Education Sense

Exploring harmony in our educational settings with Richard Dunne & Hilary Wyatt. In this episode, we look at the idea of harmony in education, discussing art, music, geometry and nature and how these aspects of a curriculum can bring harmony both to children and adults, parents, teachers, the staff body and the wider community. Richard Dunne is a former state school headteacher with a 30-year career in education. He is founder and director of The Harmony Project, which puts nature and sustainability at the heart of learning. The organisation works with schools both in the UK and around the world to develop harmony in education. Hilary Wyatt is the Headmistress of St James Nursery & Preparatory School in London. She has taught for 30 years and held senior leadership roles for 17 of those years—15 of which were in London prep schools, including eight as Head of a Pre-Prep and seven as Headteacher. In addition, she is an ISI schools inspector and the mother of two daughters, both of whom attended St James' Senior Girls' School. Links & Notes: The Harmony Projecthttps://www.theharmonyproject.org.uk/St James Prep School https://www.stjamesschools.co.uk/prepschool/Viviane Robinsonhttps://joe-kirby.com/2023/04/15/problem-solving-viviane-robinson-and-the-shoulders-of-giants-1/Miles Richardsonhttps://findingnature.org.uk/Danny Chung Does Not Do MathsCynefinhttps://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/editorial-doing-cynefin-exploring-ideas-on-belonging-connectedness-and-community-in-the-curriculum-for-walesCurriculum for Waleshttps://hwb.gov.wales/curriculum-for-wales/

What would a dream school look like? Join us - co-hosts David Marshall and Isabel Rich - and our guest, Dr Rebecca Torrance-Jenkins, as we discuss what a dream school might look like… In this episode, we chat about some of the aspects of life in a school that perhaps is not working for pupils, particularly for those who have learning needs. Rebecca discusses a panoply of solutions to make school a better learning environment for all students. She talks us through some changes we can make to the pastoral, social and curriculum offering to enable children not to survive at school but thrive. We even discuss the smell of the classroom and how this can alter a child’s ability to learn! Rebecca specialises in translating insights from neuroscience and psychology into practical, transformative tools and tips for schools, children’s charities, and learning environments. She is all about creating spaces where the human brain can truly thrive which I am sure we can all agree is just what we strive for as teachers. Links & Resources: Rebecca’s website: https://www.drtorrancejenkins.co.uk/about/ As a neuroscientist and educationalist, she argues that we should (and can) design education around how children’s brains actually learn, rather than around timetables, buildings, or pre-set curricula. Her not-for-profit programme in the North West of England won a She Inspires award, and she founded a Prep science department in a school named ‘STEM Prep School of the Year’ 3 years later. As a writer and researcher, she bridges academic insight and real-world impact, including a forthcoming Cambridge University Press chapter on neuroscience-informed policy for SEND. She is also a council member of the educational neuroscience think tank Learnus, and a senior learning consultant for an EdTech platform—helping shape the future of education. An interesting article about the Japanese headteacher in Cornwall, mentioned in the episode: https://medium.com/solomonkingsnorth/the-extraordinary-case-of-mr-yamazaki-18739ebb4980

Welcome to Education Sense, a new podcast from the team behind The Rest is Education! This week's episode is brought to you by David Marshall and Isabel Rich. Together with teacher, Steph Vega, we'll be discussing Daniel Willingham's seminal education text Why Don't Students Like School? We will summarise what the book is about and also tease out some of the practical tips about how we can all become better classroom teachers. It's an episode that covers theory about how the brain learns but also some usable strategies for all. Resources: The first edition of Why Don't Students Like School? came out in 2009 with a new updated edition published in 2021: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55874986-why-don-t-students-like-school Brief mention is also made of Daniel Willingham's new book, Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy. We recommend this book as a great resource for FE students and those studying for higher level exams: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59366180-outsmart-your-brain In this episode, we use a Thinking Routine from Harvard Project Zero to guide the discussion and enable us to get to the heart of some of the cognitive principles raised in the book. We chose CONNECT, EXTEND, CHALLENGE as our Thinking Routine: https://pz.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/Connect%20Extend%20Challenge_0.pdf Steph is EDIJ coordinator and Head of Constructive Thinking at a primary school in North London. You can find out more about Harvard Project Zero, beloved of Steph and our teacher learning community: https://pz.harvard.edu/

