Podcast appearances and mentions of Amanda Spielman

Join Tom Rogers, Yasmin Omar, Tarjinder Gill, Lucy Trimnell and Will Mercer for this episode of Points of View. They discuss Amanda Spielman being awarded a peerage in the House of Lords. In addition, they discuss ‘Colour-blind' research that claims race is not a factor in school exclusions which has been slammed as ‘nonsense'.

Dave Brown, Carl Smith, Tarjinder Gill and Tom Rogers discuss the biggest stories from the week gone by in education. 

Bridget Phillipson's schools bill is back in the Commons today. The scope of the legislation is twofold: firstly, looking at the welfare of children in schools and secondly at fundamentally changing the landscape of secondary education by doing away with academies (and with it the legacy of the previous Conservative government on education). The plan has been read by many – including former head of Ofsted Amanda Spielman, who joins today's podcast – as Labour pandering to the unions and perhaps even prioritising the adults (union members) over the children. Amendments to the bill will be debated this afternoon, including a Tory amendment that would ban phones in schools, although it doesn't seem that Labour is in the mood to make any concessions. What is motivating Labour? What's the vision of change here? James Heale speaks to Michael Gove and Amanda Spielman. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Megan McElroy.

Today's GCSE results show an exams system that has largely returned to pre-Covid norms. It has also given the government a chance to talk about skills and apprenticeships – something that Bridget Phillipson's predecessor as education secretary was also keen on. Cindy Yu talks to James Heale and Amanda Spielman, former chair of Ofqual and Ofsted, about the state of the British education system. Produced by Cindy Yu.

Julia Waters, the sister of headteacher Ruth Perry, joins Tom Rogers to discuss all things OFSTED. Julia talks about the lead up to the death of Ruth, the inspection which a coroner concluded was a cause of her death and the 56 days between the inspection and Ruth's death. Also in this interview - What has Julia's experience of Amanda Spielman, Gillian Keegan and Martyn Oliver been like? What are her aims for change? What happens if she doesn't get change? What is her message to the teaching unions and the profession as a whole? All covered in this interview.  

TW: This episode includes discussions around suicide. If you need someone to talk to, Samaritans listen. Call them on 116 123.Last week, The National Union of Education voted overwhelmingly at their conference to 'abolish Ofsted' - saying it causes more harm than good and needed urgent and fundamental reform. They can't, of course, but today we - with your help - are asking if Ofsted is fit for purpose. We hear from teachers and heads - our listeners - who tell us what needs to change. We speak to Julia Waters, the sister of Ruth Perry, the Head of Caversham Primary who killed herself in the aftermath of an 'inadequate' rating and inspection, and finally we speak to Ofsted's new head - Sir Martyn Oliver. Does he think Ofsted has made mistakes? Did he fire anyone following the coroners verdict into Ruth's death? Would he change the one word summary ruling of 'outstanding' down to 'inadequate'. And how does he reflect upon words and actions of Amanda Spielman, his predecessor at Ofsted - criticised by many teachers for failing to find the right, compassionate tone in the face of that tragedy.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducers: Laura FitzPatrick & Shane FennellySocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Shane Fennelly and Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents"!The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

“People assume everything should be about making the adults comfortable and happy and forget about the extra risk that puts on children.” This weeks difficult women is Amanda Spielman. Former chief of Ofsted who stepped down at the end of last year amid the death of Ruth Perry. A death which has subsequently lead to a total overhaul of how we assess schools and the role Ofsted should play in that process. In her first interview since leaving the role, listen as we discuss the state of education and the future of Ofsted.

The Education Brief: Saturday 16 December 2023 - Top stories include: The DfE has launched a consultation on the Advanced British Standard. Private equity-backed firms and a Middle East sovereign wealth fund are profiting from the UK's struggling SEND system. Ofsted's grading landscape for schools has evolved under the leadership of Amanda Spielman. There has been a significant increase in fines issued to parents for unauthorised pupil absences. This week's deep dive:  The HEP / Haringey 2023 Racial Equity Conference We'll also tell you what's happening at HEP this week and what we've been watching, listening to, and reading! Watching Listening Reading  AI Tool Music by Slo Pony

Brent and Adam explore the outcome of the inquest into the death of Ruth Perry in full. They are joined by Edmund Barnett-Ward who attended every day of the inquest with Julia Waters, the sister of Ruth Perry. He shares his thoughts and experiences of the week including his immediate reaction to the inquest outcome and the reaction of OFSTED and Amanda Spielman to it. Other guests include Brian Lightman, former President of ASCL, Paula King, Robert Hewitt, Flora Cooper, Krissy Carte, Jen Knussen, Tracey Boulton and more.

In this episode, Adam and Amy begin by reacting to the coroner's report into the death of Headteacher Ruth Perry and discuss what should happen next at Ofsted. Responding to a question on Threads, they also look at learning walks and how they can be best utilised by school leaders to drive improvement and meaningful change. Samaritans are available 365 days a year. You can reach them on free call number 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org or visit www.samaritans.org to find your nearest branch. Education Support runs a confidential helpline for education staff and teachers – call 08000 562 561.

Tom is joined by Becky Allen, the co founder of Teacher Tapp, Simon Kidwell, President of the NAHT, Shivan Davies, English teacher and other callers too. They discuss the past, present and future of the schools inspectorate anticipating the end of the tenure of Amanda Spielman as chief inspector.

For more than two decades, Sharon Osbourne has been a regular feature on our screens. She came to prominence while appearing with her husband Ozzy on The Osbournes - a reality television show on MTV, which followed the family's daily life. She later became a talent show judge on television programmes such as the X Factor and America's Got Talent. She joins Anita Rani to discuss her forthcoming theatre show - Sharon Osbourne - Cut The Crap! Actor Jodie Whittaker joins Woman's Hour to talk about her role in a new Australian six part drama called One Night. Shot in New South Wales the story unfolds around three women from a coastal community whose reunion after many years apart is intensified by the publishing of a novel based on their lives. She joins Emma to discuss some of her other hard hitting roles post Doctor Who. Amanda Spielman is coming to the end of an unprecedented seven year tenure at the helm of Ofsted. This year the organisation has come under intense scrutiny over its inspection regime and in particular the use of single-phrase judgments of schools, and the potential mental health impacts of those on school leaders and teachers. During the week Ofsted's annual report is released, Amanda Spielman joins Emma for her only BBC interview. Another Body is an award-winning documentary which follows US engineering student, 'Taylor', in her search for answers and justice after she discovers deepfake pornography of herself circulating online. Ahead of its release in the UK, one of the documentary's directors, Sophie Compton joins Emma to discuss why she decided to make this documentary, what she found and why she used deepfake technology herself to anonymise the identities of the protagonists. Coaching for sonographers, the professionals carrying out the scans, on how to deliver unexpected and potentially devastating pregnancy news has been successfully tested in new research from the University of Leeds. Emma speaks to the lead researcher, Dr Judith Johnson, and also Karen, who says she was left with PTSD after receiving unexpected news about the health of her baby during a scan.

