century.

We are in a time of equality, flexible working and innovative
technology but some schools are still run like they are back
in the Dark Ages.

WomenEd came about because suddenly last Easter a lot of

Twitter activity, blog posts and people aligning themselves around
a common vision happened.

In a profession where we have a female-heavy workforce, why,
when we look up, do we see white men?

White men do not represent the workforce, they don't represent
the community the school serves. The movement is not anti-white men
- they are asking why it is that a certain type of leader keeps
getting promoted and others don't have quite as easy a ride into
those senior roles. #WomenEd is about empowering and connecting
people - to help them grow in confidence and make contacts.
Hopefully this will lead to more women seeing those leadership
roles as a viable option for them.
A lot of people want the movement to have a quantitative measure
but Hannah is clear that they are not, for example, trying to get
more women into headship. They are a set of people who all
want to see a change and together they can articulate what that
change should be.
There has already been a lot of success. #WomenEd are in the
Education White Paper, they are have a weekly column in the TES and
they have CEOs of big organisations and companies approaching them
to work with them to create events.
They are just trying to create a connecting web where they pull
together all the collaborative networks that already exist for the
better of everyone.
Read more on the Pivotal Education
website

It’s great to be back after the Easter break and to kick off the new term with a fantastic guest, Professor Mick Waters.
Mick is a former QCA Director of Curriculum, former Chief Education Officer in Manchester, Headteacher in Cumbria and is currently working with schools in The Black Country as part of his role with the University of Wolverhampton.

A virtual roulette wheel picks episodes at random from the 110 available for free. CPD in your ears every week!

Primary PGCE student, Garth Smith, returns with the next installment of his audio diary. How has he got on in his second placement? Listen and find out.

Headteacher of Oulton Broad Primary School, Jamie White, joins Paul, Ellie and Kevin to discuss how he managed to take his school from Requires Improvement to Outstanding in only 18 months!

James Mannion returns to the podcast to answer a voice mail question from Danielle about teachers as researchers. Plus, announcements about two dates, something to do with a dentist and a boat!

Restorative Practice specialist, Mark Finnis, joins us to talk about how to implement a restorative approach, what the pitfalls are and why children can't just be told to say, 'sorry'.

David Powell joins us to talk about Further Education, how to train teachers properly and a host of other fascinating topics!

Jos? Picardo joins us to talk about his experience implementing technology for learning at Surbiton High. His pragmatic and sensible approach is a lesson to all!

Dorothy Trussell is Deputy Head at Flixton Girls' School near Manchester in the UK. However, she began her career in hospitality before completing a PGCE.

Flixton Girls' School has been given the rating of 'Good with Outstanding Features' so why is it important to have behaviour as a focus at this point?

Dorothy believes that whatever stage a school is at it needs to have effective behaviour management which is appropriate to your student body.
Behaviour management is so much more than whether the children are good or naughty - it's the whole attitude to learning and the whole culture of the school.
Dorothy wants to see the students bouncing into school, having a positive attitude towards learning and really engaging in school life. This is linked inextricably to behaviour. The school had a very good academic record but Dorothy thought that they could only move forward with a new focus on behaviour.

What were the changes you made this September and what were the early changes you saw?

Dorothy feels that putting in 4 INSET days was 'a dream'. it gave her the opportunity to get the Pivotal Curriculum off the ground. She led two lengthy sessions - one on culture and the other on safety. This enabled her to set the scene for the development. She included all support staff as well as teaching staff so there were over 100 people involved. Dorothy thinks this was critical in getting the whole school behind the initiative.

To start with the school didn't have an official launch of the new approach. Instead, they introduced subtle changes:

positive notes home
teachers greeting students at the door
lots of smiles
quite a few classroom awards systems
removing ways of making students famous for poor behaviour like displaying lists of those in detention

The reaction to these changes was positive and students fed back that they couldn't quite work out what was different but:
The school seemed calmer, everyone seemed to be focussing on their learning much more and there was less disruption in lessons.
Parents were also very pleased to be contacted with positive news - particularly those who Dorothy describes as 'the quiet middle' - the ones who often go unnoticed.

In addition there were four bigger changes:

The school closed its internal exclusion room

This was quite a bold move...

Dorothy on Twitter: @dorothytrussell

Tweets of the Week

Ystrad Primary

Fochriw Primary

Read the rest of the show notes on the Pivotal Education site

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Further Education in England is in yet another period of change so it was great to speak to Edd Brown From Weston College about their success and how they approach CPD.

The amazing Mark Anderson, also known as @ICTEvangelist on Twitter, joined Kevin for a wide-ranging ICT conversation this week.

Our very special guest this week was Pivotal trainer, James Mannion. It was great to talk to James about his highly-successful Learning to Learn project as well as teachers as researchers - which isn't as scary as it sounds!

We loved speaking to the inspirational Andy Cope for episode 100. Andy trained as a teacher but quickly went into adult education. Then he realised he was 'doing it wrong'. He discovered a subject called positive psychology which he describes as 'the science of happiness and wellbeing'.

Garth Smith - 'Our Man on the Inside' - presents his final audio diary entry for 2015 and Kevin looks at the top 5 downloaded episodes of 2015.

Award-winning blogger, teacher and parent Nancy Gedge joined us for an inspirational conversation this week.

Nancy qualified as a teacher in 1994 and took a break to have her own family. After returning to primary teaching, she now feels she is relatively fresh, despite starting her career some time ago.

What drove Nancy to start blogging in the first place?

Nancy's dad encouraged her to start blogging as he knew she needed to find a more creative outlet. After attempting to write romantic novels for a time which she felt taught her a lot, she turned her hand to her first blog about her son who has Down's Syndrome. She originally planned for it to be a book. The first piece was written for the local National Childbirth Trust magazine but then Nancy decided to send it into the Radio 4 Home Truths programme after realising it was was quite good. As a result, she was interviewed by DJ John Peel.