How do we make space for the curious child? In a society where we are eroding subjects such as music, art and dance from the curriculum, where knowledge and achievement are valued above play and creativity, how do we encourage curiosity in children and allow it to thrive inside and outside the classroom? Ross Borthwick, Isabel Rich and David Marshall approach the question of curiosity in Episode 5 of Season 3 with...well, curiosity. It's something all schools want to promote - or say they want to promote - but what exactly is it, and how do we keep the spark alive in the children we teach, particularly in an age of instant access knowledge? Episode Links & Other Things How the Ivy League Broke Americahttps://bit.ly/4iibPOwMichael Rosen's Book of Playhttps://wellcomecollection.org/books/michael-rosen-s-book-of-playhttps://francisalys.com/category/childrens-games/ https://bit.ly/3BAxcdd https://www.dk.com/uk/book/9780241379783-stephen-biestys-incredible-cross-sections/ https://flyingeyebooks.com/https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/dunkeld-cathedral/ The Rest is Education is a podcast created by teachers for teachers, parents and anyone interested in education. Please follow, share and recommend whenever you can. You can email us at therestiseducation@gmail.com or find us on LinkedIn. Thanks for listening!

Part two of our mini-series on school curriculum sees co-hosts Isabel Rich and Ross Borthwick interview Neil Burch, Senior Master and former Deputy Head Academic at Bradfield College, a leading independent senior school. Neil has been teaching for over twenty years having worked in both state and independent sector, here in the UK and overseas. His role has enabled him to be involved with, amongst other things, curriculum design. He has also been a governor at The Willink which is a comprehensive school in Berkshire and at an international school in France. Isabel is a former Head of English, current educational consultant and visits a multitude of schools in her role as an educational consultant. Ross has worked in independent prep and senior schools across the UK, was an Assistant Head at a leading independent prep school in London, Scholars' Master at a former independent boarding 'Prep School of the Year' in the South-East of England and is now a Housemaster at a leading independent boarding senior school in Scotland where he is part of the team responsible for curriculum development.

In this episode, David Marshall welcomes guests James Page and Dr Cindy Gause-Vega to discuss the question: What makes an excellent primary curriculum? James Page is Chief Executive of Haringey Education Partnership (HEP) which has 120 member schools and supports 35,000 school-age children. Dr Cindy Gause-Vega is an educational consultant based in Prague focused on professional learning and collaborative inquiry-based learning. She is former elementary school principal in the Czech Republic with experience working across three countries and two continents. This episode is part 1 of 2 looking at the value of curriculum, with a focus this week on the primary sector. The word curriculum stems from the Latin verb currere, meaning 'to run'. The noun translates as 'racecourse' an apt metaphor for all the things curriculum has come to mean for schools today. Early in this episode, the idea of a road map is mentioned as another metaphor for a curriculum, something which can both define and limit what a it is and can be. What is not in question, is the value of curriculum design to excellent education and the importance of a well-thought-through curriculum to children everywhere. Mentioned or linked to the episode: https://haringeyeducationpartnership.co.uk/https://openingworlds.uk/what-is-opening-worlds/https://www.structural-learning.com/post/jerome-bruners-theorieshttps://my.chartered.college/impact_article/applying-the-powerful-knowledge-principle-to-curriculum-development-in-disadvantaged-contexts/https://www.johncattbookshop.com/products/the-researched-guide-to-the-curriculum-an-evidence-informed-guide-for-teachershttps://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/hep-talks/id1608692574The Rest is Education is a podcast founded by Ross Borthwick, David Marshall and Aaron Huber, now with Isabel Rich as a co-host. Email any questions or comments to therestiseducation@gmail.com. We hope you enjoy the podcast. Please do follow us, wherever you get your pods and, if you liked it, please give us five stars and recommend us to friends and colleagues.