The Education Brief: Saturday 25 November 2023 - Top stories include: Amanda Spielman's final Ofsted report warns of a fractured social contract between schools and families. School exclusion rates have returned to pre-pandemic levels. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt set out the government's spending plans, but they don't include schools. Ofsted is set to implement changes to its post-inspection complaints process. This week's deep dive:  AI in Education Conference: Cut Through The Noise We'll also tell you what's happening at HEP this week and what we've been watching, listening to, and reading! Watching Listening Reading  Music by Slo Pony

Actor Jodie Whittaker joins Woman's Hour to talk about her role in a new Australian six part drama called One Night. Shot in New South Wales the story unfolds around three women from a coastal community whose reunion after many years apart is intensified by the publishing of a novel based on their lives. The central theme being the rape of Jodie's character Tess twenty years previously and the impact its had on all their lives. Emma Barnett will be asking her about some of her other hard hitting roles post Doctor Who. Amanda Spielman is coming to the end of an unprecedented seven year tenure at the helm of Ofsted. This year the organisation has come under intense scrutiny over its inspection regime and in particular the use of single-phrase judgments of schools, and the potential mental health impacts of those on school leaders and teachers, with many in the profession arguing that the current system is now unfit for purpose, and requires a complete overhaul. On the day Ofsted's annual report is released, Amanda Spielman joins Emma Barnett for her only BBC interview. The politician Margot Wallström introduced the concept of a feminist foreign policy to the world in 2014 when she became foreign secretary of Sweden. During her tenure she publicly recognised the state of Palestine, endorsed a United Nations ban on nuclear weapons and made no secret of her dislike for President Trump. Since then more than a dozen governments have announced their commitment to a feminist foreign policy, but what does it actually mean? Emma Barnett talks to Margot Wallström and to the German activist and author Kristina Lunz who has just written the Future of Foreign Policy is Feminist Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Emma Pearce

Welcome back to the tes news podcast. This week Senior content writer Grainne Hallahan is joined by reporter Matilda Martine as they discuss the future of digital assessment and why there is a shortage of invigilators.This week's headline stories are available below:NEU attacks ‘new and unusual' DfE stance on pay talksThe NEU teaching union went ahead with a two day teacher strike this week and said that 300,000 members were taking part. It also strongly criticised the DfE for meeting with the other main education unions this week but refusing to meet the NEU unless it called off the strike.https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/teacher-strikes-pay-neu-distraction-politicshttps://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/teacher-pay-strike-neu-attacks-dfe-stance-talks-gillian%20keegan Workload is unmanageable, say most school staffMore than two-thirds of school staff (68 per cent) think their workload is unmanageable, according to an annual survey conducted by Tes.The findings were revealed this week in the Tes Schools Wellbeing Report survey of 5,858 UK-based school staff.https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/teacher-workload-unmanageable-say-most-school-staffOak National Academy: Ofsted to advise subject groupsOfsted subject lead inspectors will work as advisers on Oak National Academy's expert groups, it has been announced today. But Oak has said the Ofsted advisers will not have a formal role in defining or recommending its curriculum.https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/oak-national-academy-ofsted-advise-subject-groupsDfE seeks ‘outstanding' leader to be next Ofsted chiefOn the subject of Ofsted, the government has formally launched the search for the next chief inspector to replace Amanda Spielman. A job advert for the next HMCI has been published revealing a drop in salary from the £189k paid to Ms Spielman to £165,000 for her successorhttps://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/dfe-replace-amanda-spielman-ofsted-chiefBudget 2023: All primaries to provide ‘wraparound' careThe chancellor Jeremy Hunt set out an “ambition” that the parents of all primary-age children will be provided with “wraparound” childcare in school by September 2026.The Treasury told Tes that funding to local authorities and schools would taper off by 2026 when it expects most schools will be able to deliver the provision self-sufficiently, funded by charging parents.https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/budget-2023-all-primaries-provide-wraparound-care

Monday 20th March 2023 - Top stories include: Ofsted is looking for a new chief inspector to replace Amanda Spielman once she steps down. Last week, the National Education Union took strike action on both Wednesday and Thursday. New DfE data finds high levels of persistent absence among pupils. The government wants schools to increase the supply of wraparound care. This week's deep dive: What's Going On? The 2023 HEP Governors' Conference We'll also tell you what's happening at HEP this week and what we've been watching, listening to, and reading! Watching - https://haringeyeducationpartnership.co.uk/blog/2022/11/30/explained-adaptive-teaching/ Listening - https://educationbookcast.libsyn.com/141-behaviourism-cognitivism-constructivism-a-message-for-zo Reading - https://marymyatt.substack.com/p/subject-insights-design-and-technology Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5wNwhWs3iB5bXhdE3h8WnQ

Welcome back to the Tes News Podcast.In today's episode Charlotte Santry and Callume Mason explore what the 2023 Budget means for schools.The chancellor Jeremy Hunt set out an “ambition” that the parents of all primary-age children will be provided with “wraparound” childcare in school by September 2026.The Treasury told Tes that funding to local authorities and schools would taper off by 2026 when it expects most schools will be able to deliver the provision self-sufficiently, funded by charging parents.Also mentioned on todays podcast:NEU attacks ‘new and unusual' DfE stance on pay talksThe NEU teaching union went ahead with a two day teacher strike this week and said that 300,000 members were taking part. It also strongly criticised the DfE for meeting with the other main education unions this week but refusing to meet the NEU unless it called off the strike.https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/teacher-strikes-pay-neu-distraction-politicshttps://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/teacher-pay-strike-neu-attacks-dfe-stance-talks-gillian%20keegan Workload is unmanageable, say most school staffMore than two-thirds of school staff (68 per cent) think their workload is unmanageable, according to an annual survey conducted by Tes.The findings were revealed this week in the Tes Schools Wellbeing Report survey of 5,858 UK-based school staff.https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/teacher-workload-unmanageable-say-most-school-staffOak National Academy: Ofsted to advise subject groupsOfsted subject lead inspectors will work as advisers on Oak National Academy's expert groups, it has been announced today. But Oak has said the Ofsted advisers will not have a formal role in defining or recommending its curriculum.https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/oak-national-academy-ofsted-advise-subject-groupsDfE seeks ‘outstanding' leader to be next Ofsted chiefOn the subject of Ofsted, the government has formally launched the search for the next chief inspector to replace Amanda Spielman. A job advert for the next HMCI has been published revealing a drop in salary from the £189k paid to Ms Spielman to £165,000 for her successorhttps://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/dfe-replace-amanda-spielman-ofsted-chief

ASCL General Secretary Geoff Barton in conversation with: 1. Amanda Spielman, Chief Inspector, Ofsted 2. Dr Jo Saxton, Chief Regulator, Ofqual 3. Shaparak Khorsandi, Comedian 4. Jay Blades MBE, Presenter, Designer and Charity Founder 5. Bridget Phillipson MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Education 6. Julie McCulloch, Director of Policy, ASCL 7. Baroness Sue Campbell, Director of Women's Football at The FA 8. Phoebe L Hanson and Yumna Hussen, Student activists 9. Martin Tierney, Leadership speaker 10. Brent Frey, Former Director Educational Leadership, Apple Inc 11. Benjamin Zephaniah, Poet

