We Are In Beta Podcast

There have been people working on decolonizing the curriculum for a very long time now. In early 2020 after George Floyd’s death decolonizing the curriculum came to the forefront of the discussion. People who had never considered it, or even understood what it meant, had to grapple with its implications. This whole episode is about exactly that. Havelock Primary school was by no means behind the curve when It came to things like this but when they decided to decolonize their curriculum (starting late 2019) they realized just how deep-rooted the problem was Thank you to Jon, Amy, Aisha and Karen for sharing their story If you enjoyed this episode please share on Twitter, subscribe, and leave a comment. It really means a lot. Click here If you are interested in joining the We Are In Beta Community and/or the Curriculum Thinkers Community  Email our producer Jay@weareinbeta or fill out this submission form if you want to share your story on the podcast

A few years ago Solihull was a small, relatively affluent borough in Southeast Birmingham, but they had one big problem. Many factors had aligned to create a situation where Solihull had more permanent exclusions than 90% of the country. This is when Stephen Steinhaus, the soon-to-be principal of this new school, caught wind they were building a new school in the borough. A school that was attempting to find a solution to their permanent exclusion problem. Making a school like that isn't easy but where there's a will, there's a way.  BIG thank you to Stephen and Josie for sharing her story in the episode.  If you enjoyed this episode please share on Twitter, subscribe, and leave a comment. It really means a lot. Click here If you are interested in joining the We Are In Beta Community and/or the Curriculum Thinkers Community  Email our producer Jay@weareinbeta or fill out this submission form if you want to share your story on the podcast

One of the fundamental lessons teachers learn is ‘how to motivate their class’. Historically, For many, this comes down to the Skinnerian model of behaviorism, which is essentially positive and negative reinforcement. John Camp (the Lead of the Compass trust) was taught this too. He began to see things differently when his own headteacher showed him another way of motivation. One called intrinsic motivation.  As Trust leader John has had the chance to share intrinsic motivation with his colleges. Katie Cutajar is the Co-headteacher of Alderwood Primary. She wasn’t sold on ‘intrinsic motivation’ at first.  In this episode, we'll talk about the negative effects of relying on rewards and punishment, How John and Katie have changed their thinking, and what it looks like in their schools. BIG thank you to John and Katie for telling their story in the episode. If you enjoyed this episode please share on Twitter, subscribe, and leave a comment, out of the kindness of your heart It really means a lot Click here If yo

Classically, CPD brings all the staff together to learn about a single subject of improvement. By contrast, Instructional coaching has aspects that make bespoke to what each teacher needs at the moment. So this all sounds good in theory but how does it work? Where do you start? What do you do when it doesn’t go to plan? When Josh Goodrich became the head of teaching and learning at Oasis South Bank, he was determined to bring instructional coaching to life; but it wasn’t easy. BIG thank you to Josh, Anna, Carly, and Sarah for sharing her story in the episode. If you enjoyed this episode please share on Twitter, subscribe, and leave a comment It really means a lot Click here If you are interested in joining the We Are In Beta Community and/or the Curriculum Thinkers Community. Also here are the links to the Pupil premium spending plans and reviews from 19 schools and MATs and the resources from all of our other webinars  Email our producer Jay@weareinbeta or fill out this submission form if you want to share

During Lucy’s first maternity leave, she felt alienated from her profession. People would tell her that she would lose interest in working full time but she didn’t. In her second MAT leave, she was determined not to be on the outside looking. While attending an event put on by the MPTP project, for the first time she became aware that she could go on school visits during her MAT leave. Over the next couple of months, Lucy goes on several school walk-throughs with her young child Roland. She learned a lot about how to make this happen and the benefits of visiting schools during her MAT leave. Frances Ashton is the Assistant Headteacher of Dicot Girls School, which is one of the schools Lucy listed. Frances tells us how to prepare for a school with a teacher on MAT leave. BIG Thank you to Lucy and Frances for sharing their story. This is the tweet Lucy sent to get this all started. Plus, her blog about this story on WAIB.   If you enjoyed this episode please share on Twitter, subscribe, and leave a comment It

