Podcasts about england primary school

On Thursday 5 June Steep Church of England Primary School, with 102 children, holds an art exhibition to celebrate 150 years of the school. Working with local artist Jane Upward, the centerpiece is 150 canvasses made into one piece of art. The work of Louise Braithwaite is also featured and an art trail. Tamara Leonard, the Art Leader told Mike Waddington about the project they are all involved with . She also speaks about the school and its values - 'Believe, Persevere, Achieve' - are part of what the school provides. The exhibition has two sessions, one for parents and one for the public. Funds raised go to some refurbishment.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Talk 8 Between Brentwood and Brasenose (1956-59) Part 1 Welcome to Talk 8 in our series where I'm reflecting on the goodness of God throughout my life. I left school in December 1956 and started my course at Oxford in October 1959, a period of almost three years. In many ways it seemed a long time to wait, but in the plan and purpose of God they turned out to be highly significant years. I gained experience in teaching. I met Eileen, the girl who was to be lifelong partner. And I received the life-changing experience of the baptism in the Holy Spirit. But first, I need to explain how I got my place at Oxford and why I had to wait three years before taking it up. Gaining my place at Oxford In 1956, at the age of seventeen, I had already passed my A Levels and had decided to stay on at school a further year to take S Levels the following summer. S Levels – the S stands for Scholarship – were the highest level of GCE exams that you could take and were designed to support your application to university, especially if you were hoping to go to Oxbridge. However, as things turned out, I did not need to complete my S Level course because in the first term of that school year I was awarded a scholarship to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Brasenose College, Oxford. Our form master, Mr. Rennie, had suggested that some of us might like to spend a few days in Oxford and take some examinations at Brasenose College with a view to obtaining a place there. As there was only one place available I was not expecting to get it. But I decided to go even though my friend, John Bramble, was going too and I thought he was far more likely to be successful. He had always come higher than me in class and had gained better A Level results than I had. There were about eight of us altogether, each of us taking different exam papers, generally depending on what subjects we had taken at A level. There was just one paper that was the same for all of us, an English essay, the title of which was unknown to us until we sat down in the examination room. And that title was WORDS. The length of that exam was three hours and, although some boys started writing almost immediately, I spent the first 45 minutes planning my essay. I can't remember in great detail the contents of that essay but I know that I concluded it by talking about Christ, the word made flesh, the divine logos, the ultimate revelation of God Himself. I have sometimes wondered if the reason I was awarded the scholarship rather than any of my colleagues was that the Lord was honouring me because I had honoured him. Of course, I can't be sure about that, but he had helped me through my A levels when I had honoured him before the whole class when my History master had told me that I was likely to fail, and I have always sought to give God the glory for any academic success I may have achieved. And I discovered later that, of all the papers I sat during that visit to Brasenose, that essay on WORDS was awarded the highest grade – an alpha. But when I received a letter from Brasenose offering me a scholarship a few weeks later, I was totally amazed and, after discussing it with my father, I came to the conclusion that this had to be God. But there was just one problem. The place they were offering me was for three years later in October 1959, after I had completed my two years National Service. However, the Government had already agreed to abolish National Service and were in the process of phasing it out gradually. They did this by delaying the ‘call-up' which meant, in my case, that by the time they would have called me up, there would be less than two years before my course at Oxford was starting. In short, I would not have time to do National Service and, by the time I had finished my course at Oxford, National Service had been abolished completely. So, having obtained my place at Oxford, I decided to leave school at the end of term in December and start to earn some money. And at the time there was a great shortage of schoolteachers, as a result of which young people who had passed their A levels could do ‘uncertificated teaching' before going to university, and so I ended up doing almost three years' teaching before I went to Oxford. Gaining experience in teaching And, surprisingly enough, it started at the very school I had just left. Or, to be more precise, it was at the Preparatory School attached to Brentwood and standing just on the other side of the main playing field. One of the teachers was on sickness leave for a few weeks and I was asked if I would take their place as they taught French and Latin which were of course my two main A Level subjects. As it was a boarding school, I was required to live in and be the housemaster for some of the boys, which mainly involved making sure that they were in bed on time and not talking after a certain time. I was only there for a few weeks (January 15 to February 16), but I enjoyed the experience very much and learnt a great deal, not least of which was that, if you prepared your lessons thoroughly, you had relatively few problems with discipline. After Brentwood Prep I was told by the Essex Education Committee that another job was available in Brentwood, at the Church of England Primary School in Coptfold Road, only a few hundred yards from my old school. A teacher was on maternity leave and a replacement was needed until July to look after her class of 8 to 9 year-olds. The pay wasn't great as I was not a qualified teacher. It worked out at about half what I would have been paid if I had been qualified. And, of course, this was not a residential post, so I needed to travel on two buses each day to get there from Hornchurch. But I accepted the job anyway.   