After this, Nancy didn't write a great deal for some time but eventually started writing about having one foot in each camp of teacher and parent. This turned into a rant against homework... So it turned into a teaching blog because Nancy is really interested in the relationship between parenting and teaching and what this tells us about education and society in general.

Nancy tells her stories to illustrate educational points and hopefully to get people to think for themselves.

I never thought it would happen to me

This is the title of the first post on Nancy's blog and it's very much worth reading. It's all about Nancy's alternative view on the experience of having her son and discovering that he had 'an extra chromosome'.

Nancy explains her point of view in a passionate way and believes a lot of her different reaction can be attributed to her experiences as a teacher.
This chromosomal abnormality was a pain but it didn't stop me loving my child or being glad that he was here.
A lot of Nancy's writing springs from other people's reactions...

Read the rest of the show notes on the Pivotal Education site

Nancy on Twitter

The Diary of a Not So Ordinary Boy

Class Teaching Tips

NEW! Pivotal Education's Open Badges:

Pivotal Badges help recognise your skills, achievements and professional development activities. You can earn badges by engaging with Pivotal support and training. Each badge has specific requirements. Start earning badges today!

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Roll up for the Pivotal Podcast Christmas Quiz 2015! Join in yourself and try to answer as many questions as you can!

Kevin spoke to Everol Halliburton from the Bridge AP Academy this week. Everol has an amazing depth and wealth of knowledge about behaviour management and working with some of the most challenging learners. There is a huge amount in the interview which is relevant to all educational settings.

Paul caught up with Pivotal Education's Head of Training, Ollie Frith, this week to talk about how to get great CPD for your school. Ollie and Paul share anecdotes and lots of tips on what to expect from CPD training companies and how to get the best out of any training you book.

It was great to listen to Garth Smith's latest audio diary this week. He is now 8 weeks into his PGCE initial teacher training course and has just completed his first ever lesson in a primary classroom! He was asked to prepare and teach a science lesson and his reactions to the experience are fascinating.

Garth has also been exposed to class and school politics for the first time. As we know, Garth has always been keen to reflect on his experiences so listening to this authentic and raw story gives us an amazing insight into the real experiences of what it's like to undergo teacher training.

We can't wait to hear more from Garth as he continues his journey towards becoming a qualified teacher.

Pivotal Trainers

The annual Pivotal Education Trainers' Meeting also took place this weekend and Paul managed to grab some audio from the event. It's fascinating to hear the way in which the trainers share short exercises and experiences from their work.

There's plenty to discover for use in your own school in the three clips presented this week and you'll be inspired to try some of the techniques out or to invite Pivotal trainers to your school or setting!

Tweeter of the Week

https://twitter.com/marclamonthill

Read the full show notes on the Pivotal Education site

NEW! Pivotal Education's Open Badges:

Pivotal Badges help recognise your skills, achievements and professional development activities. You can earn badges by engaging with Pivotal support and training. Each badge has specific requirements. Start earning badges today!

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What would you like to hear covered in forthcoming episodes? Let us know by emailing podcast@pivotaleducation.com

Subscribe to the podcast
Listen for free every week
Send in your comments or questions
Get involved!

We spoke to Tom Vodden this week about a subject which is not always seen as relevant or exciting. However, as you will hear in this episode, it's can be very interesting and hugely beneficial to schools!

Kevin interviewed David McQueen this week all about how he works with learners to motivate them. They also discuss mentoring in this inspirational episode!

John Murphy is CEO of the Oasis Multi Academy Trust. He gave us an amazing insight into how the Trust works, how its influence raches right into the hearts of communities from its schools and what a remarkable organisation Oasis is.

In a packed programme, Kevin catches up with Nikki Giant about her work with girls and young women around equality, Paul has twwets of the week and even a 'Strange fact of the week'!

It was great to speak to Laura Henry this week about many different aspects of Early Years.
Laura is an expert, international award-winning Early Childhood trainer and consultant, vice-president of Early Education and national representative for the W...

Jaz Ampaw-Farr joins us to talk about her amazing work in Literacy with schoos. She also shares what she learned from being on The Apprentice and even Blind Date!

What is Guy Holloway doing with his 6th Form? FInd out as the Headmaster from Hampton Court House Independent School. You may not believe it!

We present a countdown of the top 5 downloaded episodes of the Pivotal Podcast so far. What will be number 1?

Paul interviews Kevin Bachan Singh who works at a Pupil Referral Unit about what it's really like.

we eavesdrop on two of Barry Stay's plenaries after his sessions on complex needs. Then Paul brings the day to a close and delegates give us their feedback.

In this 'Pivotal Summer Short', we take you inside another of the discussion sessions from t he conference. This time it's a session led by John Reece, who chooses to focus on sharing positive success stories. Colleagues from a wide variety of settings talk about aspects of their work which often get overlooked - the things which have gone really well.

This 'Pivotal Summer Short' features the fascinating session led by two colleagues from TBAP - The Tri-borough Alternative Provision (TBAP) multi academy trust.

This 'Pivotal Summer Short' features the remarkable session which was run by Youth Cymru's Trans*Form : Challenging Hate Crime, a new project working in communities across Wales.

Part 1 of our Pivotal Summer Shorts, this is a selection of clips from the recent Pivotal Conversations conference in Bridgend, Wales. The main clip is from the session on self harm.

Assistant Head at Cheney School, Amjad Ali joins us to talk about his approach to inclusion, creative ways to use the Pupil Premium and how he got his current job thanks to Sir Tim Brighouse!

Liam Collins is a headteacher who has created a group called the Headteachers' Roundtable. We had a terrific discussion with him this week about his approach to leading schools, that roundtable and the importance ofbeing visible around the school site.

We enjoyed a fascinating interview with Tim O'Brien this week which covered a wide range of topics including behaviour, psychology and Kafka!

Paul spoke at the London Festival of Education at Wellington College this week. Apart from presenting his own session, he managed to catch up with some Pivotal Podcast guests (including Tait Coles!) and some potential future guests. Paul recorded some short conversations and clearly had a great time 'in the green room'. Spot the educational expert!

