We Are In Beta Podcast

In this episode, we speak with Seb Chapleau - Director of Big Education Conversation. We spoke about an initiative he's supporting to help kids have access to the data and devices necessary to ensure the can access remote learning from home. Join the conversation here: www.weareinbeta.community

We had this conversation on 25.03.20 This episode, we spoke with Shonogh Pilgrim - Principal of Ansford Academy - about how, without knowing it, her school has been preparing her students for school closure. She reveals how their recent school ski trip and the culmination of their 4 year programme of work to increase student independence coincide to to set them up to open their virtual school.  We also spoke about how Shonogh's staying in touch with her students and parents with daily videos.  We host all episode resources on the We Are In Beta Community website. Get a private invite link here. Subscribe to our newsletter here. Join the conversation with @AnsfordHead and @NiallAlcock with #weareinbeta

We had this conversation on 26.03.20. This episode, we spoke with Josie Mingay - School Improvement Lead, Greenshaw Learning Trust. We spoke about the decision between live or recorded remote teaching and their tutor reading programme.  We host all episode resources on the We Are In Beta Community website. Get a private invite link here. Subscribe to our newsletter here. Join the conversation with JAMingay, @GreenshawTrust and @NiallAlcock with #weareinbeta

We had this conversation on 24.03.20. This episode, we spoke with Ben Layzell - Head of Atherton Community School, Wigan. We talk about taking care of staff first just before closing the school, the current generation of students being more socially conscious and missing the structure of a school day. We host all episode resources on the We Are In Beta Community website. Get a private invite link here. Subscribe to our newsletter here. Join the conversation with @belayell and @NiallAlcock with #weareinbeta

We had this conversation on 25.03.20 This episode, we spoke with Cassie Young - SENCO and Head of School of Brenzett Primary School in Kent. We talk about some of the expectations put on parents at this moment as well the importance of staying connected with the students while they're home.  We host all episode resources on the We Are In Beta Community website. Get a private invite link here. Subscribe to our newsletter here. Join the conversation with @ModernCassie and @NiallAlcock with #weareinbeta

After 3 months of research and prep for Series 3, all our in person interviews were understandably postponed due to coronavirus. In times like these, it’s important we stay connected. So, Niall (host and founder of We Are In Beta) and Jay (Producer) will be making calls to teachers around the country to check-in and find what they’re doing that’s new, the questions they have and a little bit about their life. This episode, we spoke with Clare Fletcher - Director of Schools, The Yare Education Trust. We talk about some obstacles with catering in the schools, getting meals to students at home, what her new work routine looks like and more. We host all episode resources on the We Are In Beta Community website. Get a private invite link here. Subscribe to our newsletter here. Join the conversation with @cfletcherDoS and @NiallAlcock with #weareinbeta

Picking up from the last episode on BAME leadership, 'Critical Mass' featuring Allana Gay, which you should listen to first, we’re talking about what it means to be a good ally to your BAME colleagues, what the purpose is and what it looks like when it’s not easy. We speak to Patrick Ottley O’Connor - Executive Headteacher, North Liverpool Academy - and Allana Gay again about what they’ve done and would like to see done to promote an equitable education system for people of all backgrounds. We also hear from Pran Patel, teacher and equity activist, who teaches us about power, the racist-anti racist spectrum and gives his advice about how to be an ally. While, this episode is about being an ally to your BAME colleagues, the principle can be applied more widely. Subscribe now to get every episode when it's released... ...AND... ...so you don't miss the release of Series 3 in the Spring 2020; this is the final episode of Series 2. Thank you for listening! Get access to all the resources mentioned in this, and ev

This is an episode on BAME leadership in education. BAME stands for Black Asian Minority Ethnic. According to the Swan Report (1985) and a recent report by the Runnymede Trust (2017), BAME educators have more difficulty progressing to leadership in the English education system. We went out to hear some stories from BAME leaders in education about what it was like for them getting to their position…but we made a mistake. Listen to learn what it was, what we did about it. Allana Gay, Headteacher at Vita Et Pax School, tells us about her upbringing, her journey to leadership and a striking parallel between the two. Subscribe now to get every episode when it's released. Get access to all the resources mentioned in this, and every episode, via the We Are In Beta Newsletter. This week Allana shares her essential reading and what she thinks every school leaders should have access to. Who did you think about when listening to this episode? Share it with them. Join the conversation using #weareinbeta. Follow Allana Ga