The 'social contract' between families and schools has been broken during the pandemic, and ongoing absence of kids is a 'deep and concerning problem' according to Amanda Spielman, chief of the UK schools watchdog. Rates of school refusal and truanting are a huge problem in other countries too. Finding the right approach for dealing with it is crucial, because whatever the reason for missing school it takes a lot of fixing and is a symptom of something else that needs to be unpicked. RESOURCES:The printable anxiety iceberg sheet: https://phecanada.ca/sites/default/files/content/docs/teach-resiliency/Iceberg.jpgHow to make a self-soothe box:https://www.youngminds.org.uk/young-person/blog/how-to-make-a-self-soothe-box/A really good blog that works through steps you can take:https://medium.com/@ArthurCWoods/help-my-teenager-wont-return-to-school-d770203fcbacBook: The Ultimate Guide to Working with your School: The School Avoidance Masterclass for Parents,” Jane DemskyCan't Not Won't - Eliza Fricker, helping and understanding children who are unable to go to school.https://naomi-fisher.mykajabi.com/notfineatschoolRESEARCH AND LINKS TO HELP:www.schoolrefusal.co.ukParenting Tips 26: How to help your teen with friendship skills.Parenting Tips 19: What if you don't like your teen's friends?Parenting Tips 17: The lying teenager.Parenting Tips 16: Boy friendships.Parenting Tips 14: Anxiety.Parenting Tips 12: Bullying.Parenting Tips 10: Girls navigating friendship groups.Parenting Tips 5: The academic struggler.https://raisingchildren.net.au/pre-teens/school-education/truancy-other-school-problems/truancy-9-15-yearshttps://www.youngminds.org.uk/parent/parents-a-z-mental-health-guide/school-anxiety-and-refusal/#:~:text=About%20the%20term%20'school%20refusal,other%20professionals%20using%20this%20term.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK534195/https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/143/2/e20183648/37326/The-Link-Between-School-Attendance-and-Good-Health?searchresult=1?autologincheck=redirectedhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/when-your-adult-child-breaks-your-heart/201709/understanding-school-refusal#:~:text=School%20refusal%20is%20different%20from%20truancy&text=Children%20who%20are%20truant%20from,can%20happen%20at%20any%20age.https://impactparents.com/blog/adhd/child-really-doesnt-care-school/Thanks for listening. Creating this podcast has been transformative for our family lives; we hope it does the same for yours. Please follow us if you like our podcast, and share it with anyone who might benefit. You can review us on Apple podcasts by going to the show page, scrolling down to the bottom where you can click on a star then you can leave your message.Our website has a blog, searchable episodes, and ways to contact us:www.teenagersuntangled.comSusie is available for a free 15 minute consultation, and has a great blog:www.amindful-life.co.uk

Panel discussion organised by the Academy of Ideas Education Forum on 21 February 2022. INTRODUCTION As the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) approaches its 30th birthday, many are increasingly concerned that Ofsted is becoming overly political and moralistic and insufficiently educational in its approach. The anniversary of Ofsted's creation seems a good moment to take stock. Ofsted employs more than a thousand people and has an annual budget of close to £130 million. For this, it takes responsibility for regularly inspecting all publicly funded schools and colleges in England. In addition to setting the agenda of her inspection teams, Ofsted's head, Amanda Spielman, writes a widely read annual report on the state of state education. Spielman herself has strong educational, political and moral opinions, and intervenes regularly in public debates. Last year, for example, she rejected calls to decolonise the school curriculum. Ofsted was established in 1992 in the final phase of the Thatcherite reform of English state education. The creation of a national inspectorate that reported in public followed the introduction of the National Curriculum in 1989, as well as a new national examination system that included the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). Results from these national exams were from this point onwards reported in national league tables, in which the performance of all state schools was ranked. At the time, many teachers opposed this power grab from central government, and these criticisms have continued to be voiced. For many, Ofsted represents an unwarranted extension of central state control over education, as well as a mechanism by which the autonomy and the professionalism of teachers has been undermined. It is certainly true that teachers in England experience extraordinary levels of central state control and that Ofsted is one of the mechanisms by which this control is exercised. However, sociologist Stephen Ball perhaps overstates the case when he describes the accountability pressures experienced by English state-school teachers as giving rise to the ‘terror of performativity'. It was under the government of John Major that Ofsted was first introduced. As we might expect, his account of its purpose differs from that of its critics. Writing in his autobiography, he observes that when he came into office, producers – rather than consumers – controlled public services and that health and education in particular was ‘run carelessly, wastefully, arrogantly … more for the convenience of the providers than the users, whether they were parents, pupils or patients'. More recently, however, Ofsted has faced criticism from conservatives. They argue that Ofsted has been captured by progressivist educators, who are using the inspection system to impose woke values on education. Ofsted, the conservatives allege, has become a cuckoo institution, a mechanism by which a progressivist elite lodged within the state are imposing their values on young people. This charge could not be more serious, as Ofsted ought to remain impartial on matters that divide the nation morally and politically. It is, after all, Her Majesty's Inspectorate. Is Ofsted now exceeding its official remit? Do we even need a national inspectorate when we have a national examination system? Can state-employed teachers be trusted to do the job for which they are paid and trained? Is it time that we inspected the inspectors? SPEAKERS Neil Davenport writer and teacher Rowenna Davis teacher; former journalist and Labour Party parliamentary candidate; new mum and community organiser Alex Kenny secondary school teacher and NEU Executive member Joseph Robertson director, Orthodox Conservatives think tank; education research fellow, The Bow Group CHAIR Toby Marshall teacher and member of the AoI Education Forum

From closed schools to postponed exams, isolating teachers to bursting classroom bubbles, the last 18 months of education has been massively disrupted by the Covid-19 crisis. What can be done to help those students that have fallen behind? How can the gaps in attainment be bridged? And what lessons has lockdown taught us about education? To discuss the challenges facing the education system in the next phase of the pandemic and Ofsted's role in the new academic year and beyond, Amanda Spielman, the Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills, was in conversation with Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government. Amanda Spielman has been Ofsted Chief Inspector since January 2017. Between 2011 and 2016, she was chair of Ofqual, the qualifications regulator. From 2005 she was a founding member of the leadership team at the academy chain Ark Schools. Previously she worked at KPMG, Kleinwort Benson, Mercer Management Consulting and Nomura International. #IfGOfsted See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

To listen to the full conversation visit: https://soundcloud.com/institute-for-government/amanda-spielman-ofsted From closed schools to postponed exams, isolating teachers to bursting classroom bubbles, the last 18 months of education has been massively disrupted by the Covid-19 crisis. What can be done to help those students that have fallen behind? How can the gaps in attainment be bridged? And what lessons has lockdown taught us about education? To discuss the challenges facing the education system in the next phase of the pandemic and Ofsted's role in the new academic year and beyond, Amanda Spielman, the Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills, was in conversation with Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government. Amanda Spielman has been Ofsted Chief Inspector since January 2017. Between 2011 and 2016, she was chair of Ofqual, the qualifications regulator. From 2005 she was a founding member of the leadership team at the academy chain Ark Schools. Previously she worked at KPMG, Kleinwort Benson, Mercer Management Consulting and Nomura International.

From closed schools to postponed exams, isolating teachers to bursting classroom bubbles, the last 18 months of education has been massively disrupted by the Covid-19 crisis. What can be done to help those students that have fallen behind? How can the gaps in attainment be bridged? And what lessons has lockdown taught us about education? To discuss the challenges facing the education system in the next phase of the pandemic and Ofsted's role in the new academic year and beyond, Amanda Spielman, the Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills, was in conversation with Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government. Amanda Spielman has been Ofsted Chief Inspector since January 2017. Between 2011 and 2016, she was chair of Ofqual, the qualifications regulator. From 2005 she was a founding member of the leadership team at the academy chain Ark Schools. Previously she worked at KPMG, Kleinwort Benson, Mercer Management Consulting and Nomura International.

To listen to the full conversation visit: https://soundcloud.com/institute-for-government/amanda-spielman-ofsted From closed schools to postponed exams, isolating teachers to bursting classroom bubbles, the last 18 months of education has been massively disrupted by the Covid-19 crisis. What can be done to help those students that have fallen behind? How can the gaps in attainment be bridged? And what lessons has lockdown taught us about education? To discuss the challenges facing the education system in the next phase of the pandemic and Ofsted's role in the new academic year and beyond, Amanda Spielman, the Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills, was in conversation with Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government. Amanda Spielman has been Ofsted Chief Inspector since January 2017. Between 2011 and 2016, she was chair of Ofqual, the qualifications regulator. From 2005 she was a founding member of the leadership team at the academy chain Ark Schools. Previously she worked at KPMG, Kleinwort Benson, Mercer Management Consulting and Nomura International.