As in most primary schools, a teacher was responsible for teaching their class throughout the day all the subjects on the timetable. That was not a problem, but learning to keep discipline was another matter. My expectations were based on the level of discipline I had experienced as a pupil at Brentwood and the few weeks I had spent teaching at Brentwood Prep. Coptfold Road was quite another matter. Many of the children came from a less fortunate background and some of them were of rather limited intelligence. As a result, and due to my own lack of training and experience, and lack of any supervision, I found the two terms I was in charge of that class extremely difficult, and was quite relieved when I heard towards the end of the summer term that Mrs. Istead, the teacher who had been on maternity leave, was returning the following Monday. So on the Friday before she was due to return I was clearing my desk after school when the headmaster, Dr. Ward, asked me what I was doing, adding, You're not leaving, are you? And he offered to give me a different class to teach and keep me on indefinitely until I went up to Oxford. So I decided to stay and, as things turned out, I was there until the end of September 1959, my ability to keep discipline improving greatly with experience and the help of a Day School Teachers' Conference organised by the Baptist Union and held at St. Augustine's College, Canterbury in August 1957. As I look back on those years of teaching before I went to Oxford, I think I can see why God allowed it to happen that way. While I was waiting I was rather frustrated, thinking, Why am I teaching when God has called me to the ministry? But little did I know then that his plan for me was that most of my ministry would be teaching. And although the major part of my teaching ministry has been to a different age group, even when teaching at degree level in Bible Colleges around the world, I have found that God has given me the ability to teach at a level that everyone can understand, something I repeatedly hear from grateful listeners. And perhaps at least part of that ability is a result of those years I spent teaching less able children while waiting to go to university. God knows what he is doing, and he always has a purpose in what appear to us to be pointless pauses in our lives. But that brings me to an even more significant purpose in those years of waiting, for it was in those years that I met Eileen, the girl I was to marry and who was to be the ideal person to support me in my ministry. Meeting Eileen It was an incredibly hot day that Saturday afternoon. So hot in fact that the railway line buckled in the heat of the sun. It was Saturday 29th June, 1957 and we had arranged a youth rally where the young people from Elm Park Baptist would meet up with Hornchurch Baptist young people for fun and games in the park followed by an open air service. Although the churches were only two miles apart, before then we had had little contact with them, so I actually knew none of the young people there. People have often asked me how I met Eileen and I have usually replied, In the park! After a game of rounders, we sat down in groups and had a picnic tea. I noticed a group of four rather attractive girls sitting a few yards away and thought I would like to take a closer look! So I got up and walked towards them and happened to notice that one of them had taken her shoes off. On impulse, I picked up one of the shoes and ran off with it, with nothing in particular in mind other than just having a bit of fun. Needless to say, the owner of the shoe ran after me but was at something of a disadvantage as she had bare feet. I soon disappeared from view and hid the shoe under the bridge that spanned the park lake. Of course, when she caught up with me, I felt a bit of an idiot and showed her where the shoe was. We got into conversation and I asked her if she would like to come to our Saturday evening youth club which took place after the open air service. She agreed and, after sharing a song sheet at the open air, I found out that her name was Eileen and that she was just six days older than me. After youth club I walked her home and kissed her goodnight. And that was the beginning of a relationship that lasted, with a short break, for 67 years and which ended only when the Lord called her home at the age of 85. We agreed to meet again some time the following week, but the next day, after attending church in the morning, I decided to go to Hornchurch Baptist for their evening service in the hope of seeing Eileen again. She and her friend were sitting in the choir and her friend noticed me in the congregation and said to Eileen, He's here! After the service we went for a long walk in the park and from then on were to see each other just about every day. I discovered that Eileen had attended Romford County High School and had left after taking her O levels. At the time she was working at Barts (St. Bartholemew's Hospital) in London, but a year later she accepted a post in the Dagenham Education Office which was closer to home. But before that, I have to confess that there was a short break in our relationship during the last few months of 1957. I mentioned earlier that I attended a conference in Canterbury during the last week in August of that year. Everyone there was a qualified schoolteacher with the exception of me and one other person, a girl called Irene who was the same age as me and had been accepted to train as a teacher at the Chelsea College for Physical Education in Eastbourne. Irene was extremely attractive, highly intelligent, and very good at sport – she was nearly good enough to beat me at table tennis! But she was having doubts about her faith, and I spent some time with her trying to encourage her. As a result we were both very attracted to each other and, to cut the story short, because I have never been proud of myself about this, we started to see each other after the conference was over. When I next saw Eileen I told her, without mentioning Irene, that I felt we had been seeing too much of each other, that our relationship had been getting too intense – which it probably was – and that I thought we should cool it and not see each other for a while. She later told me that she had not been too concerned because she was convinced that if I was the right one for her, the Lord would bring me back to her. Which he did. The relationship with Irene lasted only a few weeks – until the middle of October, when I went to Eastbourne for a weekend to see her at her college. In short, she jilted me! But not long before Christmas the young people from Hornchurch Baptist came to Elm Park to take our Friday evening YPF meeting. And who should be singing in the choir but Eileen. I think we spoke briefly after the meeting, just polite conversation, but it was enough to arouse my interest in her again. So I sent her a Christmas card, and she replied by sending me one and enclosing this short poem: I do believe that God above created you for me to love. He picked you out from all the rest because he knew I'd love you best. I had a heart so warm and true, but now it's gone from me to you. Take care of it as I have done, for you have two and I have none. Not the best poetry in the world, but it touched my heart and I wrote to Eileen – I still have a copy of that letter – asking if she would like to resume our relationship. And from January 2nd 1958 hardly a day passed without our seeing each other.  