We also welcomed Chris Mayoh back to the podcast this week to talk about copyright in the classroom.

Chris tells us that taking images from the internet for our own use is like walking into a shop and walking out with goods without paying for them. Images we find on the web are just as much someone else's work as goods in a physical shop. We are breaking very strict copyright laws.

However, there are ways to make this a safer and more 'two-way' process. The reason this whole concept is alien to children around the world is because it is alien to their teachers. We need to educate the adults in schools on why it's actually stealing to take the work of other people from the internet and use it as our own.
Even if we don't explicitly state that it's our own work, it's still stealing.
Creative Commons

There are a variety of different ways in which content can be licensed so that people can use it legally and safely. One of the best is called, Creative Commons licensing (http://www.creativecommons.org).

As the originator of a piece of content, you can use a Creative Commons licence just by...

Read the full show notes on the Pivotal Education site (http://www.pivotaleducation.com/chris-mayoh-on-how-to-avoid-breaking-copyright-and-voices-from-the-london-festival-of-education-pp7/)

Pivotal Big June Competition!

Throughout June, we are giving you a chance to win a place on our Pivotal Curriculum Instructor training course. (http://www.pivotaleducation.com/june-2015-competition/)

Pivotal Podcast Pocketbooks

(http://www.pivotalpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/PE_pocketbook-BUNDLE2-sm-180x300.jpg)Newly-created Pivotal Podcast Pocketbooks are now available from Amazon (http://www.pivotalpodcast.com/pivotal-podcast-pocketbooks/). There will be a huge range of Pocketbooks from Pivotal Education, starting with the edited transcripts of some of the most popular episodes of the podcast.

The idea of releasing written versions of episodes came from listeners who wanted to be able to make notes and use the content in different ways. If you would like a particular episode to be converted into an ebook, please let us know!

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What would you like to hear covered in forthcoming episodes? Let us know by emailing podcast@pivotaleducation.com (mailto:podcast@pivotaleducation.com)

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Jarlath O'Brien joins us this week to talk about his role as a Special school headteacher at Carwarden House Community School in Surrey.

Jarlath is a physics graduate and has always loved working with teen-aged learners. After working in a variety of settings he took a post to work with learners with emotional and behavioural difficulties. He was attracted to working with the most vulnerable in society and has been at Carwarden House as headteacher for four years.

(http://www.pivotalpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/jarlath-150x150.jpg)What are the essential elements of an MLD school?

Jarlath used to take it for granted that all the learners he dealt with were 'walkers, talkers, readers and writers'. It came as a shock to him to realise that there are children out there who cannot do one of these - or all of them. The normal route of leaving school, getting a job and living by themselves is not always what happens for all.

There has to be a clear explicit focus on helping the students at Carwarden House to live and work independently. The curriculum has to be vocationally focused with a heavy presence in the workplace.
Society doesn't expect our students to live and work independently - society expects absolutely nothing from our students.
When the students are older, the standard secondary curriculum is augmented with a mandatory vocational curriculum. All Yr 10/11 and sixth form learners attend a local FE college and have work experience as well.

What would Jarlath like politicians to understand about Special school students?

He would like politicians to realise that his students actually exist. He has seen many policies which prove to him that his students are not considered. When they talk about 'all year 6 pupils' or all secondary pupils, they don't mean it. It's OK to acknowledge that some policies don't include all students because they have a life-limiting condition or multiple learning difficulties. The answer isn't to say that the policy doesn't apply to Special schools because, for example, there are some learners in Special schools who are academically very able. Rather, Jarlath believes that approaches could include separate judgements on SEN in the Ofsted framework...

Pivotal Big June Competition!

Throughout June, we are giving you a chance to win a place on our Pivotal Curriculum Instructor training course. (http://www.pivotaleducation.com/june-2015-competition/)

Read the full show notes on the Pivotal Education site (http://www.pivotaleducation.com/jarlath-o-brien-on-special-leadership-pp7/)

Pivotal Podcast Pocketbooks

(http://www.pivotalpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/PE_pocketbook-BUNDLE2-sm-180x300.jpg)Newly-created Pivotal Podcast Pocketbooks are now available from Amazon (http://www.pivotalpodcast.com/pivotal-podcast-pocketbooks/). There will be a huge range of Pocketbooks from Pivotal Education, starting with the edited transcripts of some of the most popular episodes of the podcast.

The idea of releasing written versions of episodes came from listeners who wanted to be able to make notes and use the content in different ways. If you would like a particular episode to be converted into an ebook, please let us know!

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What would you like to hear covered in forthcoming episodes? Let us know by emailing podcast@pivotaleducation.com (mailto:podcast@pivotaleducation.com)

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This week Paul explains the importance of going 'over and above' in behaviour. Pivotal made the offer to review behaviour policies for free recently and has been offering lots of advice on how to tweak policies by making small changes which then ripple out to make a really strong change in the culture of the school or college. One aspect of this relates to whole schools and colleges but also to classes, 1-to-1 work and even parents and their children:
Whenever positive recognition is used, it must be for learners who go over and above.
Learners immediately try to stretch - to go a bit further to get their positive recognition. In classroom, expectations are instantly raised. Instead of praising children for doing he basics, think about thanking for minimum standards, praising for going over and above.

The ripples are then sent through the whole institution if everyone's focus in now on going over and above. All praise including positive notes and phone calls can use the phrase.

The is also an natural progression to start doing this with staff as well. Praise members of staff who go over and above - drama productions, sports events, extra revision classes.

(http://www.pivotalpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/garth_sm-300x259.jpg)We also welcomed Garth Smith back to the podcast for the third time. Garth is 'our man on the inside' - he is in the process of becoming a teacher and has reached the 'skills tests' which he needs to pass before be can begin his PGCE course.

There are two tests - in Numeracy and Literacy. They are at GCSE 'C' level.