Many teachers who gravitate towards schools that have fallen on hard times, have been taught in similar schools, and in this way, Sajid Gulzar isn’t very different.  As a headteacher, Sajid has continued to be interested in the schools that require a lot of care; but doing this can eventually spread you too thin if you're not careful. As with most of us, there is a real tension between what needs doing and what WE can do. Sajid and Prince Albert Community Trust find themselves right in the middle of that tension. BIG thank you to Sajid and Phillip for sharing her story in the episode. This is the blog that started this episode and their 2015 Ofsted If you enjoyed this episode please share on Twitter, subscribe, and leave a comment It really means a lot Click here If you are interested in joining the We Are In Beta Community and/or the Curriculum Thinkers Community  Email our producer Jay@weareinbeta or fill out this submission form if you want to share your story on the podcast  

Education should prepare students for the world they are going to live in. That world will require more awareness of the impact humans have on the planet and each other. In 2015 the United Nation set out 17 sustainable development goals, with their mission statement being, “A blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all by 2030”. Rachel Tomlinson and Karl Cross have become enthusiastic about making this goal a reality and developing their students to become leaders on sustainable development. To do this, they’re weaving the 17 SDGs throughout the whole curriculum at Barrowford Primary, but how do teach primary school students about sustainability and what can they do about it? BIG thank you to Rachel, Karl, Lisa, and Esmae for sharing her story in the episode. If you enjoyed this episode please share on Twitter, subscribe, and leave a comment It really means a lot Click here If you are interested in joining the We Are In Beta Community and/or the Curriculum Thinkers Community  Email our

Yamina grew up in the majority Bangladeshi area of Tower Hamlets. When her family moved to Canary Wharf things changed; 9/11 happened and the overt racism began. When she became a teacher years later, she didn’t go back to Tower Hamlets, she went to teach in Lewisham. It was in Lewisham where the prejudice she faced as a kid was still present in her students. This time she made it her responsibility to teach them, not only about English but also how to treat people with respect. BIG thank you to Yamina for sharing her story in the episode. Her current school, Forrest Gate Community School, have their own podcast about Teaching and Learning check it out. If you enjoyed this episode please share on Twitter, subscribe, and leave a comment It really means a lot Click here If you are interested in joining the We Are In Beta Community and/or the Curriculum Thinkers Community  Email our producer Jay@weareinbeta or fill out this submission form if you want to share your story on the podcast

The We Are In Beta podcast is back. We -schools, Are In Beta- Always learning. Over the past year, we have done a lot of that learning very quickly and through our own trial and error. The WAIB podcast shares stories from the experience of teachers in schools, so we can learn from them, challenge our own thinking and see things from an others perspective. In this season we have stories of change. People changing others, people changing the system, and people changing themselves. From rethinking CPD to Turning around a failing school; each story will feature teachers who saw an opportunity for change…and took it   This season will be eight episodes Out Every Thursday Starting March 18th

In this episode, we speak with Kiran Mahil - History and politics teacher in East London. Obviously, things have changed a lot due to covid19, but what might not be obvious is how we will regain the things we’ve lost over this period. Kiran and friend (and fellow teacher) Hannah Dalton, have come up with a document that allows schools to understand what has been lost and consider how they will respond. It’s called the Roadmap to Renewal. We talked to them about it. Learn more about our guests, their schools, the roles they are recruiting for, and access all resources and bonus content from episodes at www.weareinbeta.community.  

In this episode, we speak with Sharifah Lee- The Deputy Headteacher of Dorney School in Windsor. We spoke to Sharifah in a previous episode and she mentioned that they're opening their school to more students. That was a couple of weeks ago... We wanted to see what worked, what hasn't and how it's been. Learn more about our guests, their schools, the roles they are recruiting for, and access all resources and bonus content from episodes at www.weareinbeta.community.