GB2RS News Sunday the 12th of March 2023 The news headlines: YOTA Summer Camp in Hungary Saint Patrick's Day Award Event RSGB Company Secretary   Applications are open to be part of the RSGB team going to the Youngsters on the Air summer camp in Hungary. The event will take place from the 5th to the 12th of August 2023. This is a chance in a lifetime for young RSGB Members to represent their country and national society. You could be a team member if you are aged between 15 and 25, or a team leader if you are aged between 18 and 30. We would love to hear from you if you're interested in meeting other young amateurs, supporting local and regional YOTA activities, and developing ideas regarding the future of amateur radio. For more information and the application form, either head over to our website at rsgb.org/yota-hungary or email the Youth Champion Liam Robbins, G5LDR via youth.champion@rsgb.org.uk The annual Saint Patrick's Day Award Event takes place over a 48-hour period from 1200UTC on the 16th of March to 1200UTC on the 18th of March to allow worldwide participation in all time zones. The Saint Patrick's Day Award is 48 hours of non-competitive fun. Everyone can participate in the event, whether they are licensed or not. You can register to be a participating station by completing a short registration form online at stpatricksaward.com The RSGB is looking to recruit an RSGB Member for the voluntary position of Company Secretary. The position plays a key role in the Society's governance and provides vital support in the running of Board meetings and the Annual General Meeting. The deadline for applications is Monday the 24th of April. You can find out more about the role on the RSGB website at rsgb.org/volunteers If you feel you have the necessary skills to fulfil this important role or would like more information, email the General Manager's department via gm.dept@rsgb.org.uk The RSGB has released two more 2022 Convention presentations for radio amateurs to enjoy. In “Antennas for an effective contest station” Lee Volante, M0MTN reviews many of the options available to the HF contester when making antenna choices. He considers how antenna type, height, location and available resources have to be balanced with the type of contest and a contester's personal goals. The “Further exploration of SDR” by Gordon Lean, G3WJ covers the design and performance of Software Defined Radio systems from direct carrier generation to the use of units incorporating the GNU-Radio design software. It also focuses on experience and actual use of equipment on all bands from 80m to 10GHz and some of the benefits and difficulties associated with SDR operation. You can watch them both on the RSGB YouTube channel or in the RSGB members' portal at rsgb.org/videos GB3ORK, the Orkney Islands 5MHz beacon has closed down following the expiry of its Notice of Variation. It was the last of a chain of three beacons that once provided a wealth of data for the “5MHz Experiment” prior to the band being formally allocated. The RSGB thanks its keeper for the time and dedication given. On Tuesday the 14th of March 2023, the Radio Security Service Memorial Amateur Radio Society will be enjoying a talk by Brian Clarke about his experiences in working at Gilnahirk Listening Station, part of the Y Station network. This is a pre-recorded talk, but Brian will be present to take questions at the end of the talk, which runs for about 45 minutes. The talk will be via Zoom and anyone is free to attend. For more information contact Roger Bradley, MI0WWB via mi0wwb@btinternet.com   And now for details of rallies and events The British Vintage Wireless Society Meet is taking place in Biggleswade today, Sunday the 12th of March. The venue will be the Weatherley Centre, Eagle Farm Road, Biggleswade, SG18 8JH. The event will feature traders selling vintage radios and TVs, and components including valves and test gear. There will be a large bring-and-buy area and refreshments will be available. Extensive, free off-road car parking right by the hall is available, as well as disabled parking right beside the main door. The venue has level access throughout. Everyone is welcome to attend. Doors open at 9.30 am and admission is £8. For more details contact Jeremy on 07799 110 080. Also taking place today, the 12th, is Dover Amateur Radio Club's Hamzilla Electronics Fair and Radio Rally. The venue will be Julie Rose Stadium in Ashford, Kent, TN24 9QX. Free parking is available. The doors open at 10 am, or 9.30 am for early bird ticket holders. Local and national traders are welcome. Book your ticket and/or table online at Hamzilla.uk or email: club@darc.online The Hack Green Military Surplus and Military Radio Hanger Sale will take place on Sunday the 2nd of April. The venue will be Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 8AL. The sale will include electronic equipment, amateur gear, components, military radio items and vehicle spares. For more information email coldwar@hackgreen.co.uk or visit www.hackgreen.co.uk Yeovil Amateur Radio Club's thirty-seventh QRP Convention will take place on Saturday the 15th of April at The Digby Hall, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3AA. Doors open from 9.30 am to 1.30 pm and admission is £3. The Convention will feature talks, traders, bring and buy, club stalls and a café. For more information visit yeovil-arc.com or contact qrp@yeovil-arc.com   Now the Special Event News GB1PAT and GB2PAT are the special callsigns for members of the Bushvalley Amateur Radio Club to use between the 1st and 28th of March to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day. Three certificates are available for making contact with both callsigns on different bands. QSL via Logbook of the World only. DR100XRAY will be active until the end of June. It is a special callsign commemorating the 100th anniversary of the death of Wilhelm C Roentgen, the physicist whose discovery of X-rays earned him the inaugural Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901 and revolutionised diagnostic medicine. QSL via the bureau, or direct to DJ6SI. As part of British Science Week, the Bishop Auckland Radio Amateur Club, supported by the Extended Freedom Network, will be operating three special event stations demonstrating FT8, FM Voice and Digital technologies as well as Morse code and more. On Monday the 13th of March the club will be operating GB4SCE from Staindrop Church of England Primary School. On Tuesday the 14th and Wednesday the 15th it will be operating GB4HJS from Hunwick Primary School. Finally, on Thursday the 16th and Friday the 17th the club will be operating GB2SPS from St Andrew's Primary School. For more information and updates visit www.extendedfreedom.network   Now the DX news Rich, PA0RRS will be active as 9M2MRS from Penang Island (AS-015), West Malaysia until the 29th of March. He will operate CW and digital modes including RTTY, FT8 and FT4 on the 40 to 10m bands. QSL via Club Log's OQRS is preferred, but also via Logbook of the World, or via PA0RRS. Thaire, W2APF will be active as VP2MDX from Montserrat, NA-103, until the 28th of March. He will operate CW and SSB on the 80 to 10m bands. QSL via Logbook of the World, or via W2APF. Tom, AA9A is active again as PJ7AA from Sint Maarten, NA-105, from the 3rd of March to the 1st of April. He usually operates CW, SSB and FT8 on the 80 to 10m bands. QSL via Club Log's OQRS, Logbook of the World or direct to AA9A. Sands, VK4WXW has been on Willis Island, OC-007, since October, and will remain there until the end of April 2023. He works at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's weather monitoring station on the island, and in his spare time, he is QRV as VK9WX.   Now the contest news Today, the 12th, the Commonwealth Contest ends its 24-hour run at 1000UTC. Using CW on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report and serial number. HQ stations also send ‘HQ'. On Tuesday the 14th of March, the 432MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 1955UTC. Using FM on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also, on Tuesday the 14th of March, the 432MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on the 70cm band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 15th of March, the 80m Club Championship runs from 1900 to 2030UTC. Using CW on the 80m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. On Thursday the 16th of March, the 70MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using All modes on the 4m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Next weekend, the British Amateur Radio Teledata Group HF RTTY Contest begins at 0200UTC on Saturday the 18th of March and will run until 0200UTC on Monday the 20th of March. Using RTTY on the 80 to 10m bands, where contests are permitted, the exchange is signal report, serial number and time.   Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Thursday 9th of March 2023 It was business as usual last week with the solar flux index in the 180s, numerous C-class flares and, at the time of writing, 13 M-class flares over the past seven days. The Kp index has been mostly settled for this part of the cycle, averaging two to three all week. But this doesn't mean there has been little activity on the Sun, just that any eruptions have been directed away from Earth. For example, a large prominence eruption off the Sun on the 7th of March resulted in a coronal mass ejection that stretched hundreds of thousands of kilometres into space. It is this type of activity that makes space weather predictions difficult. If it had been Earth-facing, we could have ended up with a highly-raised Kp index and extensive aurora. As it was, the event had little or no effect on Earth. Maximum usable frequencies continue to be high, but we are starting to see the effects of the Summer ionospheric changes that will see daytime MUFs decline. The MUF over a 3,000km path often doesn't exceed 28MHz now until later in the morning. This is due to a seasonal change in the ionospheric chemistry and a shift from monatomic species to diatomic ones, which are harder to ionise. So, make the most of 10m as by mid-summer we may lose long-range propagation on 28MHz, other than through Sporadic-E events. We mentioned last week that this is a good time for North-South paths as we head towards the Spring equinox. That is, good paths to South Africa and South America are more likely now than they were a few months back. There have been a lot of stations on 10m in the late afternoon from South America so make the most of the propagation. Next week, NOAA predicts similar solar flux index figures, with the SFI being in the range of 170 to 185. The Kp index is predicted to be at two or three, with perhaps more unsettled geomagnetic conditions on Wednesday the 15th. As always, see solarham.net for more up-to-date information.   And now the VHF and up propagation news The unsettled winter weather has yet to give way to spring, so it's primarily low-pressure systems and periods of rain or snow that we will be dealing with in the next week or so. Whether it's rain or snow, this unsettled pattern limits any Tropo options and leaves only GHz band rain-scatter as a propagation mode to explore. Generally speaking, the rain, or perhaps the point where the snow is melting as it falls, should provide better reflections, whereas, in very cold areas, where it is all snow, reflections may be weaker. This probably means that it will be southern areas that perform better with rain scatter. For the next few weeks, there are no significant meteor showers and therefore the pre-dawn random meteors will be the best options. Aurora, on the other hand, tends to favour the spring and autumn months, so in view of the current state of solar activity, as mentioned in the previous section, you should continue to monitor the Kp index for signs of activity and check the bands if it gets to the point that Kp equals five. For EME operators, after minimum declination this Thursday, Moon availability windows will start to lengthen. Path losses will continue to fall but we are still a week from the Moon's perigee – its closest point to Earth. 144MHz sky noise is high, reaching over 2,800 Kelvin on Thursday. And that's all from the propagation team this week.