To listen to the full conversation visit: https://soundcloud.com/institute-for-government/amanda-spielman-ofsted From closed schools to postponed exams, isolating teachers to bursting classroom bubbles, the last 18 months of education has been massively disrupted by the Covid-19 crisis. What can be done to help those students that have fallen behind? How can the gaps in attainment be bridged? And what lessons has lockdown taught us about education? To discuss the challenges facing the education system in the next phase of the pandemic and Ofsted's role in the new academic year and beyond, Amanda Spielman, the Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills, was in conversation with Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government. Amanda Spielman has been Ofsted Chief Inspector since January 2017. Between 2011 and 2016, she was chair of Ofqual, the qualifications regulator. From 2005 she was a founding member of the leadership team at the academy chain Ark Schools. Previously she worked at KPMG, Kleinwort Benson, Mercer Management Consulting and Nomura International.

To listen to the full conversation visit: https://soundcloud.com/institute-for-government/amanda-spielman-ofsted From closed schools to postponed exams, isolating teachers to bursting classroom bubbles, the last 18 months of education has been massively disrupted by the Covid-19 crisis. What can be done to help those students that have fallen behind? How can the gaps in attainment be bridged? And what lessons has lockdown taught us about education? To discuss the challenges facing the education system in the next phase of the pandemic and Ofsted's role in the new academic year and beyond, Amanda Spielman, the Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills, was in conversation with Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government. Amanda Spielman has been Ofsted Chief Inspector since January 2017. Between 2011 and 2016, she was chair of Ofqual, the qualifications regulator. From 2005 she was a founding member of the leadership team at the academy chain Ark Schools. Previously she worked at KPMG, Kleinwort Benson, Mercer Management Consulting and Nomura International.

To listen to the full conversation visit: https://soundcloud.com/institute-for-government/amanda-spielman-ofsted From closed schools to postponed exams, isolating teachers to bursting classroom bubbles, the last 18 months of education has been massively disrupted by the Covid-19 crisis. What can be done to help those students that have fallen behind? How can the gaps in attainment be bridged? And what lessons has lockdown taught us about education? To discuss the challenges facing the education system in the next phase of the pandemic and Ofsted's role in the new academic year and beyond, Amanda Spielman, the Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills, was in conversation with Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government. Amanda Spielman has been Ofsted Chief Inspector since January 2017. Between 2011 and 2016, she was chair of Ofqual, the qualifications regulator. From 2005 she was a founding member of the leadership team at the academy chain Ark Schools. Previously she worked at KPMG, Kleinwort Benson, Mercer Management Consulting and Nomura International.

No matter what is happening in the world, whether it be the COVID pandemic or a conflict, life - and education - goes on. On the Sky News Daily podcast with Dermot Murnaghan we examine both the global and domestic issues faced right now with war survivor Zainab Salbi, who founded Women for Women International, plus Ofsted's chief inspector Amanda Spielman and Natalie Perera, chief executive of the Education Policy Institute.Daily podcast team:Senior podcast producer - Annie JoycePodcast producer - Nicola EyersPodcast producer - Emma-Rae WoodhouseInterviews producer - Tatiana AldersonPodcast researcher - Rosetta FourlagawoArchive - Simon WindsorArchive - Rob FellowesArchive - Nelly StefanovaMusic - Steven Wheeler

The work of female rangers protecting wildlife from poachers. Collet Ngobeni of The Black Mambas and Holly Budge of How Many Elephants discuss. The Chief Inspector of Ofsted, Amanda Spielman on the problem of sexual harassment and abuse in schools, and what needs to be done to bring about change. Jackie Collins was one of the most successful female authors of all time but often just dismissed as the Queen of Sleaze. We hear from Jackie's eldest daughter, Tracy Lerman and from Laura Fairrie, director of the new film Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins story. Laurel Hubbard will be the first transgender athlete to compete at the Olympics. She's part of the New Zealand women's weightlifting team. She qualifies on the basis that her testosterone levels have been kept below a certain level for at least a year. But how does a reduction in testosterone affect other aspects of the body - such as muscle mass and strength? We hear from Joanna Harper, a PhD researcher at Loughborough University. A new £50 note featuring the Bletchley Park codebreaker Alan Turing has just been launched. Debbie Marriott is the first ever female banknote designer at the Bank of England, and explains the work that goes into making the notes. Elizabeth Packard was an ordinary 19th century American housewife and mother of six, whose husband had her declared 'slightly insane' and put in an asylum after daring to voice her opinions. Elizabeth embarked on a ceaseless quest for justice, both inside and outside the asylum. Kate Moore has written 'The Woman They Could Not Silence' about this fascinating but little known woman. Presenter: Anita Rani Producer: Dianne McGregor

The Chief Inspector of Schools Amanda Spielman, talks to Emma Barnett about the problem of sexual abuse in schools and colleges and reflects on what needs to be done to bring about change. Divya Chadha Manek who has just been awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List tells us about her work with the Vaccine Taskforce, and Dr Jen Gunter, an American gynaecologist, obstetrician and author of 'The Vagina Bible' explains how Boric Acid Pessaries are being used to treat bacterial vaginosis . Do men need to actively become allies to the women they work with to stop sexism and discrimination? Would challenging behaviours that disadvantage female colleagues - from interrupting women in meetings to making assumptions about the career opportunities they want - make a difference? Emma talks to Hira Ali, a leadership trainer and author of a new book called 'Her Allies' and to Gary Ford who has co-written 'The Accidental Sexist', a handbook for men on workplace diversity. Presenter: Emma Barnett Producer: Lisa Jenkinson Studio Manager: Tim Heffer

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson says the government is considering longer school days and shorter holidays to help children catch up. Ofsted chief Amanda Spielman warns against the idea. Williamson says teachers will not get a pay rise. Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy and the SNP's Mhairi Black talk International Women's Day.

We are joined by the brilliant Laura McInerney, a former teacher and editor of Schools Week, who has spent over 12 years on the frontline of education policy and interviewed over 60 top education names — from Dylan Wiliam to Carol Dweck to Amanda Spielman. Laura has keynoted at events such as The Education Festival, the Headteachers Roundtable Summit and the BETT show and since 2013, has been a columnist for The Guardian. She has written for other publications including The Observer, the New Statesman, The TES, and Prospect. Laura is the author of two books - The Leadership Factor, co-authored with our good friend, Drew Povey from Educating Manchester - and The Six Predictable Failures of Free Schools (And How To Avoid Them). She is also the co-founder of Teacher Tapp - an app that was created to give teachers a voice. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/edufuturistspodcast/message

(This is the last episode of Series 1 of 'Changing Lives'. Series 2 will start in September 2020)Children across the world are being taught in a myriad different ways at the moment. Schools are having to reinvent the very nature of schooling. Some are relishing the opportunity and encouraging their teachers to be as creative as possible and some are not. This is one young teacher's story.I include a few short clips from an interview with the Head of OFSTED (the Office for Standards in Education in the UK), Amanda Spielman, with presenter Nick Robinson on BBC Radio 4's morning news programme 'Today' last week. I am very happy to make a follow-up podcast with any reactions, responses, any comments at all from anyone anywhere in the world on this subject. Please contact me via Twitter @vermont_sarah

(This is the last episode of Series 1 of 'Changing Lives'. Series 2 will start in September 2020)Children across the world are being taught in a myriad different ways at the moment. Schools are having to reinvent the very nature of schooling. Some are relishing the opportunity and encouraging their teachers to be as creative as possible and some are not. This is one young teacher's story.I include a few short clips from an interview with the Head of OFSTED (the Office for Standards in Education in the UK), Amanda Spielman, with presenter Nick Robinson on BBC Radio 4's morning news programme 'Today' last week. I am very happy to make a follow-up podcast with any reactions, responses, any comments at all from anyone anywhere in the world on this subject. Please contact me via Twitter @vermont_sarah

Katy Balls presents the highlights from Sunday's political interview shows, today featuring Grant Shapps, Amanda Spielman, Mark Drakeford and Ros Altmann. 