In Scotland, the government states that all children will have the opportunity to experience a four-night residential trip at some point during their time at school. With at least two-thirds of our educational experts based in Scotland, we took this opportunity to examine the role of education outside the classroom. This week co-hosts Ross Borthwick and Isabel Rich are joined by Tom Mason, Head of Outdoor Learning, to discuss the value and impact of learning outside. Together, they look at the origins of outdoor education and its transition from the periphery of the education world to its central role in our understanding of wellbeing and child development. Some of the resources mentioned in the episode or linked to it are listed below: Learning Through Landscapes https://ltl.org.uk/ The Field Studies Council, UK https://www.field-studies-council.org/ The John Muir Trust https://www.johnmuirtrust.org/ The Royal Geographical Society https://www.rgs.org/ The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme https://www.dofe.org/ The Outward Bound Trust, UK https://www.outwardbound.org.uk/ The Adventure Society, UK http://www.adventuresociety.co.uk/ PGL, UK https://schoolsandgroups.pgl.co.uk/ Oppidan Education, UK https://culdenfawestate.com/oppidan-camps-2/ Salem School, BadenWürrtemberg, Germany. https://www.schule-schloss-salem.de/en/ Glenalmond College, Pertshire, Scotland. https://www.glenalmondcollege.co.uk/ Gordonstoun School, Morayshire, Scotland. https://www.gordonstoun.org.uk/ Kurt Hahn: Inspirational, Visionary, Outdoor and Experiential Educator https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kurt-Hahn-Inspirational-Visionary-Experiential/dp/9460914675?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A2D6DCNETSBBFU

Since the age of smart phones, navigating friendship, safety and self-esteem is ever more perilous and challenging for young people. Parents are seeing their children grow up in a world increasingly different from their own, while schools are having to adapt to a blurring of home life, school life and the online world. In Episode 1 of Season 3 of The Rest is Education, we ask what an education centred around the child and seen through the eyes of a child might look like. In this episode, David and Isabel are joined by Ramita Anand, educational consultant and founder of Elevate RA. Ramita has worked in many educational settings as a teacher and SENCO. She is the author of Girl Elevated and presents the podcast Elevate, which can be found wherever you get your pods and here: https://www.elevate-ra.com/podcast/ Books or websites recommended or mentioned in the episode: · The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: https://www.unicef.org.uk/what-we-do/un-convention-child-rights/ · OECD (2024), What Does Child Empowerment Mean Today?: Implications for Education and Well-being, Educational Research and Innovation, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/8f80ce38-en. · Girl Elevated https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60712996-girl-elevated · Elevate RA https://www.elevate-ra.com/ book · Jonathan Haidt https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-new-yorker-interview/jonathan-haidt-wants-you-to-take-away-your-kids-phone · Marc Brackett – Permission to Feel & The Ruler Programme https://marcbrackett.com/permission-to-feel/ · Michael Ungar – I Still Love You https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24792938-i-still-love-you · Lisa Demour – Untangled https://drlisadamour.com/books/untangled/ podcast Ask Lisa · Becky Kennedy – Good Inside https://www.goodinside.com/ · Big Feelings – Mollie West Duffy & Liz Fosslien https://www.lizandmollie.com/big-feelings · The School of Life https://www.theschooloflife.com/ · Elizabeth Day – Friendaholic https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/67353385-friendaholic Email us: therestiseducation@gmail.com

In this week's episode, we discuss the mental health crisis affecting staff in schools and look at some of the best ways to help develop a supportive wellbeing culture in schools. David talks with Hilary Plant and John Ansell, both experts in their own fields and experienced at providing support for schools in this area. Hilary is a local authority governor at a North London primary school. In addition to being the vice chair, link governor for SEND and inclusion and wellbeing governor, she is also a practising psychotherapist and has worked for many years in public health as a cancer nurse, researcher and senior manager. John is an expert trainer specialising in data machine learning and data science and a leadership coach, who has worked for numerous schools and education groups on one-to-one coaching with leaders, mostly in the independent sector. Some of the resources and websites mentioned in this episode include: The Education Staff Wellbeing Charter can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/education-staff-wellbeing-charter On The Key, you can find a series of articles on workload and staff wellbeing, including a toolkit for line managers, You can sign up for a trial to access 3 free articles: https://schoolleaders.thekeysupport.com/staff/managing-school-staff/staff-wellbeing/ The Anna Freud Institute: https://www.annafreud.org/resources/schools-and-colleges/ten-ways-to-support-school-staff-wellbeing/ You can find John Ansell's coaching website here: https://www.johnansellcoaching.com/my-story If you are concerned about your welfare or the welfare of someone else, please reach out to speak to a trusted friend or colleague. You can also contact the Samaritans for free at any time day or night on 116 123: https://www.samaritans.org/?nation=scotland You can find out about the NEU (National Education Union) mental health charter here: https://neu.org.uk/latest/library/mental-health-charter If you have any questions for the team, want to clarify anything we misunderstood or add further details to the discussion, you can email us at therestiseducation@gmail.com Thank you, as always, for listening and supporting this podcast. The Rest is Education