Garth tells us the story of how he is getting on in taking - and re-taking - the tests. It's well worth listening to his experiences. If a candidate fails the tests three times, the are not allowed to take a teacher training course for another 2 years.

Garth recommends http://www.numeracyready.co.uk/ (http://www.numeracyready.co.uk/) which helped him a lot in preparing for the numeracy test.

He goes on to describe the literacy test...

Pivotal Big June Competition!

Throughout June, we are giving you a chance to win a place on our Pivotal Curriculum Instructor training course. (http://www.pivotaleducation.com/june-2015-competition/)

Read the full show notes on the Pivotal Education site (http://www.pivotaleducation.com/garth-smith-and-going-over-and-above-in-behaviour-pp7/)

Pivotal Podcast Pocketbooks

(http://www.pivotalpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/PE_pocketbook-BUNDLE2-sm-180x300.jpg)Newly-created Pivotal Podcast Pocketbooks are now available from Amazon (http://www.pivotalpodcast.com/pivotal-podcast-pocketbooks/). There will be a huge range of Pocketbooks from Pivotal Education, starting with the edited transcripts of some of the most popular episodes of the podcast.

The idea of releasing written versions of episodes came from listeners who wanted to be able to make notes and use the content in different ways. If you would like a particular episode to be converted into an ebook, please let us know!

(Creative Commons Sound clip by Johnny Pixel Productions, Inc. - http://www.johnny-pixel.com/ (http://www.johnny-pixel.com/) http://www.freesound.org/people/jppi_Stu/ (http://www.freesound.org/people/jppi_Stu/))

What would you like to hear covered in forthcoming episodes? Let us know by emailing podcast@pivotaleducation.com (mailto:podcast@pivotaleducation.com)

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US educator and author, James Sturtevant, joins us to talk about the powere of creating great relationships with students and Paul expalins what a Cheeky Nando's is...

It was great to be joined by Sue Cowley this week to find out about her background and pick her expert brains about education and behaviour!

Darlene Fisher from SKOLA joined us for a fascinating interview about her work in international schools and teaching the International Baccalaureate.

Ellie shares some insights from her Australian trip, Paul talks about passing the buck in behaviour managements and there are more exciting announcements than you could imagine!

We welcomed Phil Beadle back to the podcast this week. He shared some controversial and often hilariously-delivered views on how we should be teaching Literacy. Hold onto your hats - we tried to keep Phil on track but I'm not sure we succeeded!

David Taylor shares the remarkable story of Stanley Park High where he is headteacher. It has an innovative approach to many things including curriculum and school organisation. We are sure you'll agree that Stanley Park is the school you wish you worked in!

Mike Armiger joined us this week to share his expertise in the sphere of mental health.

His family background included fostering children who had experienced a variety of different damaging experiences and were often traumatised by these, so Mike grew up with a remarkable set of experiences and knowledge.

He felt that a lot of the children who passed through the care of his family had been let down by the education system and so he resolved to try and do something about this. He found himself training teachers at the age of 19 after not being happy to go to teacher training college for fear of what he had learned being overridden by a standard approach.

Mike found that he managed to get jobs based on his experience and expertise, despite not having the official qualifications. He ended up working with looked-after children and on the rehabilitation of children back into education and now consults with the Police regarding sexual crimes and disclosures. At the same time he runs a centre which provides sporting qualifications for young people and works freelance across a multi-academy trust on therapy through activity and sport.

Key issues around mental health for young people

The system and how it is structured is a massive issue. The structure doesn't fit everybody and this is coupled with a massive stigma around those with mental health issues. Mike is a huge supporter of teachers but there is still a reluctance in some teachers to take mental health seriously.

High exclusion rates are also a problem in this group as is low self-esteem with affects a lot of young people.

The challenge of relationships between home and school - this is particularly important in the area of attachment...

Read the rest of the show notes on the Pivotal Education site

Pivotal Podcast Pocketbooks

Newly-created Pivotal Podcast Pocketbooks are now available from Amazon including one on Restorative Practice. There will be a huge range of Pocketbooks from Pivotal Education, starting with the edited transcripts of some of the most popular episodes of the podcast.

The idea of releasing written versions of episodes came from listeners who wanted to be able to make notes and use the content in different ways. If you would like a particular episode to be converted into an ebook, please let us know!

(Creative Commons Sound clip by Johnny Pixel Productions, Inc. - http://www.johnny-pixel.com/ http://www.freesound.org/people/jppi_Stu/)

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David Lisowski joins us for an episode on the practical application of the Restorative appraoch in his academy in Coventry, UK.

Sean Harford from Ofsted joined us to answer some questions about the role of Ofsted, inspections and the future. It was great to have the opportunity to speak directly to someone 'on the inside' of Ofsted.

This week we welcomed Garth Smith back onto the podcast.

It was great to hear what has been happening for Garth in the months since we talked to him before. Back in Episode 18, Garth gave us his insights into behaviour for sports teams - and parents but in the time since that conversation, he has decided to become a teacher.

This is a result of working with children, some of them in challenging circumstances and has required Garth to return to education himself to re-take English, Maths and Science GCSEs.

Garth was brought up in a household which fostered children so his background has led him to do all he can to help children whose own start in life has been difficult. The best way to do this is to become a teacher himself, Garth believes.

The interview process he had to undergo was very different in the two establishments he applied to. You won't be surprised to hear that he decided not to pursue one of the institutions after an uncomfortable and unnecessarily challenging process which means that Garth will have to leave his young family to complete his PGCE.

Despite this and the other challenges of the course, Garth is extremely positive about the prospect of training to be a Primary teacher and we look forward to catching up with him several times during his journey - he is the Pivotal Podcast's official 'man on the inside!'

Read the rest of the show notes on the Pivotal Education site

Pivotal Podcast Pocketbooks

Newly-created Pivotal Podcast Pocketbooks are now available from Amazon. There will be a huge range of Pocketbooks from Pivotal Education, starting with the edited transcripts of some of the most popular episodes of the podcast.