In the wake of the UN climate summit hosted by Boris Johnson former Environment Secretary Michael Gove talks to Julia about new green proposals. Lord Carlile covers the need for emergency anti-terror legislation and Ofsted's Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman on their new report See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Isabel Hardman hosts the highlights from the Sunday interviews, which today features Donald Tusk, Dominic Raab, John McDonnell, Amanda Spielman and Nigel Farage. Produced by Matthew Taylor. 

I have pondered a while and here are my thoughts about Amanda Spielman's speech on Wednesday 10th July 2019 at the V&A museum in London. Instead of focussing on her deep dive questions about curriculum, I talk about design and technology capability and how it can be used in curriculum planning in D&T.Transcript.docMentioned in the episode:Amanda Spielman's speechPlease offer your feedback about the show or ideas for future episodes and topics by connecting with me on Twitter @hardy_alison or by emailing me.If you listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, please take a moment to rate and/or review the show.Support the showSupport the show (https://ko-fi.com/alisonhardy)

My thoughts about Amanda Spielman's speech on Wednesday 10th July 2019. This is part one, part two will follow after I've pondered a while longer!Transcript (pdf)Mentioned in the episode:Amanda Spielman's speechInnovate project at the V&AMeeting Technological Challenges (Ofsted 2011)Support the show (https://ko-fi.com/alisonhardy)