In this episode, we speak with Chantelle Clarke -Head of Department at Frederick Bremer School, Waltham Forest. We talked about how recent events have led to more support of Black Lives Matter and similar movements. But what do we do with that support?  Learn more about our guests, their schools, the roles they are recruiting for, and access all resources and bonus content from episodes at www.weareinbeta.community.

In this episode, we speak with Anita Woodward-Benn about her role as the trust attendance manager at the University of Brighton Academies Trust. You could say attendance officers have a reputation for being the rule keepers. But Anita thinks about it differently. She thinks attendance practitioners could and should be the front line of support for families. How? By focusing on building relationships with parents. Learn more about our guests, their schools, the roles they are recruiting for, and access all resources and bonus content from episodes at www.weareinbeta.community.

In this episode, we do something a little different. During lockdown, there's been a lot of online CPD happening. There's plenty of research about what good CPD and good online learning look like. But what do teachers who've been attending these sessions have to say? We spoke to three teachers about their experience of attending over 145 online CPD sessions over the past few weeks. We ask them what makes for good online CPD in their opinion. This is not science but hopefully, it will helpful for CPD leaders when designing and delivery online sessions over the coming weeks and months. Learn more about our guests, their schools, the roles they are recruiting for, and access all resources and bonus content from episodes at www.weareinbeta.community.

In this episode, we speak to Emily Reynard - Headteacher of MEA Central - about year 7 transition. Emily talks about why transition is so important and how it's not an isolated incident; a transition is felt by every year group. Learn more about the school, roles they are recruiting for, and access all resources and bonus content from episodes at www.weareinbeta.community.

In this episode, we speak to David Sammels - Headteacher of Mayflower Community Academy - about how the lockdown has sparked David's change from a linear way of working to a non-linear way. We also speak about how David has been feeling more connected to parents, despite the distance and maybe because of the non-linear working.  Learn more about the school, roles they are recruiting for, and access all resources and bonus content from episodes at www.weareinbeta.community.

In this episode, we speak to Mike Wilson - Headteacher of St. Edmund's Catholic School in Dover, Kent - about an issue we discussed in a previous episode, the 'digital divide': the gap between students who have access to data and devices at home and those who don't. St. Edmund's Catholic School is one where this divide is significant. Around 10% of students have limited or no access. Shortly after schools closed, the staff at St Edmund's were preparing to take their school online but realised they wouldn't be able to fully. Then they got a call.  Learn more about the school, roles they are recruiting for and access all resources and bonus content from episodes at www.weareinbeta.community.  

In this episode, we speak to Amit Hathi - Headteacher of Wembley High Technology College, London. In the wake of the pandemic, school closures and the cancellation of exams, teachers are being asked to provide centred assessed grades for their students. Grades which they believe their students would have been most likely to get in the summer if they had taken the exams. But doing this fairly and consistently is not without its challenges. Amit explains the three step approach they are taking at WHTC and the methodology they have designed to rank students. Access the detailed internal guidance Amit mentions in the episode and bonus content from the episode including our discussion of grade inflation, the impacts on schools on rapid school improvement journey and how to avoid bias here: www.weareinbeta.community

In this episode, we are speaking to Will Mackintosh and Nat Nabarro - Headteacher and Vice-Principal of Ark John Keats in North London Since we've been working remotely we have had to change the way we do a lot of things. One of them is recruitment. Without being able to visit schools or meet candidates teachers and schools have to change their methods without necessarily changing what they're looking for. Will and Nat tell us what they've done in their school to change the way they're doing recruitment.  Join the conversation here: www.weareinbeta.community

In this episode, we are speaking to Nicole Fowles - Headteacher at Coleshill Heath School, Birmingham. During the COVID19 crisis Nicole, like many other school leaders., has been dealing with fragments of information and sometimes conflicting messages. She’s been dealing with bereavement, supporting teachers and parents for home learning, and safeguarding challenges. She’s been dealing with staff anxiety and communication overload. She talks about the four reassurances she gave her team to support them through this crisis. Nicole also tells us about how the other crises in her career and life have (in some ways) prepared for the one we're experiencing today.  Join the conversation here: www.weareinbeta.community