London. Tavistock House. 1851. It shaped Charles Dickens' life and career. Home to The Smallest Theatre in the World, Mrs Weldon's Orphanage and an alluring French lodger called Charles Gounod, Tavistock House is reputable for having been the home of three eccentric creatives - the Mancunian painter Frank Stone, the world's most famous writer and actor Charles Dickens, and Victorian England's notorious amateur soprano and litigant, Georgina Weldon. Within its walls lies a story of personal passion and chaos colliding with extraordinary creativity. Until it was destroyed in 1901. With the staircase creaking after dark and smog pouring in through every chink and keyhole, Ben Gernon guides us through this remarkable house, revealing what the walls hold and uncovering its unusual tenants. Alex Jennings leads a cast in this docudrama as we join the Dickens theatre company at rehearsals for their festive production of Wilkie Collins' The Frozen Deep. We eavesdrop on Mr and Mrs Weldon's crumbling marriage; witness Charles Gounod furiously composing in the upstairs bedroom with welcome interruptions from Georgina Weldon; and Catherine Dickens shares her story from the other side of that wall. From extra-marital affairs, screaming street children, kidnap attempts and madness to amateur dramatics and shattered dreams, this is the story of one of Victorian England's most famous houses. Joining Ben around the house are Lucinda Hawksley, Professor Joanne Begiato and conductor Charles Peebles. Cast Alex Jennings as Charles Dickens Katherine Kingsley as Georgina Weldon Ben Onwukwe as Frank Stone and Charles Gounod Ben Crowe as Wilkie Collins and William ‘Harry' Weldon Jane Whittenshaw as Mary and Catherine Dickens With thanks to Year 6 students at St Peter's Church of England (Aided) Primary School, Henfield, and Year 1 students at Underwood Church of England Primary School, Nottinghamshire, for ensemble roles. Presented by Ben Gernon Produced by Alexandra Quinn Sound Design by Jon Calver Drama scenes written by Rob Valentine Drama scenes directed by Cherry Cookson A Loftus Media and Wireless Theatre Production for BBC Radio 3