The idea of releasing written versions of episodes came from listeners who wanted to be able to make notes and use the content in different ways. If you would like a particular episode to be converted into an ebook, please let us know!

(Creative Commons Sound clip by Johnny Pixel Productions, Inc. - http://www.johnny-pixel.com/ http://www.freesound.org/people/jppi_Stu/)

What would you like to hear covered in forthcoming episodes? Let us know by emailing podcast@pivotaleducation.com

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Ewan McIntosh founded the global consultancy, NoTosh. It was great to hear about his story and the work NoTosh does with creative businesses and schools around the world.

Actor, writer and FE teacher, Sarah Simons, joins us for a fascinating conversation about her experience and how CPD works in Further Education.

Golden Time

After experiencing Golden Time for many years in Primary classrooms, Paul has come to the decision that he really doesn't like it. He thinks it ends up being connected with the practice of putting names on the board for negative reasons - the 'naughty names on the board'. He has talked before about how to flip this into a recognition board, trying to highlight the children who are doing the right thing. Ticks are added to the naughty names and these translate to 5 minutes off Golden Time.

What is Golden Time?

This is usually a 15 minute time slot on a Friday afternoon where there is a special activity or a free-choice of activities. Only the children who have managed to maintain some or all of their Golden Time throughout the week are allowed to take part. There are children who behave well and get their Golden Time every week. Similarly there are children who will never get Golden Time. It is possible that all Golden Time is lost on a Monday morning through a bout of bad behaviour.
Any 'tension you had on the rope' you had with that child is gone by 10:30am on Monday morning.
This is likely to affect their behaviour for the rest of the week negatively. Two labelled groups are also set up - those who have and those who don't have Golden Time - and you end up taking things away from children during the week. Most people like to earn things and react negatively to things being taken away. Taking away Golden Time will immediately provoke argument and confrontations in some children.

Is it time to abandon Golden Time?

The strategy is driving a wedge between those who receive it and those who don't. Even if you adjust it to enable children to gain their time back, which seems sensible, children are encouraged to try to 'game' the system. Behaviour becomes less about self-discipline and more about how to play the game to ensure you have Golden Time left at the end of the week.

Paul points out that 15 minutes of Golden Time is also not much of an incentive for those who never get it and even the name suggests that those who don't receive it are something other than 'golden' - are they 'bronze' or 'brass' - second best or not as good as the others. This 'divide and rule' approach is never productive. Paul has even seen a school in which the children who don't receive Golden Time are made to sit at the side and watch those who have been successful. This is negative, humiliating and nasty.

What do you think?

Do you use Golden Time? Is it successful? Have you abandoned it? Have you managed to change it into something more productive? Let us know via Twitter - @PivotalPaul @PivotalPodcast or via email - podcast@pivotaleducation.com

We were delighted that our Educational Technology Correspondent, Chris Mayoh, was able to join us to talk about Early Years and Foundation Stage Edtech.

Firstly, Chris tells us...

Read the rest of the show notes on the Pivotal Education site.

Pivotal Podcast Pocketbooks

Newly-created Pivotal Podcast Pocketbooks are now available from Amazon. There will be a huge range of Pocketbooks from Pivotal Education, starting with the edited transcripts of some of the most popular episodes of the podcast.

The idea of releasing written versions of episodes came from listeners who wanted to be able to make notes and use the content in different ways. If you would like a particular episode to be converted into an ebook, please let us know!

(Creative Commons Sound clip by Johnny Pixel Productions, Inc. - http://www.johnny-pixel.com/ http://www.freesound.org/people/jppi_Stu/)

What would you like to hear covered in forthcoming episodes? Let us know by emailing podcast@pivotaleducation.com

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An important episode on the topic of restraint. Paul has a huge amount of experience with the approaches schools and other institutions use for restraining children - and shares some uncomfortable truths and hard lessons.

It's the Pivotal Podcast Christmas Quiz 2014!

Play along with our very special guest, Calvin Robinson, and our Special Mystery Quizmaster!

In a rather more chaotic episode than usual, we had a huge amount of fun with our first Christmas quiz. Have a go at answering the questions yourself and compare your answers with Calvin's.

We reveal the identity of our Mystery Quizmaster and give the answers to the quiz questions at the end of the episode and also leave you with an additional question you can send us the answer to - with a chance of winning a bumper bundle of goodies from Pivotal Education!

You can also watch the unedited version of the Christmas Quiz on YouTube:

Many thanks to Calvin Robinson for agreeing to be the 'voice of the listeners' and taking part in the quiz.

Happy Christmas to one and all!

Read the rest of the show notes on the Pivotal Education site.

Creative Commons music is Mini Christmas Song by milton | This work is licensed under the Attribution Noncommercial License.

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As Paul is unwell, here are two previously unreleased discussions about NQTs and engaging those who find it difficult to listen to instructions.

We were delighted to welcome back to the podcast our newly-designated Technology Correspondent, Chris Mayoh to talk about two of his areas of expertise, E-Safety and Cyberbullying.

It quickly became clear that Chris wanted to stress these are safeguarding issues, not ICT issues which means that responsibility for them lies with the headteacher of a school and not with an ICT leader, for example.

Issues to do with E-safety which happen outside school can often have an impact in school. This is difficult for schools to manage. Most Cyberbullying takes place outside school, for example, because children's use of technology is much more likely to be monitored in school.

MacAfee on the Guardian website:
67% of parents allow their children unmonitored access to the Internet.
However, the results of Cyberbullying at home can have massive implications for children at school - these things can and do 'blow up' at school and behaviour and learning are impacted on in negative ways.

Paul points out that Pastoral Teams in school now spend a lot of their time dealing with social media Cyberbullying issues. Chris agrees and says that a lot of the bullying issues which have always been present have now moved to a different space.

Chris mentions Ask.fm as a particularly problematic service which can be used anonymously but even more worrying for him is a new.

Where can schools start...

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Read the rest of the show notes on the Pivotal Education site.