Hello and welcome to The Teaching Space Podcast. It's Martine here, thank you so much for joining me. Today, I'm excited to bring you an interview with a very nice man called Andy Sammons. Martine: Andy, welcome to the show. Andy: Hi, nice to be on. Martine: It's very nice to have you here. Why don't you introduce yourself to the listeners? Andy: I've been teaching for seven or eight years in secondary school as an English teacher. I've been a main scale teacher, worked towards being a lead teacher, a lead practitioner. I've coordinated from key stages three up to five, I've worked as a second in English, as well as now as a head of English. Everything was pretty much plain sailing for the first few years, it was fantastic. It was only last academic year where things really got difficult for me, and that's what's let me down this path of focusing more on well-being and teacher psychology, and things like that. As a result of that, I decided to put my ideas down into a book, and luckily someone's been mad enough to take it up and publish it for me. That's why I'm talking in this space and beginning to operate in this space as well because I am really interested in teachers' mental health and well-being. Martine: Fantastic. Well, it's really nice to have you on the show. In today's episode we're going to be talking about poor mental health amongst teachers, and it's something that I'm really passionate about in terms of helping teachers improve their well-being, and their work-life balance. That's how we got chatting really because we have that in common, I think, don't we? Andy: Yeah. Martine: Tell me, what's going on with this wave of poor mental health that we seem to be seeing amongst teachers and trainers at the moment? Why is this happening? Andy: I think it's an interesting question. I feel I'm in a pretty decent place to answer that because over the last seven years or so I think that the profession that I now see, and I am experiencing is completely different to the one I came into seven years ago or so, it really is. I think, not to blame the government completely about this, but it ties into austerity and the coalition government, and all the rest of it, if you think about a broader political and economic narrative. I think when I spoke to Emma Keller about this for the book she said, we were talking about this seven years ago when we were all starting to go on strike over pay and pensions, and I suppose back then I was just too much in love with teaching to realize what was going on, but I think what we've seen is since then, the last seven years, a really so slow process of attrition, of wearing away, of accountability, of squeezing over funding, and that kind of divorce of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. I think all of these things has now reared its head in manifest in the numbers leaving and the recruitment problems we're seeing. What I think this happened is a lot of the underlying factors ... because teaching if you do it properly it's really quite a stressful job, at any level there's no escape from that, but I think what's happened is a number of the contextual factors have unearthed a lot of that stress, and have brought it to the surface a bit more. I think the reason we're beginning to see the narrative now around even Ofsted mentioning now about work load and manageability, and even the new Ofsted framework, for example, about not just outcomes, but about the curriculum I think in some way indirectly or directly that's a response to what we're seeing to make the profession less toxic, I suppose, in lots of places. I think what we've got is we've got a combination of things, which are now slowly starting to come together and that's why we are starting to hear more about it than before. Actually, I think things feel like they're coming to a bit of a head at the moment. Martine: I think even though I'm based in Guernsey in the Channel Islands and my government is different to your government, but my government is often influenced by the things that your government does, so I can certainly relate to what you're saying about everyone feeling a bit squeezed. Ultimately, the people in charge are wanting more for less, and the people that impacts on are the teachers because we do not want it to impact on our learners, so I know exactly what you're saying. Andy: No. The other thing of course, is not to generalize too much, but I think people go into teaching because they have a love of either teaching young people, or they have a love of teaching or their subject itself. There's something intrinsically passion focused there, I think, for people to go into teaching and education. I think if you're going to put such squeezed accountability measures on people, of course there should be accountability, but if you take it to the level that I think some places seem to be then I think that's misappropriating what accountability is for because actually if you want to improve your share price for a company that's a certain context that works for that context to generate a profit, but improving people's lives in the way that education is attempting to do and needs to do that's more nuanced than just an outcome in any way you measure just an outcome. I think what's happened, certainly, in the last 7/8 years or so is that this drive for measures, and this drive for proof is actually having a profoundly damaging effect on teachers, and the profession itself is well. That's my feeling on it. Martine: Definitely. That's evidenced by the numbers of people leaving the profession very early on in their careers. It makes it so tragic when you say about that intrinsic motivation to help people, and to help young people and learners, and things like that. Then, for them to get into their dream job and go, "You know what? I just can't hack this, this is too much," that's just really tragic. Andy: What you say there's really interesting actually because a lot of research I've been doing recently is that actually the people leaving the profession, age isn't a particular predictor of people leaving the profession, it's not so much young people, or old people. The real correlation is a lack of experience, so most people seem to be leaving within the first three years of starting teaching. Martine: That doesn't surprise me. Andy: Which is says something about, in terms of teacher training, the lack of actual meaningful support that's going on for those inexperienced teachers. I'll be honest, I'm happy to say I'm not sure if I would survive in teaching had I come into it in the last couple of years. I was lucky that I found myself in an incredible school for my first couple of years that just completely nurtured my joy of my subject, but also teaching itself. I feel so thankful for that because if I was just dumped into a difficult class and said, "Off you go son," that wouldn't have worked for me, and that's what we're doing to too many people nowadays, I think. Martine: If I just reflect for a moment on when I went into teaching, I'm coming up to 10 years now teaching, and I'm in a different area to you I'm in further education, but I started teaching 16 to 19-year-olds. Prior to that I'd been working in a senior position in the financial sector, I was a director of a trust company, and the massive transition between that roll into teaching. I have never worked so hard in my life during that first year of teaching. I can vividly remember in the first week sitting in bed with my husband going, "What have I done? What have I done?!" It was such a shock. I'm thankful that I had really supportive colleagues around me and, like you, I was with great organisations, and I'm with the same organisation. It's about having that support network, and the support from your employer, that certainly helps. Andy: I think also a lot of the stress that we're talking about well, I noticed ... I’m married now and I've got a young boy, and what I found is that the stress has been appalling for me over the last year and a half since I've had children because your life is so much more pinched in terms of your time and resources, and all the rest of it. Whereas before my wife and I would just work into the evenings, and we'd have a bit of a chat, and we'd spend all that time together. Whereas now, because our resources, our time, and our energy, and our emotional resources are so much more squeezed because we've got children as well as our responsibility in our jobs I feel that that ‘unsustainability’ is there particularly for people who have got families that they're looking after and they've got commitments outside of work as well. So if work is expanding it needs to go somewhere, it needs to fit that space and, ultimately, it's leading to people taking too much home, which is great in the short term for schools because it might mean better results, but in the long term it's catastrophic for not just schools, but the industry because people leave because they can't cope. Martine: What it's forcing you to do, ultimately, is to try to do your job within the hours that are allocated to that job and people are struggling to do it. There's a fundamental problem there. Andy: We're asking too much pf people who want to give the best of themselves, but they can't give the best of themselves, and as you say, in that sustainable way if they're not that person outside of school as well, if they're not that person outside of the building because, ultimately, we're in a room with people teaching and imparting knowledge, and that's not just about reading from a textbook. That's about being a human whose well rested and who understands the complexities of their subject, as well as human interaction. If you're too knackered to give yourself it doesn't work in whichever way you look at it, I don't think. Martine: I know it's a bit of a cliche, but I often like to say about teachers' mental health and well-being is when you're on a plane and they do safety announcement and they're saying, "In the event of an emergency you need with your oxygen mask on before you help anyone else with theirs." That's the same as being in the classroom, if you're not looking after yourself and your well-being then you are not best placed to look after other people i.e. your students. I know it's a bit of a cliche, but it really hits home to me, you got to look after yourself first. Andy: I know we'll probably touch on this later, but there is a real misunderstanding about the metaphor of that putting on the oxygen mask. There is a real misunderstanding about what that entails I think, and that's that's a real danger, that's a real problem I think. Martine: Let's talk about how we can improve well-being amongst teachers. It is not as simple as ... I saw this meme recently, it was about compulsory yoga. Teachers don't have time for compulsory yoga. Andy: Let me go and buy my books instead. Martine: Yeah exactly. It's entirely the wrong thing. It sounds like it's well-being personified, but it just isn't what the teachers need right now. What are your thoughts on improving well-being amongst teachers? Andy: I think there's two things that we need to understand, both of which involve education around this actual term. As you've hit upon, well-being isn't an afternoon off every six weeks, or a yoga class, or bringing in someone to paint nails while there's a quiz going on in the next room. That's not what it is, and I think that represents, as you have alluded to, a profound misunderstanding about how we should look after ourselves. I think that's something that we need to get away from. I think that the key to that is understanding that whatever we understand by well-being should be deeply personal to the individual, and we need to understand about what makes a person, what makes you as a person well mentally, what is that? I think we need to encourage professionals, teachers to stand back and understand what those small things are that make a difference to us. Only when we can fully understand what it is that makes us feel well can we really begin to create space for ourselves around our stress to separate ourselves from our stressful thoughts, our negative thought, and things like that. A silly little thing for me is coffee. It's silly, but it's not just drinking coffee, it's what's that represents. It's that time and that space to taste something, to be present in the moment, to engage with what's happening around me as I exist as a person in this moment. I know that sounds almost hippie-ish… Martine: No, not at all. Andy: I think it's about presence. When I was doing some work for the book, and I've done lots of reading around this, there was really sound evidence to suggest that we should, I don't if this is the right phrase, but we should sweat the small stuff. We should be bothered about having breakfast in the morning. We should be bothered about making sure we've got a drink when we're at work in the daytime. We should be bothered about carving time out, leaving at 4 o'clock one day a week if we can, if that doesn't create too much stress elsewhere to create that space to go to the gym, or for whatever it is for that person. If well-being for one person looks like getting in at 6:30, so they can leave at 3 o'clock, 4 o'clock of a day then that's fine for that person, and I think part of the dialogue we need to improve in schools is about recognizing that in each other, and recognizing that that person goes home early, but that's fine. That's nothing to sneer at, that's to be commended because they're managing their work load in a different way. Often our hackles go up when we don't see the hero teacher, and this cult of hero teacher that celebrates marking until 12. That's not funny, that's not heroic, and that's damaging actually for me, for the profession, and I think we need to try, and reclaim health for ourselves actually. If working until 12 ... to retract that a little bit I suppose, if working until 12 is what works for one person then that's fine, but that doesn't mean to say that's what everyone should be doing. I think that's what I mean by that. Martine: I know exactly what you mean, yeah. Andy: In a nutshell, I think we need to improve our education and our understanding about what it means to be well, and how we can do that, how can we achieve that. Martine: I love what you said about focusing on the individual, and that it's not a one-size fits all approach. When you really unpick this it's mildly ironic that we, as teachers, forget that because what we do in our classrooms is before we even meet our students we identify their individual needs, and work out what they want to get from their education experience, and then work out how we're going to accommodate those needs. We know, as educators, it's not one-size fits all, but when it comes to ourselves suddenly