This one-off episode explores what equality means to children in Manchester and what adults can do to make things better for the next generation. Presented by Sarah Emmott and Rachel Moorhouse. Small Voices has been made in partnership with Manchester City Council as part of their ‘Our Year 2022' project celebrating and supporting young people in Manchester. Created with St. Wilfrid's Church of England Primary School in Newton Heath, Crowcroft Park Primary School in Longsight and Haveley Hey Community School in Wythenshawe, featuring renowned poets mandla, David Viney and Louise Wallwein MBE. www.artwithheart.org.uk

Today we talk to Maria Madeley, Head of Science Teacher at Minety Church of England Primary School about the importance of STEM Ambassador activities within School. We discuss how STEM Ambassadors help to contribute to a student's development and how to align their STEM related activities to the school's curriculum. We discuss how to use STEM activities to showcase diversity and get more female engineers into the industry and how we ensure the safety off the children during STEM Ambassador visits. Maria explains the term ‘Cultural Collateral' and why she recommends STEM Ambassadors to other schools.

Today we talk to Maria Madeley, Head of Science Teacher at Minety Church of England Primary School about the importance of STEM Ambassador activities within School. We discuss how STEM Ambassadors help to contribute to a student's development and how to align their STEM related activities to the school's curriculum. We discuss how to use STEM activities to showcase diversity and get more female engineers into the industry and how we ensure the safety off the children during STEM Ambassador visits. Maria explains the term ‘Cultural Collateral' and why she recommends STEM Ambassadors to other schools.

Sinéad Morrissey's new poem ‘The Fourth King' was commissioned as part of our annual Look North More Often programme and celebrates the 2021 Trafalgar Square Christmas tree. Here, it's performed by Isobel Chappell, Leon Ganje Day and Vasilis Vasiliou, three Year 6 children from St Saviour's Church of England Primary School in Westminster. You can read the poem online, and on a banner designed by Marcus Walters on the tree in Trafalgar Square until 6 January 2022. You can also find a video interview with Sinéad, KS2 teaching resources, and poems written by primary school children in response to 'The Fourth King' on our website at bit.ly/lnmo. Happy holidays from everyone at The Poetry Society!

This week we talk to Katy Pinchess, Headteacher at Bentley Church of England Primary School about her school's approach to reading. Katy shares how they have used a digital tool (Lexplore) that uses artificial intelligence and eye-tracking technology to dig further into exactly what children find challenging about reading. We also talk about other ways in which Katy has built a strong reading culture at her school, discuss briefly her recent experience of an Ofsted inspection and hear her observations of how pupils are adjusting to being back in school.    We talk about:  Reading as a focus across the school  What using the digital tool adds to the school's approach to teaching reading  How administering reading assessments works and how the results are used to support pupils progress  The school's context and the importance of reading across the curriculum  How using the digital tool has supported parental engagement with reading The impact of Covid-19 on pupil's academic resilience How the team at Bentley have applied a 'back to basics' approach this term to support pupils back into the classroom.    You can learn more about Bentley Church of England Primary School here  More information about Lexplore is available here

ASCL's Primary Specialist Tiffnie Harris talks to Lilian Taylor-Bell, Headteacher, Leyland St James Church of England Primary School