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ATL's National Learning Manager, Kate Quigley and Senior Policy Advisor, Alison Ryan joined us to talk about the Continuing Professional Development opportunities the ATL offers to its members and also about what makes great CPD and how we know when it is great.

Paul wonders what Kate considers a union like ATL's role is in teacher CPD. Kate says that ATL recognises that teachers are professionals and as part of that they need to have a continuum of professional development. ATL demonstrate what they think that continuum could look like. They work with high quality providers to offer CPD from Initial Teacher Training and NQT level to school leadership.
CPD is best when it is tailored to the needs of the individual as well as the needs of the school.

ATL believes that teachers should have a contractual right to CPD. The single biggest influence on teaching and learning is having high quality teaching and this is about teachers maintaining their skills and knowledge. So it's important to have a contractual right to dedicated time to research a subject, work with expert colleagues and to be free to innovate.

Shape Education

Kate describes and explains the 'Shape Education' vision ATL has developed. It's all about what ATL members think education should look like - what education is for and about.

Independent schools

Paul asks if ATL members who work in independent schools share the same passion for CPD as those in state schools. Kate replies that the whole teaching profession is a learning profession. By nature, all teachers want to learn, to develop and improve their practice.

What style of CPD do ATL members say they want?

Face-to-face training is the preference of the majority of ATL members...

(Creative Commons Sound clip by Johnny Pixel Productions, Inc. - http://www.johnny-pixel.com/ http://www.freesound.org/people/jppi_Stu/)

Read the rest of the show notes on the Pivotal Education site.

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What do you do when a learner really explodes? Paul explains what to do and what not to do!

Discuss choices
Clearly and calmly explain the behaviours which you observed, how they relate to the classroom plan and that the student has made a ‘poor choices' so far. Tell the student that you want them to make better choices. You are then focusing on the behaviours and the student is less likely to feel personally attacked.

Don't chase secondary behaviours
Focus on the behaviour you are correcting and do not discuss anything else. If the student tries to divert you tell them that you understand what they are saying but they still have a consequence/need to make better choices in their behaviour.

Plan you interaction
Make sure that you take a moment to structure what you are going to say and keep to that ‘script'. Think carefully about your verbal and non-verbal communication. Enjoy the skill of being able to stay in control of the confrontation.

Don't bring up past misdemeanours
Focus on the single, identifiable behaviour which you have seen. All students start each class with a clean sheet.

Remember that you are the adult
Losing your temper will leave you exposed. Try and see the interaction for what it is - an adult helping a child to learn about behaviour and make better choices.

Get on their level physically
If they are seated, try kneeling or bending over, rather than standing over them.

Avoid negative comments on cultural styles
Students should be allowed to dress themselves and their hair within the agreed limits of the school's dress code and to move as they please if this does not encroach on the space of others...
"Best educational use of media (podcast), by Pivotal Education" http://t.co/hplRNxMquk Cc @pivotalpaul pic.twitter.com/RfNptmCLT3

— TeacherToolkit (@TeacherToolkit) November 13, 2014

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Read the rest of the show notes on the Pivotal Education site.

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Is it better to be a problem solver or a process monkey in behaviour management? Paul answers a question form a listener.

Educational technology is an increasingly important aspect of learning in all schools. We had a wide-ranging and very useful discussion with award-winning teacher, EdTech guru and now independent consultant, Chris Mayoh this week.

Chris has just returned from a year as Head of ICT in an international school in Russia. Previously, he held roles in UK schools, developing ICT in the curriculum and leading projects on Student Digital Leaders, mobile devices and even school radio. Chris also managed to take this work into a variety of different schools through a role with the Local Authority and has very recently taken the decision to become an independent educational consultant, operating mostly from the Manchester area.

Chris describes some of the uses he sees most commonly for educational technology in the UK. He sees a lot of online research and evaluation of online content taking place. In the best examples, this research is used by the pupils to create multimedia presentations - not simply a PowerPoint presentation but any one of a huge variety of products - maybe an animation to convey a message or a short film.

Mobile technology is another growth area - allowing children to take their learning outside traditional learning spaces - the playground, the dining hall, the corridor outside the classroom are all perfectly viable places to learn.

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Read the rest of the show notes on the Pivotal Education site.

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Arnie Skelton is our special guest this week. He shares his wealth of knowledge on leadership in all its facets, including how to lead teachers.

It was great to welcome Ellie Dix onto the podcast this week. Ellie is the Training Manager of Pivotal Education and, along with Paul, she talked about the origins of the company, what Pivotal offers today and some very exciting plans for the future.

To begin, Paul got to answer himself the question we have asked many guests on the podcast - why did he leave the classroom? He felt that he was having a really solid impact in his school but he wanted to say something on a wider scale. At that time the only way to do that was to leave his school and start visiting others.

At the time he didn't have responsibilities like children so it was the right time to embark on this new venture. It was a 'Pivotal' moment.

Originally, Paul set up with a colleague, Joe, and they started off doing a lot of street theatre alongside work in schools. Joe moved into performance rather than training work but Paul was still committed to developing his training role in the UK.

Ellie and Paul sat down in the pre-social media era of 2004 to see how they could develop what they offered in behaviour management, above and beyond the existing national programmes. They did a lot of knocking on doors and turning up at local meetings in those days as well as a lot of mailing information to schools.

Ellie says that one of the key factors in the Pivotal Education approach is that they give a lot of resources away for free, including the podcast! The free tips emails have been running since 2008 and there are many teachers who have enjoyed receiving those for years. Nearly 15,000 educators receive the Pivotal behaviour tips every week. Ellie has heard of the tips appearing on staff notice boards, on the back of staff toilet doors and even on pay slips!
Individual teachers who need help, don't have to pay for it
The training needs of teachers and therefore what Pivotal have offered has changed a great deal over the years...

Read the rest of the show notes on the Pivotal Education site.

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Paul explains practical strategies and approaches to low level disruption in your classroom.

