Lessons Outside the Classroom

In this episode I had the pleasure of speaking with Nishma Patel Robb, founder of Glittersphere, about Authentic Intelligence™ and the skills children will need in this age of AI. In our conversation, we explore the five human skills that will keep us relevant in a world obsessed with tech. Nishma shares her personal journey, moments of challenge, and some brilliant, practical advice for parents – especially when it comes to creating those small but lasting moments of connection with their kids. To find out more about Nishma, visit https://www.glittersphere.com/ Glittersphere is a vibrant community and personal‑branding accelerator, dedicated to empowering ambitious women to step out of the shadows, claim their visibility, and build financial and career success through community, storytelling, and Authentic Intelligence™.

In this weeks episode I speak to Helayna Jenkins, the first person in the UK to be appointed Principal Loneliness Champion, about the growing issue of loneliness amongst young people. Often attributed to something more likely to affect the older generation, Helayna shares some surprising statistics of how prevalent loneliness is amongst 18-35year olds.    In our conversation, Helayna defines what loneliness is. We also discuss the causes, impacts and solutions to this growing problem. Having experienced loneliness herself, Helayna is able to bring her personal experience to her role and in doing so is helping to make a big impact.    As always if you have any comments about this episodes or have a specific topic you'd like to hear about please email me at [email protected] 

In this episode I have an insightful conversation with Arran Smith, the Vice Chair of the British Dyslexia Association who himself has Dyslexia. We hear about Arran's journey, from diagnosis to how he has navigated the world with the learning difference. He talks about the important role that his mother and primary school teacher had and he gives some great tips and advice to parents and guardians as to how they can best support their child. It was a fascinating interview and I now have a better understanding of Dyslexia. I hope you enjoy listening.   If you have any comments about this episodes or have a specific topic you'd like to hear about please email me at [email protected] 

In this podcast I have a fascinating conversation with Dr. Steve Pearlman who is a renowned critical thinking expert and educator. He is the founder of the Critical Thinking Institute. In this episode we discuss the importance of Critical Thinking skills, the fact that it is a travesty that it currently is not taught in our schools and what we as parents can do to get our children to think more critically. Dr. Pearlman's work integrates  insights from neuroscience, education and behavioural change. I hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as I enjoyed having the conversation. Visit www.thectinstitute.com to find out more about Dr. Pearlman but also to find details about his critical thinking course for children and adults.

Today I'm speaking to Dr Hayley J Smith. She is a clinical psychologist and a mother of two. We have a thought provoking conversation about the school system, the increase in children's mental health difficulties caused by their experiences in schools and the problems with a school system that is so focused on targets and assessment to the detriment of those children with individual needs or children with SEN.

Unfortunately bullying exists and as parents we cannot always be there to protect our children. Instead we need to give them the skills necessary to help them navigate these challenges. This week I speak to Stella O'Malley, a psychotherapist and author of 'Bully-Proof Kids' about how we can implement so practical tools to help them. She also gives great advice to us as parents and guardians about what we can do if our child is being bullied, or is the bully. 

In this episode I am speaking to Bradley Busch, psychologist who with his co-author have written a new book: 'The Science of Learning: 77 Studies That Every Parent Should Know' Using the studies as a guide to help you to understand the mysteries of children's brains. We discuss parents’ understanding of crucial psychological research so that they can help their children improve how they think, feel and behave in school (and, indeed, in life). We discuss some of the fascinating research which includes data that a lot of parents will find very surprising and which goes against some of our common held assumptions.  To find out more about Bradley and his work visit: innderdrive.co.uk - visit the resources tab and you will find a large number of free resources on a whole range of topics.

Today I speak to Will Rainey, the founder of Blue Tree Savings. A blog aimed at helping as many parents teach their children about money. We talk about why pocket money is essential. Why Will refers to money as seeds and the simple money lessons we can learn. You can find out more tips from Will's blog at https://www.bluetreesavings.com/ 

In this episode I am speaking with the 'Homework Guru' Omari Eccleston-Brown. He offers private tutoring in the UK as well as internationally. In our discussion we discuss the challenge of homework and why it can be a battle ground between children and parents. Omari offers some great insights into why this is the case but also how we can make homework a more enjoyable and enriching experience all round.    If you'd like to find out more about Omari you can visit his website: www.believeinlearning.com . He is soon to be launching a new book, 'The secret to happy homework. The 7 hidden laws of success'.

This week I speak to Emma Gleadhill. She is an educational speaker, mentor and coach who specialises in child and adolescent development. Among other things we talk about why the 'sex talk' isn't a one off discussion but hundreds of small conversations over many years and also why starting the dialogue with your children empowers them to make more informed decisions later on in life.  Find out more about Emma: www.emmagleadhill.com