we forget, which is just mildly ironic. Andy: It's one of those things, I think everything about our world, particularly in the Western World is almost directly or indirectly designed to make us feel like we're not an evolved animal. We think we're somehow above the evolutionary chain in some way, and we think that ... I don't know, we think that we don't have to look after ourselves. As teachers, we don't have to worry about all that because we'll just do, and we'll never run out of energy. Actually, there's fairly sound evidence, there's more than sound evidence about this in terms of making sure that we need to look after ourselves, and not just keep shutting the box on that, and about acknowledging about when our body and when our mind is telling us that things aren't okay. The more we neglect that of ourselves, and we put our students first well, I would argue that actually if we keep putting our students first and neglecting ourselves we're actually doing, as you alluded to before, we're doing our students a disservice. Then, what we're doing is we're showing a complete misunderstanding about our own selves at the same time as well because if we don't listen to when our heart rate goes up, or when we're beginning to sweat because we feel anxious or we're feeling anger, or whatever, or even apathy about certain things if we don't acknowledge those thoughts and where they came from, and what caused them, and we keep neglecting to understand that we are an evolved entity then that's really damaging for your mental health, I think. Martine: It is. Also, you're not setting a great example for your learners, are you? Andy: No. Martine: The students, obviously, play a role in all of this, and regardless of the age you teach students are intuitive things, and they will pick up on the fact that you aren't looking after yourself. Andy: Students smell fear, can't they? Martine: Oh they do. Oh they definitely did in that first week of work that I remembered earlier. Andy: Absolutely. They do. I was a very middle-of-the-road student at school, but you can sense it a mile off when a teacher's not prepared, or when a teacher's not in control. As you say, one thing students are, all different students they can see that you are first and foremost a human, and the moment that you aren't credible with them in terms of ... and you don't show credibility and integrity in front of them then something goes off in that room straightaway. There is something out of kilter in that room straightaway, and I think that's dangerous. Martine: Definitely. Andy: At least for the learning anyway. Martine: Yeah, it is for sure. How else do students fit into this equation of teacher well-being? Andy: Well, I think that's a really interesting question. I'm really interested in this idea of compassion, and I think there's a difference here between being compassionate with people, and being sympathetic with people in this sense. What I mean by that is, rather than with our students being sympathetic with them and saying, "Oh, that's really rubbish or that must be really difficult," or something like that. I think in terms of well-being, I think, we need to model well-being with them. I think what that means is ... There's a really good analogy about this. If someone's in a well and they're upset sympathy would be shouting down saying, "Hey, that looks really rubbish down there, doesn't it? I'm really sorry that you're down there, that's rubbish." Whereas compassion is about climbing down into that well with the person and saying, "Yeah, I can understand why that's difficult. I can understand whether it's emotion, whether it's something to do with the subject, I can understand that," and it's about going on that journey with the young people really. I think it's about, first and foremost, what we touched on before, about modeling that honesty and integrity with regard to emotional intelligence, with regards to what it means to look after ourselves. I think it's really important that for silly things if you mention to the students that you're watching ... I'm a football fan so I'm watching the football tonight I'll mention that. I'll mention that I took my little boy to the park at the weekend. I think it's really important that students see that human side of you, and even if for whatever reason, the photocopier's blown up and you haven't got your resources, I think it's really good just to acknowledge it with the students, and just show that you're a real human. I think we need to be human with our students, but I think in terms of more direct educational sense I think we need to educate our students more about well-being. I think that's a lot more difficult than you might expect because one of the downsides to what we've discussed about education, as we see it now, is that this obsession with outcomes, this obsession with league tables I think there's this creeping insidiousness about, if you can't measure it we're not bothered. Inadvertently, I think teachers pass that on to students. It struck me because once I was listening to a teacher deliver a session on well-being about exam stress to their class, and this teacher's probably one of the most inspirational teachers of ever worked with, she's just phenomenal, but the session was just dry. There was nothing in it because I don't think she was passionate about it, about that particular topic, I don't think the students were passionate about it because I think the students thought, "Yeah, you don't really get it anyway. We have to go through the hell of these exams, you don't." I think there was a real disconnect and I think educating students about what well-being means, all the things we've talked about in the last half an hour or so, it's more difficult than just saying, "Make sure you have a drink, and make sure you chunk your revision up into 30 minute sections." I think we need to go back to the start with students too, and that means when they're younger educating them when they're younger about emotional literacy, about emotional well-being too. I think to summarize there, I think there's two parts to it. I think, firstly, it's about modeling honesty and integrity with our students. Secondly, I do think there are some curriculum implications in terms of helping students understand what well-being means, but there needs to be a culture change because if you can't measure it, and it's not a result I think people aren't motivated by it, which is one of the unfortunate byproducts of our current education system. Martine: Do you see change on the horizon in terms of the if you can't measure it it's not important type approach? You mentioned the new Ofsted framework, and things like that. Do you get a sense that there's going to be improvements in that area? Andy: That's interesting because I get a sense from having a couple of conversations with people off the record, and speaking to people about this in and around the hierarchy of education, I do think that what we see with Ofsted and this new framework is there's a couple of really good people at the top of Ofsted at the minute, I think. I think Amanda Spielman and Sean Harford are banging the right drum from what I can understand by people who are around them, and people who have spoken to me about those particular individuals. I think that's really important, and so I think there's going to be change in that sense. I'm not sure whether or not we're going to be looking much longer term before we see a real change beyond that though. What I can say, but I do feel is that this new framework definitely is a step in the right direction, and I think it'd be foolish to turn our noses up at this new framework because I think at least it is, from what I can see I know it's in the consultation phase, but what I can see is that it's acknowledging that it's about the richness of the curriculum rather than just the outcome. One of the things that I like as, certainly, a middle to senior leader is that when Ofsted are coming into the school I think as a middle leader you should be able to walk around with them and justify what's happening in the classroom in terms of the direction of the curriculum, what you're doing and why and the rationale. Yes, I think baby steps would be the short version to that answer. Baby steps, but I think there needs to be a lot more done, and it takes a long time to unpick a culture. When I was at school, if it was PSHE I didn't care, if it was general studies without something that was going to go on my UCAS form, I didn't care. I think there's a lot of that in schools nowadays, and that's what we need to turn round, I think, and that starts right from Primary whether or not that's on the agenda for change in the future I couldn't say. Martine: It's a case of coming at it from all angles, isn't it? Andy: I think so. Martine: Whether you're senior leadership, whether you're one teacher starting this well-being journey, whether you are Ofsted. Whoever you are, it's coming at it from all angles, and that's the way we're, ultimately, going to achieve positive change. Andy: The sad thing is that I'm not sure what's motivated the inspection framework change, but the fantastic book written by Becky Allen, The Teacher Gap really explores what's going on with teaching in terms of what we need for our students, and what we're providing them as a profession at the moment. Those hemorrhaging numbers are a problem. I think these hemorrhaging numbers in terms of profession, and not the numbers but the quality that we see in front of the students at every level, I think that's going to be felt for a good few years, unfortunately. What we can do in the meantime is take ownership over our own well-being, and make sure that we are the best for our students in front of us everything every day, that's what I think we can do. Martine: Definitely. One of the ways that people can make a start in the right direction is your book. Tell me about a bit about your book, Andy . Did you like that segue? That was beautifully timed wasn't it? Andy: Yeah, that was fantastic. Yeah, that was beautiful. It's a bucket list of mine to write a book, and actually I've had a fairly difficult 2018. Actually, it was really difficult, and as part of my coming back from where I was emotionally I went through a form of therapy called compassion focused therapy. Effectively, what it does is it's an evolutionary psychology model that helps us to understand what motivates how we see the world. What is it that we see as threatening about the world, and how can we unpick that in order to be kinder and be more productive with ourselves? The source of helpful things we can say to ourselves rather than keep having these unhelpful voices in our minds almost, this critical voice. Once I really began to emerge from how awful I was feeling in 2018 I began to think about well, actually does this model of compassion focused therapy about threats and drives and soothes, which you can find out more about in the book, does this apply to education as a whole? As a culture, as an educational culture have we become plagued by threats, have we become plagued by drive, drive, drive to get results and threats if you're going to lose your job, or whatever is going to happen if we don't get these results rather than actually being on the soothe drive axis? This axis where you feel safe, and you feel content, but actually you're able to go to work and feel passionate, and feel safe, and be the best version of yourself. I began to start with that model, and then branch off into all other kinds of psychology and things in the book. What it is, is a bit of a frank disclosure of what happened with me before, in Chapter 2, it goes on to thinking about the wider education system and how it is, in some sense, it's almost wired for poor mental health. In the second half of the book it's much more practical, it's much more how we can see ourselves in schools in a much more healthier way and the relationships with our colleagues and students. Then, in Chapter 4 it's much more about practical methods to cut the work load and be well, but also be effective in the classroom. It's around the topic trip in terms of mental health in schools, and how we can be productive as best we can be. That's the book in a nutshell, if that's at all clear. I hope that's clear. Martine: No, that sounds fantastic. Where can we get a hold of a copy of it? What's it called and where do we find it? Andy: It's called The Compassionate Teacher and you can find it on Amazon, and you can also find my blog and there's a couple of excerpts from the book put up on the blog, and that's compassionteach.weebly.com, and you can find it on there. If you go through Amazon you'll be able to find a little bit about the book as well, and things like that, and that's going to be out on the 15th of March in paperback and Kindle as well, so I'm excited. Martine: Congratulations on the book, that's quite an achievement. It's so good to hear you've come out the other side of not such a great year last year, and you've put all of your energy into something so positive helping other teachers who are struggling with their mental health. I think that's fantastic Andy, you must feel really good about it. Andy: Yeah. It felt really great to start the year as it started, but then finish it towards the end of 2018 being able to put something together. Actually, the way the book shaped up it was quite cathartic disclosing everything that happened with me, and how the theoretical approach of compassion focused therapy help me. I think anyone who might want to buy it would be pleased to know it's not my autobiography. It's a disclosure about what happened with me, and then the model, but then it goes into a thorough, fully contextual understanding about education in this country, and all the rest of it. I do sincerely hope it helps at least one person, if it does then it's not in time wasted. Even if it doesn't then all I wanted to do was add to the literature, add to the debate in some way. I'm thrilled that someone's actually said they'd like to publish it, and the final manuscript's gone in now, so it's just off to them to do it now. Martine: Fantastic stuff. Andy, it's been a real pleasure having you on the show. Thank you so much for joining me. Any final words to listeners of The Teaching Space Podcast? Andy: I would say, be very clear about what your soothe is, be very clear about what things relax you, hold them close, make space for them because if you don't you'll pay it back somehow later, I think. I think it's really important to treasure the things that make you feel safe, and make you feel happy. Wrap Up Massive thanks to Andy for the interview. Don’t forget to check out his book and whist you’re at it why not hop over to The Teaching Space Facebook page here.