We welcome John Wootton, Pivotal team member, onto the podcast this week to talk about SEN and behaviour management.

John's background includes PE teaching, English teaching, pastoral work, and senior leadership roles including being a deputy headteacher for 14 years. He now works for Pivotal Education as well as the charity, Teaching Leaders.

Autistic Spectrum Disorders

We start by discussing autistic pupils. John points out that many of the strategies teachers need to use with pupils on the autistic spectrum are the same as for any pupil:

Make yourself consistent and predictable - in lesson structure and in how you intervene and respond - this means having a lot of emotional control
Plan your own language - both verbal and non-verbal - avoid complex language and the use of imagery - be plain and simple
Model the appropriate behaviour you want to see
Encourage positive friendships - your own friendship with these children as well as helping the children make positive relationships themselves

Paul and John agree it's worthwhile to bring students with autistic spectrum disorders into the teaching space a day or two before the rest of the class arrive. John also tells us that his own daughter is working with an autistic child and she arranged to go round to the family home in advance of the term starting to check out the rules and routines in place at home. This will enable her to provide some kind of consistency when the child comes into school...

Read the rest of the show notes on the Pivotal Education site.

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Paul explains how important it is to be relentless about establishing and embedding routines for behaviour management in your class.

For our first episode of the new academic year, we welcomed award-winning teacher, author and consultant, Isabella Wallace, to the podcast.

Isabella taught in the classroom for 16 years and held senior positions in schools including staff coaching. She became an Advanced Skills Teacher because she didn't want to get pulled into management, out of the classroom. She enjoyed this role as it led to work across all the Key Stages and across schools. As part of this role and as a result of publishing her first book, Pimp Your Lesson, she began to train teachers.

What convinced Isabella to go into training was the sheer number of poor INSET days she had to sit through in her time as a teacher. In fact, she can only think of one session which was worthwhile.

Isabella believes that training needs to be practically useful and have an impact on classroom practice. It should make classroom teachers' busy lives easier.

Isabella explains that the first version of 'Pimp Your Lesson' was born out of a desire to help classroom teachers not be so nervous about lesson observation. She talks about her own experience of going into 'nervous worry mode' when she knew she was going to be observed. Today, great teaching over time is more valued that single observations so the book has changed its focus towards a focus on each aspect of consistently great teaching, establishing outstanding learning as the 'typicality' in your classroom...

Read the rest of the show notes on the Pivotal Education site.

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For our last episode of the academic year 2014, we present a selection of clips from all the great guest interviews we have featured so far.

An episode packed with practical approaches to improving your behaviour policy in only a few tweaks.

This week it was great to speak to Jon Tait about his use of Skype and how he has created a Global Classroom.

Jon started off as a sports coach and then had a path through PE teaching to senior leadership in behaviour and ultimately teaching and learning.

Jon was fortunate to be chosen to carry the Olympic Torch in part of its journey in 2012 but he has subsequently seen it as his duty to spread the Olympic message. He still has his Olympic torch and started by visiting local groups such as Guides and Scouts talking about:

Friendship
Excellence
Respect

He believes this cuts across all ages and boundaries. Jon says it's almost like being a superhero. The power of the Olympic torch was amazing. This led on to Jon's 'Olympic Torch in your Classroom' project which is how he got involved with Skype. He has appeared via Skype with t he torch in many countries around the world almost 50 times so far.

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This week we welcomed Ross McGill to talk about Social Media and its use by teachers.

Ross says that he first became involved with social media via blogging to update his family about his first son's condition after he was born at a very low weight. It was about communicating with the family but also some therapy for Ross himself. He was amazed to see how the reaction to his blog snowballed. This led to him starting to apply the same concepts to his teaching reflections and that's how Teacher Toolkit got started.

Ross has a varied and fascinating story in education which began when he was only 18 and started teaching design and technology to Year 7s at his school in his free periods. Subsequently he did a B.Ed degree and then moved through a variety of schools and teaching situations until his present role at Greig City Academy. In September 2014 he is moving to be Deputy Headteacher at Qunintin Kynaston Academy.

Ross maintains that for him and many teachers, social media has transformed their practice. If you are prepared to contribute, to share, to reflect, then you can get instant feedback. If your contribution is high quality, then you will get a lot of feedback. Also, you can receive helpful critique on your ideas.

Using social media in your own school or department allows you to be outward-facing and Ross recommends starting small, simply by going to Twitter - even without an account - and reading some Twitter biographies and tweets from those learners. For example, looking at twitter.com/teachertoolkit will show you all that Ross is sharing. ICTEvangelist, Mark Anderson has a number of useful guides and tips to get you going...

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This week we welcomed Tait Coles to talk about his concept of Punk Learning.

Tait is a Vice Principal at Dixon City Academy in Bradford, in charge of innovation and learning. He was also once a consultant for the local education authority. Paul wonders what Tait's passion is driven by because teachers have enough to do and despite this Tait has managed to share his ideas and enthusiasms very widely indeed. Tait says it's probably all because of being frustrated with the way education has been going in t he UK where he thinks teachers are forced to design and teach lessons in a certain way. When he was on sabbatical as a consultant he realised that the focus is all wrong. As a result he tried out some of the aspects of what he calls 'Punk Learning' and they were successful. Then, it was essential to share this and form a 'band of rebels' who would reclaim the classroom for the learners.

Why Punk Learning?

Paul says his first impression of Punk was aggressive - how does this apply, then, to a classroom situation? For Tait, though, Punk is all about change and creativity - it can be a catalyst, a way of accelerating. In the early Punk days, there was a core of kids who weren't happy with what was going on and they were determined to change it. So Punk learning is about being creative and trying to inspire others to do something completely different. It's about breaking the stereotypes of life chances relying on going to a particular school, being from a particular area or a particular ethnicity.

Tait says that the point of his book isn't to get teachers to follow strategies or approaches (which isn't Punk, it's fashion), it's more about getting teachers to think - not to think like Tait, just to think...