EPISODE NOTES In this episode, Claire talks about overcoming the barriers to remote teaching with Emma Handisides, deputy headteacher at St Joseph's Catholic and Church of England Primary School. Emma talks about how her school has approached remote teaching over the last year including how they have maintained a positive determination in both preparing for, and working to overcome, the varied challenges that have emerged. From her school’s experiences, Emma shares some tips and advice and she and Claire discuss how other schools can continue to improve and develop their remote teaching provision.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Benefits of proactive preparation. Although schools will now almost certainly have their remote teaching provision up-and-running fairly smoothly, it is always beneficial looking ahead to consider what might change. This could be adaptations to the ways schools are expected to work or new government policies, for example. While it is impossible to predict exactly what will happen, looking at the direction things are moving in and having ideas for possible courses of action can really help. Likewise, considering what has worked and what has not been as successful as hoped during the recent lockdowns can help improve and overcome those barriers if or when it happens again. Nothing is ever the finished article. It is almost a certainty that no matter what we do, and no matter what systems we put in place, there will be unexpected challenges or barriers to learning that appear. To keep moving forward and maintain positivity, it is key that your vision for what you want it to look like, and the ‘why’ this vision is important, is continually communicated so that staff have that deep understanding and are all on board no matter what setbacks might present themselves. BEST MOMENTS “Being able to see those children in school who you are face-to-face teaching and those children at home on the big board who you are remote teaching, learning together, as one class, is the most immense feeling.” “It's the most amazing feeling to actually be able to overcome those barriers of school closure and to say, ‘we're still all together. We're still learning the same things. We're still learning all together.’” “We've booked in some museum sessions where the children are on tours. We've booked in some art workshops where it's been streamed out to the children. We're just really, really trying to continue to enhance the curriculum as much as possible because there are things out there that are accessible.” “You could see it coming: lockdown two, school closures. Obviously, you hoped it wouldn't come. You hoped there'd be a change of path. But we just anticipated it throughout. I think the key there was that anticipation that this will happen again and that we want it to look very, very different next time.” “We still have barriers. But whatever it is that comes at us, [we're] just trying to find a solution so that all children can be engaged.” “It’s having that determination, that resilience, that positivity, that 'why are we doing this?' Well we're doing this to give the best for those children, and keeping that at the forefront of your mind.” “It's not always easy. You are remote teaching. You are face-to-face teaching. Technical glitches happen all the time. But, actually, having that positivity and that determination is so key.” “We just wanted to make sure that the provision can be the best it can be. And that is something, again, that we're working, continuing even, to work at.” “If there is a non-attendance at the remote teaching sessions, we are straight on the phone. I did say to the children right from the start, ‘we will be on the phone. We will be knocking at your doors. We will be. Because it's not an option. We need you to be there. We need you to be engaged.’”   VALUABLE RESOURCES Emma Handisides - Twitter: https://twitter.com/handisides_emma Saint Joseph's Primary School - Twitter: https://twitter.com/stjs_staveley Emma Handisides - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emma.shore.754 Classroom Secrets Kids: https://kids.classroomsecrets.co.uk The Teachers’ Podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheTeachersPodcast/ Classroom Secrets Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClassroomSecretsLimited/ Classroom Secrets website: https://classroomsecrets.co.uk/ LIFE/work balance campaign: https://classroomsecrets.co.uk/lifeworkbalance-and-wellbeing-in-education-campaign-2019/   ABOUT THE HOST 'My mother is a teacher. I will never be a teacher.' - Claire Riley Claire arrived at the end of her performing arts degree with no firm plans to move into the entertainment industry. A fully funded secondary teaching course seemed like the perfect way to stall for a year on deciding what to do with her life. Turns out, teaching was her thing.  Three years in a challenging secondary school - check. Two years in primary schools with over 90% EAL children - check. Eight years doing day-to-day supply across 4-18 - check. If there's one thing she learnt, it was how to identity the best ideas from every school in terms of resources and use that knowledge to create something that would work for teachers far and wide. In 2013, Classroom Secrets was born. Claire had seen other resource sites and wanted to add something to the market that she felt was missing. More choice + More quality = Balance. Claire is a self-proclaimed personal development junkie and is always looking for ways to learn and improve. It's usually centred around business, her new-found passion. In 2019, Claire launched The Teachers' Podcast that hits the charts on launch and is listed in the top 200 educational podcasts most weeks. The Teachers’ Podcast is a series of interviews where Claire meets with a wide range of guests involved in the field of education. These podcasts provide exciting discussions and different perspectives and thoughts on a variety of themes which are both engaging and informative for anyone involved in education. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Caroline talks with three inspirational teachers and leaders from St Paul's Church of England Primary School in York. They describe their curriculum journey using Cornerstones in a community centred, supportive school, situated right in the centre of the historic city. Teachers, Hannah and Charlotte, explain how they've used the resources and tools to reduce their workloads and bring vibrancy to their curriculum. Acting headteacher, Christie Waite, also discusses how the online platform, Curriculum Maestro, is helping their small school to plan for the future. A great way to hear from inspirational leaders who are making curriculum work well for their school. Notes And LinksHere is a list of links to some of the things we reference on the show. https://www.stpaulsprimaryyork.com/ (St Paul's CofE – School website) Follow St Paul's CofE on Twitter https://twitter.com/StPaulsCofEYork (@StPaulsCofEYork) Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/Cornerstonesedu (@Cornerstonesedu) https://cornerstoneseducation.co.uk/products/curriculum/curriculum-maestro/ (Curriculum Maestro – More information) https://cornerstoneseducation.co.uk/ (Cornerstones Education – Website)