Vivienne Porritt, amongst many things is one of the founders of the social equity group called #WomenEd. Vivienne set us a challenge. She asked us to take a message to every man in education. Chris Hildrew is a contributor to the WomenEd book '10% Braver', and Headteacher at Churchill Academy. He charts his change to becoming a He for She ally, from his early years in school to a speech he heard by Emma Watson at the United Nations. Later Chris would adopt some tips from Sheryl Sandberg’s book 'Lean In'. Learn how he uses them in his school to promote gender equality. Subscribe now to get every episode when it's released. Get access to all the resources mentioned in this, and every episode, via the We Are In Beta Newsletter. This week Chris shares his favourite research and book, the service he couldn't do without and a copy of the how to chair a meeting document he mentions in the episode. Know someone who's be affected by this issue? Share this with them. Join the conversation using #weareinbeta. Follow Chr

These days things are going well for Claire Cuthbert. She always knew she wanted to be a teacher. When she became one, she progressed quickly. The time soon came for her to apply for headship - one at a start up school in a mining community. Both the interviewers and applicants for the position were all, as Claire describes “middle aged white males in grey suits”, and to be honest that’s not really surprising. But what happened next was. Claire progressed to the second round and when it came down to the last two, the ‘manel’ told her that, while she was a great candidate “we believe the local mining community would more aligned to a male figurehead than a female one”. Now Claire is the CEO of The Evolve Trust. This experience informed how she does recruitment in her schools in the trust. We also learn, with the help of a couple of her colleagues, how she gives her team the space to look beyond their trust and even beyond education to design processes to get the culture right. Subscribe now to get every episod

Progress 8. Grades 9-4. Ofsted. RSCs. In the current accountability climate in schools, it can be easy to forget that students and their education are about more than numbers. But at what cost? What opportunities are we missing to connect? To create an important sense of community? When he was a student, Manny Botwe had a teacher with whom he shared a great relationship. This teacher took an interest in him and his activities outside school. But when Manny was getting into trouble he was there to have an important conversation with him. A conversation that had a profound effect on him and shaped the leader he is today. Now, as the Headteacher of Tytherington School in Macclesfield, he remembers the impact taking an interest in students - beyond their academic performance - can have. In this week's We Are In Beta podcast we learn how Manny Botwe has reversed trends of poor results, falling roll, huge staff turnover and financial deficit at Tytherington School by... ...creating a sense of connection and communi

Deborah Firat is a parent governor. She has seen first hand the the difference it makes when teachers approach their pupils with unconditional positive regard. Her son Zak has autism and although he went to a good mainstream school, they didn't have the tools to maximise he potential. Dave Whitaker (Director of Learning at Wellspring Academy Trust) and Luke Mitchell (Head of Behaviour Support) share what they have learned from years of experience and some guiding principles about how to support the most vulnerable learners. Dave, Luke and staff at Springwell Academy are changing lives - Deborah's, Zach's and many others' at their school; and it all comes back to unconditional positive regard. Don't subscribe now if you don't want to get every episode direct to your phone automatically. Don't check out the We Are In Beta Newsletter otherwise you'll get access to all the resources, research and training mentioned in the episode. Don't share this podcast online or tag me or Dave Whitaker, Luke Mitchell or me @Ni

Over the course of their careers, the Headteacher of Hawkswood Primary Pru (pupil Referal unit) Marie Gentles and her deputy Katie L'Aimable have begun to see patterns. They've gone from seeing their students' behaviour as isolated events to understanding that all behaviour is communication.  Marie and Katie tell us what they've learned about what some behaviours are communicating and why understanding the root of behaviour is so critical.  To get access to the podcast before anyone else, extra goodies and bonus content, sign up to the We Are In Beta newsletter.  In this week's newsletter, Marie and Katie share the research that has been crucial to securing such incredible outcomes for their students, the book that had the biggest impact on Marie's career, the service they couldn't do without (it's highly underrated) and a taster of their very popular training programme.  In other news, I set a new listener -Judy Baird- the challenge of tweeting what she has learned from every episode as she listens to them.

Having felt the pressure between parenthood and being a senior leader, when Sue Plant had the opportunity to become the Head of School of a brand new school, she was going to make sure her staff didn’t face the same challenges she faced. At John Taylor Free School, Sue tells us how she set out to make her school flexible working-friendly and recruited her whole staff in the first year without spending any money on advertising. All part of her plan to get the culture right and attract the best people. We also hear from Lucy Rose, co-founder of Flexible Teacher Talent, about the barriers to making your school working patterns more flexible for your staff and how to overcome them. To get access the podcast before anyone else and extra goodies and bonus content, sign up to the newsletter. In this week's, Sue Plant shares the book that's influenced her career the most, the services she couldn't do without as a headteacher and the recruitment pack she used to attract her talent team. Lucy shares the evidence that u