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Paul outlines his 5 or 6 steps in a 'ladder' of sanctions. He also makes the case for as slow as possible progress up this ladder and shares many useful tips and experiences on how to manage the use of 'punishments' most effectively in your classroom.

What makes a great reward system? In answer to a question sent in by a listener, Paul explores the features of great reward systems and the nature of effective rewards.

Our topic of the week is inspiration and 'hooks' in teaching.

Our very special guest is consultant and drama teachers, Hywel Roberts. Hywel began with an English degree and then a PGCE in English and Drama. Teaching practice at the school from the TV show Educating Yorkshire taught him a lot about engagement and behaviour management. He subsequently taught in a school in Wakefield and remembers crying into an empty filing cabinet after trying to teach a class Julius Caesar. That class 'took him to the cleaners' three times a week.

He then went to teach in Barnsley to set up a drama department as well as teaching English. It was challenging but it was at a time when education was being used to regenerate the area alongside many other initiatives.

He became an Advanced Skills Teacher (AST) and learned that one way of engaging children was trying to 'get them bothered' about what they were doing. They invested in a great creative curriculum in Key Stage 3...

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Creative Commons image by benjaminasmith

Paul and Kevin discuss the importance of developing and maintaining the right kinds of relationships with learners and how getting it right can have huge benefits for behaviour management.

Does managing girls' behaviour differ from boys? Pivotal Trainer, Helen Day, explains how to manage female behaviour and explores some of the reasons behind girls' needs and development.

James Williams joins us to talk about his extensive experience of intial teacher training, the current situation in England and his inspirational ideas about the future.

Our topic of the week is How all adults affect behaviour in a school.

In the second of our 'highlights' collections, we present a number of helpful and inspirational clips around the theme of how all adults in an educational institution can affect the behaviour of the students.

There's practical advice from Paul and some memorable stories about the importance of taking all adults with you on your journey towards great behaviour - and beyond into behaviour for learning.

I hope you enjoy the episode!

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Creative Commons image by: dullhunk

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In a different kind of episode, we present the value and power of positivity in behaviour management. This is an inspiring collection of clips from the Pivotal archives all on the theme of how positive actions, positive notes and attitudes can transform r

David Mitchell joins us to share his experiences with blogging in the classroom, including the concept of 'quadblogging' where four schools enter into a partnership to share blog posts across the globe.

We are joined by active learning behaviour specialist, Tara Elie, who shares a wealth of useful tips and techniques. How do you make sure active learning doesn't turn into chaos and all learners and teachers can get the best out of the approach? Tara has

In the middle of the Spring term in the UK, a lot of schools are beginning to wonder where to go next with the 2% - the trickiest learners. Paul explains practical advice for schools and individual teachers who need to cater for the needs of the 2%.

In any kind of interview, Paul has the top tips and strategies to make you amazing! based on years of personal experience of being interviewed and sitting on interview panels, Paul shares some fool-proof ways to succeed.

Stuart Garbutt shares his experiences of being on the School Direct route into teaching. He shares some fascinating insights into what it's like to train directly in primary schools in England and explains his reflective approach to training to teach.

Our topic of the week is Leading Behaviour from the Middle.

This week we were delighted to be joined by Pivotal Trainer and middle leadership specialist, Darrell Williams.

The most important cog in the wheel when driving improvement in school is the middle leadership. Darrell calls the middle leadership the engine room of sustainable change and stresses that effectiveness comes from middle leaders as well as all teaching staff having learning in the centre of what they do.

Darrell asks the question, "is your department a 'performance department' where the most important thing is results or is it all about learning?" If it's about performance you become risk averse and keep doing what you have always done rather than developing.

Paul mentions the power of co-teaching and where this is done with middle managers, it becomes very powerful. It's very important for middle leaders to lead by example.

In a recent survey Paul mentions, only 37% of staff said they had been recently been given positive feedback from their line-managers...

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Our topic of the week is Rules routines and rituals.

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A special episode in which Paul Dix introduces the Pivotal Trainers who take time out of their working weekend to talk about amazing schools, advice for NQTs and working with 'the 5%'.

Our topic of the week is Magnificent Classroom Cultures.

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Our topic of the week is isolation for behaviour management.

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Our topic of the week is Behaviour for learning with 5-11 year olds.

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Our topic of the week is Behaviour around the site.

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Our topic of the week is Behaviour for supply teachers and cover lessons.

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Our topic of the week is Behaviour for sports teams and parents.

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Our topic of the week is Sanctions - part 2.

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Our topic of the week is Sanctions - part 1.

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Our topic of the week is behaviour at Christmas.

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Our topic of the week is behaviour for FE and HE lecturers.

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Our topic of the week is the teacher as performer.

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Our topic of the week is managing your own behaviour.

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Our topic of the week is making praise meaningful.

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Our topic of the week is scripted behaviour interventions.

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Have you ever felt you need to reset the behaviour management in your classroom? Paul sets out a variety of helpful and encouraging approaches.

Our topic of the week is Behaviour management for PGCE students and other trainee teachers.

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This time our topic of the week is Teaching Assistants / Learning Support Assistants and behaviour management.

This time our topic of the week is the 7 habits of highly effective behaviour management.

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This week Paul goes into a great deal of detail on how and why to teach behaviours, particularly taught self-reflection and 1-to-1 mentoring. We also have a voicemail about how to launch a rapport and relationship project and a question about complacency.

Whether your setting is a primary, secondary or further education college, this episode is packed with useful tips and whole-school strategies from Paul's experiences of helping staff and pupils improve. Learn about the importance of consistency for the a

What is restorative practice and how can it be used to transform behaviour management in your school? Paul takes us through the basic principles behind this remarkably powerful approach.

Our first episode! Paul is currently working in international schools and shares some of his experiences. In the Q&A section there are fascinating questions from international school colleagues from across the globe.

As many schools start back, we discuss baehaviour management for Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs). There are some challenging questions from NQTs and those who work with NQTs to support them at this difficult but potentially rewarding time.