From Teaching in Japan to creating Mrs Mactivity with Heather McAvan

After a stint away from the mic we're delighted to be back on the podcast and we've used this episode to explain just exactly where we've been hiding!   We speak about the difficult ending to our PGCE's, the challenges facing ECT's when applying for jobs and reflect on our own personal experiences doing just that.   Finally we talk about where we are now in our education careers and what's ahead for us and the podcast in the upcoming school year.   We hope you enjoy! Please don't forget to Rate, Review and Subscribe!  

For this podcast episode we were thrilled to be joined by the inspiring woman, lecturer and former headteacher Claire Birkenshaw to chat all things related to gender inclusion and LGBTQ+ within education.   Claire bravely opens up about her own personal transitioning journey whilst being headteacher of a secondary school, the challenges that brought her and how she feels the younger generation are more accepting and celebratory of gender and LGBTQ+ diversity.   We then discuss how important it is to understand what gender means, how in society it has continued to evolve in recent years and how as teachers we play a vital role in providing a safe and open classroom environment for LGBTQ+ inclusion.   A truly wonderful and inspiring conversation with Claire around a topic which is so important both in education and across society. We hope you enjoy!   Please don't forget to Rate, Review and Subscribe!

For our latest podcast episode we are joined by the wonderful Katie Hemmings, a current KS1 teacher and phase leader who runs a fantastic Instagram account focusing on KS1 ideas and continuous provision.   We begin the episode by discussing Katie's unconventional journey in teaching, looking at the unique route she had into the profession and chatting about the valuable experiences she had whilst being a TA for a number of years.   The conversation moves onto Katie's passion for teaching in KS1 with a focus on continuous provision, the magic and innocence of the children in that phase as well as how teaching in KS1 enables her to be as creative a teacher as she wants to be.   This led to her building her brilliant Instagram account @katiesclassroom_ where she offers trainee, student and experienced teachers an opportunity to follow her career in KS1 whilst giving valuable ideas on how to use continuous provision and creativity along the way.   A fantastic conversation full of fun and laughs and a real buzz for teaching in KS1. We hope you enjoy!   Pleas don't forget to Rate, Review and Subscribe!

For this podcast episode we were joined by Deputy Headteachers Russ and Steve, otherwise known as the 'Dynamic Deps' and creators of the 'Don't Shoot the Deputies' podcast.   During this fascinating episode we spoke about their unique routes into teaching, how their bromance blossomed when working together as Assistant Headteachers and why they're both thriving as Deputy Headteachers now in different parts of the country.   A brilliant chat with plenty of advice for teachers at any stage in their career and we'd love for you to listen and learn as much as we did recording it. We hope you enjoy!   Don't forget to Rate, Review and Subscribe!

In this week's episode we were joined by the wonderful Dr Marc Turu-Porcel, university lecturer at Leeds Beckett and the man who helped get this podcast up and running! Marc chats openly about his background growing up, training and teaching in Spain before moving to England to undertake a Master's degree in Education Psychology. He highlights the cultural differences between being a male primary teacher in Spain and England, and why this has pushed him towards a career in academia. His passion for helping people transferred from children to trainee teachers when he begun his research focussing on NQT and trainee mentors and the challenges they face in the current education system. A brilliant, open and insightful chat with both a colleague and a friend that we think everyone will learn from. We hope you enjoy! Please Rate, Review and Subscribe!

For this latest podcast episode we were thrilled to be joined by Heather McAvan, former primary school teacher, Twinkl employee and now founder of educational resource business 'Mrs Mactivity'.  On the show Heather discusses how she started her teaching career abroad in Japan and Spain before settling in Bradford where she spent 10 years as a primary school teacher. She opens up about the reasons behind leaving the teaching profession discussing workload, senior leadership and juggling being a mother whilst teaching. With Heather's passion still in education she talks about working for Twinkl, her drive to keep helping children and how this led to her forming her successful education resource business 'Mrs Mactivity'.  A brilliant chat with Heather and we can't wait for you guys to listen. We hope you enjoy! Please Rate, Review and Subscribe!

For this podcast episode we were joined by the brilliant Phil Naylor, Deputy Headteacher and creator of the superb education podcast 'Naylor's Natter'.  Phil joins us to discuss his unique journey into teaching from football coach to Biology teacher, before chatting about his various roles en-route to becoming Deputy Head. The chat then turns to the success of his very own education podcast 'Naylor's Natter' where he tells the story it it's famous jingle, opens up about some brilliant guests he's interviewed on the podcast before giving us an exclusive into the writing of his first book. We hope you enjoy! Please Rate, Review and Subscribe!

For this podcast episode we were joined by current NQT Meg O'Shea to talk about her teaching journey whilst living with Bi-Polar. We learn more about Bi-Polar as an illness, how Meg manages her daily routine as a newly qualified teacher and what schools can do to raise more awareness of the Mental Health disorder. We hope you enjoy! Please Rate, Review and Subscribe!

For our latest podcast episode we were joined by the current Dean of Education at Leeds Beckett University, Professor Damien Page, where we focused on the important subject of 'Wider Social Inclusion'.   Damien introduces the role of Dean and reveals his passions and love for the job, particularly how providing an inclusive setting for students to train as aspiring teachers is central to the schools ethos. We chat about the importance of tackling social issues through education and teacher training such as racial inequality, LGBTQ+ representation and SEND inclusion alongside the influence of politics within the system. We look at how students nowadays are more socially aware of these issues because of social media and what universities are doing to put more emphasis on the importance of social issues within both education and society. We hope you enjoy!! Please Rate, Review and Subscribe!!    

For this week's podcast episode we were joined by the fantastic Tara Cross, a recent PGCE graduate from Cambridge University and now a Year 5 NQT. Having been a Teaching Assistant before completing her PGCE, we talk to Tara about how that experience helped her confidence in the classroom and why she decided to wait a year before heading to Cambridge University. We also discuss the importance of maintaining a positive work/life balance through your PGCE year, alongside Tara's passion for reading children's books and how this helps her build relationships with the children. Finally, Tara offers her top tips for the PGCE year as well as some fantastic books and resources that she highly recommends! We hope you Enjoy! Please Rate, Review and Subscribe!