Welcome to Episode 42. The day has finally come when I can say “For Flourishing’s Sake, the BOOK, is out this week!” Yay!!! So in today’s episode, I will focus on the overarching theme of the book, which is to use a whole school approach to positive education to support character development and well-being.  But first, I’ll briefly tell you about the exciting virtual launch events happening on Thursday 18th June, as these are an opportunity for you to hear directly from many of the amazing educators that have contributed their case studies, stories and experiences to the book.  For Flourishing’s Sake is being published on two dates - the first publication is of the e-book, on Thursday.  The second is the publication of the paperback on 21st August.  So, given we can’t have a physical book launch, we are having a... Virtual Book Launch Extravaganza: 2 dates 4 virtual panels 16 panellists 2 panel chairs 1 author On Thursday 18th June, we are holding three live panels: At 12.30pm UK time, the panel will be chaired by Adele Bates - Behaviour and Education Specialist - and the panellists will be: Rhiannon McGee from Geelong Grammar School in Australia, Julie Goldstein from Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy in Connecticut, USA, Elke Paul - Positive Education Consultant from Germany, and Fabian de Fabiani -Assistant Headteacher at Townley Grammar School and Director of Character at the Odyssey Trust for Education in the UK. At 5pm UK time we have an all-UK panel from a wide range of schools: Andrew Cowley - author of The Wellbeing Toolkit and Deputy Headteacher of a primary school in South London - will be chairing.  The panellists will be: Rebecca Tigue - Head of School at the University of Birmingham School, Kelly Hannaghan - Mental Health and Wellbeing Consultant, Patrick Ottley-O’Connor - Education Consultant, Leadership Coach and Executive Principal at North Liverpool Academy, and Flora Barton - Headteacher at Crowmarsh Gifford Church of England Primary School. At 7pm UK time, we go international again. Chaired by Andrew Cowley, the panel will feature: Ian Flintoff - a UK-based Positive Psychology-based Education Coach, Consultant and Trainer; Serdar Ferit - the Co-CEO of Lyfta, based in Finand and the UK; Katrina Mankani - Director of Positive Education at Sunmarke School and Regent International School in Dubai; and Rebecca Comizio - School Psychologist at New Canaan Country School in Connecticut, USA. On Friday 21st August - I’ll remind you nearer the time, too! - we have our final live panel at 12.30pm UK time, chaired by Andrew Cowley and featuring the following UK-based panellists: Paul Bateson - teacher, writer and theatre maker, as well as PGCE tutor; Anni Poole - Director of HLS Impact Coaching; Dan Morrow - CEO of the Woodland Academy Trust; and Adele Bates - Behaviour and Education Specialist. Full details of the panels and speakers, and how to watch and participate with questions and comments, will be posted on the @FlourishingED twitter account and here on the www.forflourishingssake.com podcast website.   I hope you’ll be able to join us and watch one or more of these panels where we’ll be discussing many issues and examples around whole school positive education. If you can’t join us live, all the panels will remain online for you to watch at a later date. So, let’s move onto the content of today’s episode. Positive Education, according to IPEN (the International Positive Education Network), is the combination of educating for character and well-being, and for academic achievement. The whole school approach to Positive Education aims to incorporate this ethos of education into every aspect of a school’s activities, from its ethos and climate, its policies, and its leadership, to the physical environment, the training of teachers - from their trainee days to continued professional development, to the provision of character and well-being lessons, to the integration of well-being and character into other subject lessons, to role-modelling of character strengths and well-being behaviours by staff, to how the school interacts with and supports its local community, to how it communicates with all its stakeholders, including parents, and so much more.  Having written, literally, an entire book on this and knowing that, even so, each chapter is merely a starting point to give you, the reader, some ideas, inspiration and examples of each aspect of whole school Positive Education in practice, I am clearly not going to be able to cover it all in one brief podcast episode. What I would like to do today is to invite you to think and consider how you can still take a whole school approach to positive education even as schools look nothing like they did a few months ago.  More than ever, I am hearing teachers, school leaders and parents telling me how important well-being is.  The current crisis has impacted on the mental well-being of everyone in school communities in some way and the challenges are many.  As you revisit all your systems, policies and procedures to create physically safe - or as safe as possible - environments for your staff and students, there is not only an opportunity but an absolutely dire need to also consider mental health as part of the measures you take. I don’t purport to have all the answers, far from it, but I know that if we work together with the intention to support the flourishing of everyone in education, we can do this.  Coronavirus is not going away anytime soon, so our ‘new normal’ has to come from a whole school Positive Education perspective, even if this looks different than it would have done just a few months ago.  You don’t have to do everything at once, and you don’t have to get everything right first time.  The important thing is not to forget the character and well-being aspects of education as we focus on academic catch-up and attainment and physical safety.  Are you with me? Are you up for the challenge? All my contact details are coming up at the end of this episode if you’d like to get in touch and discuss how to bring a whole school approach to Positive Education into your school.  Let’s do this, together.  Let’s support the flourishing of children and adults in education, regardless of the circumstances. … If you have found this episode useful, please give the podcast a five star rating on iTunes to help it reach more people and please spread the word. Also, if you haven’t already, remember to subscribe so you never miss an episode. For Flourishing’s Sake is available on iTunes / Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Deezer. The book, by the same name, is coming out on Kindle on 18th June and on paperback on 21st August. It’s available to pre-order from major online book retailers and is jam-packed with evidence-based strategies for whole school positive education with case study examples from a wide range of schools from around the world. So why not order your copy now, so you will receive it as soon as it’s published? If you’d like to get in touch with questions or comments, or to contribute to a future episode, please contact me via Twitter at @FlourishingED.  You can also leave comments on individual episode pages right here at www.forflourishingssake.com (see bottom of this page). I look forward to hearing from you, and until next time, For Flourishing’s Sake, have a great week!   Everyday Hero - 60 second version (Corporate, motivational, you tube, podcast) Music by Pond5  

It's the much awaited second part of our chart with Matthew Purves from Ofsted. Matthew gets into the specifics of what the new framework means for schools and what they'll be expecting of subject leaders. There's also an illuminating conversation with Julie Kelly, the Headteacher at West Meon Church of England Primary School on what it's really like to run a small school. With 60% of teachers in small schools leading three or more subjects, what will the implications from the deep dives? To find out more about our work on small schools and the research we've been conducting, please go to www.NAHT.org.uk

