SecEd Podcast

How can teachers get their students to “pay attention” in the secondary school classroom? What teaching techniques can boost engagement? In this special episode, we sit down with the world-renowned teacher Ross Morrison McGill to discuss what he learnt about student attention and motivation while writing his new book, The Teacher Toolkit Guide to the Science of Learning (Bloomsbury, 2026). The episode is packed with practical tips for the secondary school classroom to help teachers boost student attention and motivation, with lots of examples to boot. We touch upon the role of metacognition, including what it actually means in practice, and describe some metacognitive techniques. Ross’ new book studies research from fMRI scans to understand brain activity and how students’ brains respond in the classroom. As such, in conversation with SecEd editor Pete Henshaw, Ross considers the biggest barriers to students “paying attention” in the classroom and outlines common factors that make them stop paying attention. He offers his top tips and common mistakes to avoid. We touch too upon motivation and engagement, discussing how we can motivate our young people in their learning and Ross’ preferred techniques for engaging them in lessons. The episode includes a range of best practice advice, lessons learned and tips for teachers based on fMRI research. Ross has kindly offered listeners of the SecEd Podcast access to a free resource – a month-by-month plan to help you embed revision skills with your students: Access this here.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode offers insights, ideas and approaches for teaching year 7 classes effectively – including practical ways of preventing the infamous year 7 dip. Our expert panel of three experienced teachers discuss strategies for the year 7 classroom and consider the differences between excellent teaching in year 7 compared with older year groups. Specifically, we consider tips for how to handle the first half-term with your year 7 classes, including how to help pupils settle in well and the learning habits and routines that we need to establish early-on. We talk about how to develop independent learning skills, literacy and reading, oracy, self-regulation and more. We also discuss how to strike the balance between nurturing these young pupils while also maintaining high-expectations and challenge in the classroom. The panel touches upon how we can ensure a broad and balanced curriculum for our youngest pupils, how we can identify the core knowledge and skills needed for pupils at this stage, and the role of extra-curricular work. We consider how teachers can support a smooth transition from primary school – both academically and socially – including tips for the classroom, effective use of tutor time, pastoral support, and advice about what schools often get wrong more generally. We also discuss how to work with the parents of year 7 children.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode offers practical advice to those taking on new leadership roles in the secondary school, with dos and don'ts, useful tips, and lessons learned from our experienced panel. If you are a teacher taking on a new leadership role in school – whether that be a headteacher, senior leadership or middle leadership post – then this episode is for you. Three experienced school leaders offer us some golden rules for taking on a leadership role and discuss how we should start out in our new post, including how we should approach the first half-term in post and what missteps we should avoid. We ask what the biggest misconceptions of leadership are and what surprised our panelists most when they first stepped up. We discuss how new leaders can establish credibility and ask our panellists what they would do differently if they could go back to their first term as a leader. We look at how leaders can prioritise and at people management skills, offering tips for managing difficult conversations. We also advise on managing workload and work/life balance as a leader. We touch on the power of mentoring and coaching for leaders and hear about some of the early leadership experiences of our three panelists. It's a discussion with lots of practical tips and powerful ideas.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode offers practical insights for teachers on how best we can support our high-attaining students in the secondary school classroom. Our panel discusses the language we use when referring to this cohort of students and how we might define what "high-attaining" means. We then move on to outline a number of classroom strategies for teachers to help them teach and support these learners as well as some common mistakes to avoid. We discuss how we can create a culture of scholarly ambition in our classrooms and approach the curriculum challenges faced by high-attaining students. We also offer tips for making a success of extension activities. We ask, too, how we can help learners to become increasingly independent and to stay motivated and engaged – even in the face of challenges and set-backs. The panel includes an English and a maths specialist but many of the strategies discussed apply across the curriculum.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we offer practical tips and ideas for how teachers can support the communication skills of students as they make the step-up to the year 7 classroom and key stage 3 study. An experienced panel – including a speech and language therapist – discuss how we can help those students who struggle with communication needs, including oracy and vocabulary. We consider the increase in academic rigour that students transitioning into year 7 encounter, including increasingly complex language and vocabulary. We then outline some adaptive teaching techniques as well as tips for developing oracy and speaking skills, vocabulary and academic language, and literacy and reading skills – with lots of ideas for the year 7 classroom. We also explore general lesson planning and teaching tips that support SLCN in the secondary classroom with examples of practice from our guests' schools. And we talk briefly about effective interventions to support these learners. This episode has been supported by our friends at Speech and Language Link. Visit www.speechandlanguage.linkSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode talks everything supply teaching – with practical advice for schools on how to enable your