This week marks the 25th anniversary of the first female ordinations in the Church of England. Rosie Dawson reports on the struggle women faced to become priests and the opposition that still exists in some segments of the Church. Amanda Spielman is Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of schools and she has angered some conservative religious groups by saying all children must learn about same-sex couples, regardless of their faith background. She responds to parents at Parkfield Community School in Birmingham who have withdrawn their children in protest at lessons about LGBT issues. Scottish couples are nearly four times less likely to divorce if they marry in a Humanist ceremony, according to figures given exclusively to Sunday. We discuss the story with Andrew Copson, chief executive of Humanists UK and Harry Benson, research director at the Marriage Foundation. Producers: Harry Farley Peter Everett Editor: Amanda Hancox

This September sees the launch of Ofsted's new inspection framework. So, what changes will schools notice and what will inspectors be looking for? We decided to cut through the myths and speculation and ask Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman, herself about the shift in emphasis towards looking at the quality of curriculum in England's schools. An essential listen for anyone in primary education.

Nick Kyprianou from Matthew Bourne's New Adventures joins us for episode one of the podcast discussing the employability of arts grads and the recent claims by the Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman that 'arts courses promote unrealistic career opportunities'. SIGN UP FOR THE LIVE WORK FORTNIGHTLY DANCE JOBS NEWSLETTER HERE: eepurl.com/dO_3kP Follow Live Work on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/LiveWorkPod Follow Nick on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/nickyprianou Articles discussed in the podcast: 1. Nicky Morgan 'Arts subjects limit career choices' https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2014/education-secretary-nicky-morgan-arts-subjects-limit-career-choices/ 2. 'Arts subjects promote unrealistic career choices' https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2018/ofsted-chief-arts-unrealistic-career-prospects/

Join the Tes team as they analyse a Budget that angered schools with the promise of £400 million to buy "little extras".We also discuss how Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman is continuing to flex her muscles, this time by creating a new group of 'stuck schools' and entering the debate about home education. And we also outline some wellbeing tips teachers have been sharing with Tes using our Smile Until Christmas hashtag. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this month’s podcast, general secretary Geoff Barton speaks to: • Amanda Spielman, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector: on Ofsted’s plans for a revised inspection focus • Jacqui O’Hanlon, Director of Education, Royal Shakespeare Company: on a large survey of young people shows how they see the arts as an essential part of their education • Sam Sims, Centre for Education Improvement Science at UCL institute for Education: on research evidence into teacher recruitment around pay versus workload • Sarah Balaam, Headteacher in Bridlington, North Yorkshire: on the impact of widespread unconditional offers given to students in her school • Mike Buchanan, newly-appointed chief executive, HMC: on his priorities and that of the organisation that represents many leading independent schools • Rachael Warwick, Executive Head in Oxfordshire, and new ASCL Vice-President: on her leadership style and plans for the future • Roy Blatchford, former adviser to David Laws: on ‘The Forgotten Third’, our commission of inquiry into what we can do for the 190,000 GCSE pupils who leave school without the ‘dignity’ of a standard pass in English

ASCL General Secretary Geoff Barton talks to: • Lucy Powell, MP: on Labour policy and why leaders should be bolder • Christine Hodgson, Chair, Careers & Enterprise Company: why apprenticeships matter • Professor John Hattie: doing what makes a difference and stopping doing the other stuff • Paul Dreschler, President, CBI: why it’s time to do education policy differently • Carl Ward, CEO City Learning Trust/ASCL President: how as leaders we should co-construct education policy with business and government • Amanda Spielman, HMCI: on curriculum and workload • Damian Hinds, Secretary of State for Education: on ways of reducing workload • Sir Ranulph Fiennes OBE: on being a legendary explorer

Welcome to Episode 15 of Staffroom Rambles, the weekly education podcast by Tom Rogers and Chris Mayoh. In this week's bumper episode we discuss Damian Hinds and Amanda Spielman's 'solutions' to the teacher workload issue, Donald Trump and arming teachers, performance-related pay, Pupil Premium funding, the Practical Pedagogies conference, Teachmeet History Icons, and the CBI's comments on rote learning in schools. Links to articles we discussed this week can be found here: BBC article about teacher workload: http://www.bbc.com/news/education-43345857 BBC article about Trump's idea to arm teachers: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43149694 The Practical Pedagogies conference: http://www.practicalpedagogies.net/ Teachmeet History Icons: https://www.tmhistoryicons.co.uk/ TES article about CBI and rote learning in schools: https://www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/business-leaders-call-less-rote-learning-schools Subscribe on iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/staffroom-rambles/id1147219815?mt=2 Subscribe via RSS here http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:203574483/sounds.rss You can get in touch with us via Twitter – we are @ staffroomramble, or @ RogersHistory and @ chrismayoh

We discuss the Tes person of the year - former school leaders' union leader and the new boss of Teach First Russell Hobby - and our nine runners-up.The top 10 most influential figures in education this year range from Ofsted chief inspector Amanda Spielman to Varndean School's resident pygmy goats. We talk about why these figures were selected and we also discuss some of the most significant education stories of the year. Tune in and enjoy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join the Tes team as we talk about some of the biggest issues this week. We discuss the treatment of supply teachers who say their pay and conditions have never been worse - and we explore the ways in which schools have been dealing with spiralling agency costs. We also talk about the government's new social mobility action plan and what it could mean for schools. And we discuss Amanda Spielman's first annual report at Ofsted. Tune in and enjoy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Amanda Spielman succeeded Sir Michael Wilshaw as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector at the start of the year. Prior to becoming the new Ofsted chief, Amanda was chair of Ofqual and she was also a founding member of the leadership team at Ark Schools. NAHT Edge director, James Bowen, met with Amanda at the Ofsted Headquarters in central London.

Join the TES team as we discuss the week’s biggest talking points in the world of education. We hear how the pay gap between classroom teachers and school leaders has widened considerably over the past 15 years, and we discuss the academy leaders who have received pay rises of up to £100,000 in a year. We discuss our interview with Amanda Spielman, Ofsted's new chief inspector, who has promised not to be as outspoken as her predecessor, and we talk about sex and how it should be taught in school. Tune in and enjoy.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has announced Amanda Spielman is set to take over as chief inspector of schools in England. But the decision has provoked some controversy. Teaching unions have pointed out that Amanda Spielman has never been a teacher herself. But others have defended her, saying her experience setting up a successful academies chain - and most recently at exams regulator Ofqual - mean she's well-placed to take on this important role. Mark Coles has been finding out what makes Amanda Spielman tick.