With increasing numbers of pupils boarding, both within the UK and overseas, Ross is joined by highly experienced boarding practitioners Vicky and James Eales. The trio discuss the reasons why, despite the stereotypes, boarding is on the rise*. *ISC Census 2023

In episode 5 of season 2, David and Ross are joined by Rebecca Kennedy de Lorenzini to discuss the question, 'Is history the best subject?' Our working title 'The best is history' riffs off the popular UK-based podcast The Rest is History, a far grander and more established purveyor of fine historical discussion than us: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-rest-is-history/id1537788786 However, we think you'll agree, once you've listened to this 47-minute episode, that the historical discussion on offer here is as good as any you'll find. We have educational thinking, historical philosophy and a few grisly anecdotes thrown in for good measure! Rebecca is a history teacher at an independent day and boarding school in California, a former history and interdisciplinary humanities professor, and an expert on the cultural history of the African Diaspora. Ross is a housemaster at a leading independent boarding school in Scotland. He is also a former Head of History with over a decade’s experience teaching the subject to Common Entrance and Scholarship. Whilst he is currently in the Geography department, perhaps once a history teacher always a history teacher is as true a saying as any? You can find out more about Adam Frost's work, mapping and digitally documenting sites and collections here: https://www.engineshed.scot/about-us/teams/digital-documentation-and-innovation/ If you liked this episode, please leave us a review on Apple, Spotify, Audible or wherever you get your pods. You can email us at therestiseducation@gmail.com and also find us on LinkedIn and (sometimes) Instagram. The Rest is Education is a small, not-for-profit podcast run by three teachers. Thank you for listening and for supporting us with your time. We appreciate it so much and each download is an encouragement to us to keep recording and making episodes.

In this assessment-focused episode, Ross interviews Julia Martin, the ISEB's effervescent CEO, on how the UK's oldest examination board is pioneering new forms of assessment after 120 years. The Independent Schools Examination Board, founded in 1903 and utilised by 340 schools worldwide, is leading the way with a raft of innovative assessments from the project-based iPQ to revolutionary creative writing analytical tools designed to assess comparative judgement. Join Ross and Julia as they explore what drove the creation of each assessment and discuss how the assessment landscape is changing at an extraordinary pace. Julia has very kindly offered all The Rest is Education listeners with a generous discount code to the ISEB's upcoming conference on comparative judgement. Simply enter the code 'EDUCATION' at: https://conference.iseb.co.uk/ Assessing Change, Awarding the Future is a one-day conference for independent schools on the future of assessment taking place on Wednesday 24th April, 2024. 10 Union Street, London. SE1. For more information about the ISEB and the assessments it offers, please visit: https://www.iseb.co.uk/ If you would like to enter Time to Write you can do so at: www.write.iseb.co.uk Later in the episode we mention Classics For All and refer to our episode ‘Should we teach Classics?’ In which we interview Classics For All’s very own Anna Bell and inspirational classics teacher Julia Gray. Find out more at: www.classicsforall.org.uk You can contact Julia's team at: enquiries@iseb.co.uk If you would like to comment on the episode, ask questions or suggest content for future episodes, please get in touch with us at: therestiseducation@gmail.com