supply teachers to excel as well as a range of tips for supply teachers themselves. In the first half of our discussion, our expert panel focus on how secondary schools can set their supply teachers up for success, including what must be in place before they arrive at the gate and top tips for how to support them during the placement. We discuss behaviour management and support, how to share key documents and information effectively, organising lesson plans and resources, and common mistakes we should avoid at all costs. Then in the second half of the discussion we offer tips and advice for our army of supply teachers who keep our schools running every day. We look at how to prepare for your placements, key questions to ask the host school, tip tips for your first day and beyond, what to do if things go wrong or if resources or lesson plans are not available, and some common mistakes to avoid. We round off the podcast with a range of practical tips that can be implemented – by schools and supply teachers – tomorrow.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode discusses how teachers can create the perfect classroom environment for their students, offering a range of practical tips and quick wins. Our expert panel discuss four core aspects – the physical classroom environment, the social environment, the emotional environment, and the learning environment. Physical environment: We ask what we can do to create a positive physical space in the classroom to support learning, including the use of displays, the layout of furniture, and issues like temperature and natural light. Social environment: We look at the tenets of positive social classroom environments, including how senior leadership and teachers can work together to create a "this is how we do it here" culture that is consistent across lessons so that children know what they will encounter when they walk in the door. We touch upon behaviour for learning, addressing low-level disruption, common lesson routines to reduce anxiety and maximise focus, and much more. Emotional environment: This concerns students' emotional response to our classroom environment. What can we do to create a classroom environment that is conducive to challenge but which is unthreatening and a place where pupils become comfortable with hard work, including via the use of rewards and sanctions. Learning environment: This concerns the way that learning is structured and organised in order to ensure every student values their work and strives to achieve, including the adaptations we make for SEND and other disadvantaged students. We discuss how to motivate students and consider a range of teaching techniques. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode offers a range of practical ideas, advice and teaching techniques for engaging students in the work of William Shakespeare – both in the English classroom and across the school. Produced in partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the episode features a panel of experts and educators who discuss how we can make Shakespeare enjoyable for our students. We talk about Shakespeare's place across the school, in the English and drama classrooms of course, but also in other places such as the assembly hall and extra-curricular work. We offer a range of teaching tips and ways we can make Shakespeare enjoyable and engaging for students, including how we can help them to penetrate the vocabulary of Shakespeare, how Shakespeare can support oracy education, and ideas for how we can introduce Shakespeare effectively in key stage 3. Crucially, we also ask what we should avoid doing when teaching Shakespeare and ask how we can show students the relevance of Shakespeare in today's world. This episode has been produced to mark the launch of RSC's new Shakespeare Curriculum platform, which brings you the next generation of digital resources to support your teaching of Shakespeare. It is free to access for state-maintained schools and SEN schools. More details at the end of the podcast or via: www.shakespearecurriculum.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode dissects the revised Ofsted inspection framework, setting out actions that school leaders can take now to prepare and offering expert insights and tips. Our panel has extensive experience of Ofsted inspection, and they break down the key changes that schools should be focused on and how best we can respond. We highlight key aspects of the revised framework, including the implications of the new evaluation areas and grading points. We interrogate the new "secure fit" model of inspection and Ofsted's new "expected standard". We delve into the inclusion thread that runs throughout the framework and will dominant inspections from now on and we discuss the new focus on school context, asking how school leaders can best communicate this information during inspection. We offer top tips for the Monday phone call, tips for identifying strengths/weaknesses, touch upon the new role of the "nominee" and the case sampling of pupils. Finally, we list actions that schools should be taking now to set themselves in good stead for inspection under the new regime.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This episode focuses on belonging and inclusion in the secondary school – namely how can we ensure that every student can take part in school life. Our panel of experienced school leaders define what "belonging" means in the context of a busy secondary school. We talk school culture: what does a culture of inclusion and belonging involve, how can we develop this in a natural way, and what approaches are in place at our guests' schools – especially when it comes to welcoming new students in year 7. We talk about the role of school staff in fostering belonging and inclusive practice, including in the classroom, and some of the key strategies we can employ. We talk behaviour and what kind of approaches to behaviour management and expectations can support a culture of belonging – including understanding where our families are coming from. We also touch on inclusive curriculum design and delivery, including how to audit our curriculum for inclusivity and what curriculum "accessibility" actually means. And finally talk attendance and family engagement. How we can reduce student absence via a culture of belonging and how can we engage with families to extend this feeling of belonging into our communities.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.