Lisa Farmer had finally got her dream job as a headteacher. Soon after getting the job she discovered she was pregnant. Lisa and her husband were elated but she thought people expected her to step down from her new role. With no intention of stepping down Lisa began looking into flexible working options. She was looking for a co-headteacher to share the role with. But this was over a decade ago, before more case studies were available. So Lisa had to learn through trial and error... We also hear from lead teacher - and founder of The Maternity Teacher Paternity Teacher Project - Emma Sheppard, and the co-founders of the Shared Headship Network: Amy Brookes, Catriona Jenkins, Hannah Turbet and Lucy O'Healan. To get access the podcast before anyone else and extra goodies, sign up to the newsletter. In this week's Lisa, Emma Sheppard and the Shared Headship Network share the research and evidence that underpin their missions, the books that have influenced their careers and the treasure troves of advice they sha

Leann Swaine was the Associate Headteacher of East Barnet School when she wanted to make a change. One day she was in the school corridor when an event inspired her to go on the journey to make the school phone free. East Barnet is a mixed secondary with 1400 students. It’s a school big enough to make tasks like “going phone free” seem daunting. This week on We Are In Beta, Leann, now the Headteacher tells us how she prepared her staff and students for the upcoming change. Whether you agree with phones being banned in schools or not, this is a fascinating case study of change. To get access the podcast before anyone else and extra goodies, sign up to the newsletter. In this week's newsletter Leann shares the slides she used to communicate the change, the leadership model she used to plan for it, her favourite piece of educational research, the book that changed the way she leads, the service she could not do without as a headteacher and some amazing news about EBS's amazing Robotics Department. Join the conve

We Are In Beta opens its second series. Host Niall Alcock gives you a taste of what's new and what to expect from upcoming episodes. There's a new addition to the team too. Meet our new producer, Jay. Don't miss the first episode - out on October 27th 2019 - hit that subscribe button now. To get access the podcast before anyone else and extra goodies like our guests' research and book recommendations, the services they couldn't do without and links to the policies and documents they talk about in their episodes, sign up to the newsletter: https://weareinbeta.substack.com/subscribe Coming up in this series, learn how school leaders are: driving whole-school, organisational behaviour change breaking ground in co-headship building schools from the ground up with flexible working in mind understanding what student behaviour is really communicating in PRUs meeting students' needs through unconditional positive regard in special schools building school communities through traditions using experiences of sexism to

In this episode, Jeremy Hannay, Headteacher of Three Bridges Primary School in west London, shares his thoughts on How a trip to see the London 2012 Olympics gave him his life’s mission The best bits of the UK and Canadian education systems How teacher recruitment and retention crisie could become a thing of the past in every school The false dichotomy between high performance and happiness that exists in schools What performance management has been replaced with at Three Bridges How they have fostered the autonomy and trust that has been key to the success at the school The curriculum programmes they run and how they have adapted them to suit their context The importance of ‘building cathedrals’ rather than ‘cutting stone’. How co-construction can make accountability redundant The biggest challenges Three Bridge has had to overcome and what still stands in their way The conflict interests he sees between Ofsted’s two main functions and how that compares to the Canadian system How they have designed their pr

In this episode, Stephen Munday (Chief Executive, The Cam Academy Trust; Executive Principal, Comberton Village College & President of The Chartered College of Teaching), shares his thoughts on: In his interview, Stephen shares his thoughts on: How a cup of tea with his Mum’s friend was the catalyst to becoming the President of the Chartered College of Teaching His purpose and what he finds deeply inspiring about teaching Which role in a school prepares you well for becoming a headteacher What you need to keep reminding yourself as a headteacher The biggest thing he has learned about headship The biggest challenge of his career and how he overcame it The moral duty that led to his school becoming a multi-academy trust What he welcomes about changes to the Ofsted framework What he questions about changes to the Ofsted Framework How schools can reduce the problems with exclusions The question school leaders need to ask themselves to reduce workload The best CPD he’s ever done How to get external support wh

In this episode, Linda Emmett, Headteacher, All Saints Catholic College Chesire, shares her thoughts on: Why her job in IT inspired her to teach What she thinks is the most important thing when growing students as individuals  The programme that inspired her to take on headship The organisations she’s worked with that have helped transform All Saints The language her team uses to encourage staff to speak up about their challenges Why she thinks Ofsted has a positive role to play and why schools need to be careful when they are considering how to fulfill their requirements How she is improving teacher retention How she chose the external organisations that supported All Saints’ journey How she evaluates their success How she secured £60,000 of funding to invest in her staff The two questions she would ask every headteacher in the country if she could The single most impactful thing she and her team have done at All Saints The biggest mistake she has made as a headteacher How she ensures staff morale is at its