In Episode 3 of Season 2, we address the pressing question of AI in education. David is joined in The Rest is Education (digital) studio by Holly Thomas and Barry Cooper. Barry is Principal of The Global College, an IB institution based in Madrid: https://theglobalcollege.com/ Holly Thomas is Head of IT and Digital Innovation at a prep school in North London. Organisations mentioned on the podcast include IAPS (Independent Association of Prep Schools): https://iaps.uk/ and IE Business School in Madrid: https://www.ie.edu/business-school/ Open AI and Chat GPT are mentioned in conversation: https://openai.com/ Reportal was the subject of Season 1, Episode 15: https://reportal.ai/ You can find out more about Robert Bjork's concept of 'desirable difficulties' here: https://bjorklab.psych.ucla.edu/research/ The Rest is Education is an independent, self-funded podcast which has no links or affiliations to any organisation or company referred to in any episode. We hope you are enjoying series 2. Please email us at therestiseducation@gmail.com if you have any questions, comments or corrections or just if you want to chat and suggest a topic or person for our next episode.

In this episode, Ross and David explore the British house system from its (probable) origin in the clans and dynasties of medieval Europe to the sorting hat and houses of Hogwarts. With a few diversions to Latin mottos and international schools, they discuss boarding houses, sports days and house chants. Outside of Harry Potter, houses are ultimately a place of pastoral care and cross-year friendships for pupils throughout the school.

Season 2 of The Rest is Education begins with a discussion about classics in education. David speaks to Anna Bell from the charity Classics for All, alongside author, musician and classics teacher Julia Gray, asking the question, 'Why should we teach classics?' In this episode, mention is made of the organisation and charity Classics for All, details for which can be found here: https://classicsforall.org.uk/ Julia refers to the apps Quizlet and Blooket, information about which can be found here: https://quizlet.com/en-gb https://www.blooket.com/ Not mentioned in the episode but highly recommended by both Julia and Anna is Minimus, the Latin course for children, details of which are here: https://www.minimuslatin.co.uk/ CW: suicide and death are mentioned in context in this episode of the podcast.

Ross and David welcome guest presenter Isabel Rich to discuss the value of homework in schools. We explore some of the research around homework and discuss our own experiences as teachers and parents. The poem read by David to begin isHomework! Oh Homework by Jack Prelutskyhttps://www.poemhunter.com/poem/homework-oh-homework-2/Books Discussed John Hattie - Visible Learning: The Sequel (2023) https://visible-learning.org/2023/01/visible-learning-the-sequel-2023/Dominic Salles - The Slightly Awesome Teacher (2016) https://www.johncattbookshop.com/products/the-slightly-awesome-teacherYou can email us at: therestiseducation@gmail.comOr find us on Twitter at: @RestEducation

Join co-host Ross Borthwick on this extraordinary episode as he interviews New Zealand tech pioneer and founder of revolutionary report-writing software Reportal.ai, Frazer Findlater. Frazer introduces us to the website that makes report writing a breeze and explains how artificial intelligence is helping teachers worldwide to write better reports. Hold onto your pods as this one is going to create some waves. Watch this space!www.reportal.ai

Staffroom chats, after work socials, friendly corridor greetings - all these interactions make life a bit better in the day-to-day life of a school. But on days when things are really tough, connecting with a colleague can be a lifesaver. Ross and David chat great colleagues on this Rest is Education special looking at the social life of schools.

This week, join Ross and David as they discuss what schools can and are doing to develop kind citizens. It features an interview with Alan Marshall, David's Dad, who undertook national service in the military in the early 1950s. The recording of this episode coincided with the 200th sovereign's parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst - the UK's military leadership college and whose maxim is 'Serve to lead' - as well as the launch of BBC Countryfile's 'Wild Britain' campaign, which aims to encourage one million acts of kindness towards the environment this year. Please do email us with examples from your school: therestiseducation@gmail.com

PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) is a worldwide study by the OECD intended to evaluate educational systems by measuring 15-year-old school pupils' performance in maths, science and reading. This week, David interviews Lucy Crehan, qualified teacher, author and educational consultant. Her book Cleverlands (2016) combines educational research with an exploration of the world's top performing education systems, for which she travelled to help out in schools and live with teachers in Finland, Canada, Singapore, Japan, New Zealand and Shanghai. She has worked with governments in England, Brunei and Myanmar, and spoken about her work at conferences in nine countries across four continents. She spent a year working as part of a team advising foreign governments on education reform at Education Development Trust, and now works as an independent consultant and author.