In this episode, Claire interviews Karl Duke at the One Education Literacy Conference. Growing up in Barnsley in a working-class family, a wealth of books were not readily available to Karl as a child but he credits his parents for always encouraging him to read. After initially training as an illustrator in the early 90s, Karl has worked in primary education for almost 20 years. In his first position at a rural school in Lincolnshire, he became the Literacy lead then successfully applied for a Literacy Consultant post which he worked in for six years. In this role, Karl delivered national strategy courses in the region including Talk for Writing. He developed materials for visual literacy incorporating film and picture books before returning to school life as an Assistant Head on the Lincolnshire coast. He has now been the Headteacher at Blyton cum Laughton Church of England Primary School for three years. Since being appointed, he and his team have developed a reading-inspired curriculum which he and Claire discuss in detail. KEY TAKEAWAYS · Picture Books Karl makes extensive use of picture books in his school. His belief is that quality visual texts stimulate learning across the curriculum. The reading inspired curriculum that his school are developing ensures that children from all backgrounds have access to quality texts. Picture books are fantastic for reading for pleasure across all key stages and the aim at Karl’s school is to get the children to fall in love with each story. They aspire to ensure that every child by the end of Year 6 leaves their school with a love or continued love of reading. · Sharing the Love Due to the reputation Blyton cum Laughton have developed as a school who love books, they have had over 1,000 books donated to them in just a few months. This has been brilliant for the school particularly when faced with the issue of funding and is something for all schools to consider.   · Ofsted and Curriculum Scrutiny Karl believes that placing reading at the core of the curriculum can only be a positive thing. The importance of books is very apparent at his school and their influence can be seen throughout so he feels they are taking the right path to ensure it is the right curriculum for them. The teachers, parents and children are all on board which keeps them moving in the right direction. · Detail Detectives Karl has come across many children who struggle to find enough to write about and who find it difficult to write in detail. The idea of ‘Detail Detectives’ is to use illustrations from picture books to get children to focus in and look at the details of different parts of a bigger image. He describes the idea of seeing the image as a jigsaw, breaking it into 12 pieces and giving the children 1 piece to study helping them to focus on the details. Children can find it daunting to deal with all of the information in one go. By looking at one piece at a time, they are able to collate a larger number of ideas together instead of trying to process it as a whole. Karl gives copies of images useful for this activity on Twitter and his blog. You can find links to both in the show notes. · CPD Twitter is an excellent source of free CPD and offers a huge wealth of teaching ideas. Karl discusses how most of his inspiration comes online these days. He heartily recommends becoming a regular visitor of book shops to find good quality picture books, especially independent ones where quirky, less well-known texts can be picked up. · Recommendations Karl recommends the author Aaron Becker, particularly his ‘The Journey’ trilogy for imaginative story telling. He also mentions ‘The Arrival’ by Sean Tan for discussing issues around migration and a family starting a new life. BEST MOMENTS “It’s important to us that we can incorporate texts that our relevant to our children.” “As a Headteacher, it is a difficult position to be in. You want the school to move forward quickly for the benefit of all the children within it and there are times where you have to make decisions that are difficult. They might be difficult for the staff but we’re creating a culture of trust and freedom so that teachers have freedom to do their job successfully without the need to monitor, monitor, monitor to death.” “There are children that will always struggle with reading and perhaps not enjoy it but there are things that I don’t like doing and I never will like doing so it’s not about forcing it. It’s from head of leadership down, ensuring that we show reading as a pleasurable experience and if we do that there is more chance of children also picking up on that.” “I have a library in my office where the children can come and select books. We have a few children who do that now. I’d love them all to come and look and choose a book, but it’s going to take time to build that culture. It’s not something that just happens overnight.” “There are many teachers out there who really influence me. I’m a Headteacher and there shouldn’t be any differentiation within that. We’re here for the same reason.” VALUABLE RESOURCES Karl Duke Twitter: https://twitter.com/KarlDuke8 Karl Duke Blog: https://mrdht.wordpress.com/author/mrdht/ The Teachers’ Podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheTeachersPodcast/ Classroom Secrets Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClassroomSecretsLimited/ Classroom Secrets website: https://classroomsecrets.co.uk/ LIFE/work balance campaign: https://classroomsecrets.co.uk/lifeworkbalance-and-wellbeing-in-education-campaign-2019/   ABOUT THE HOST Claire Riley Claire, alongside her husband Ed, is one of the directors of Classroom Secrets, a company she founded in 2013 and which provides outstanding differentiated resources for teachers, schools, parents and tutors worldwide. Having worked for a number of years as a teacher in both Primary and Secondary education, and experiencing first-hand the difficulties teachers were facing finding appropriate high-quality resources for their lessons, Claire created Classroom Secrets with the aim of helping reduce the workload for all school staff. Claire is a passionate believer in a LIFE/work balance for those who work in education citing the high percentage of teachers who leave or plan to leave their jobs each year. Since February 2019, Classroom Secrets has been running their LIFE/work balance campaign to highlight this concerning trend. The Teachers’ Podcast is a series of interviews where Claire meets with a wide range of guests involved in the field of education. These podcasts provide exciting discussions and different perspectives and thoughts on a variety of themes which are both engaging and informative for anyone involved in education.

We had the privilege of visiting Buckland Church of England Primary School to hear all about their Zulu Nation Day. You can listen to Headteacher Louise Warren and 6 pupils explain all about this wonderful experience entitled:   The Mighty Zulu Nation Curriculum enrichment Celebrating diversity at Buckland CE Primary School March 2019   The school was awarded a Creative Learning Bursary from NAPE Oxfordshire who support members in exciting, inspiring and creative projects that extend children’s learning beyond the national curriculum and involve children in its planning.   To see full details and pictures of the event please the school website at:   http://www.bucklandprimaryschool.org.uk (http://www.bucklandprimaryschool.org.uk)   To find out more information about National Association for Primary Education please visit: www.nape.org.uk (https://nape.org.uk)

Our sixth 4YP Radio Show, For Young People by Young People broadcast at 4.30pm on Thursday 5th November 2015. A team of 6 YR5 pupils from St Stephen's Church of England Primary School worked all day to bring you this live show. The show is presented again here but without copyright music and with the feedback and discussion session with Russell that immediately followed the live broadcast. Guests include live telephone interview with Darren Clift and other Getting Ahead Pupils from the School. The equipment used was The Anderton Tiger HUB PLUS. We have a range of school radio station starting from £2,995.00, find out more from www.AndertonTiger.com/HUB Copyright music has been removed from this recording and we played Jess Glynn - Don't be so hard on Yourself and Black Magic from Little Mix. Text lines are now closed so please do not text as you will be charged and your text will not count. For details of our School Radio Workshops, please visit www.AndertonTiger.com/Workshop 4YP Radio is brought to you in conjunction HeadStart.FM and Anderton Tiger Radio

First Broadcast live on Wednesday 11th March 2015 at 5.00 Now and again we do a live OB from Wolverhampton as part of the HeadStart.FM programme, today we were at Bilston Church of England Primary School. Listen to the Headteacher Mr G Gentle chat with me about the School and his plans for a new building and also Mr J Webb who produced some outstanding commentary live via his mobile phone during a County Championship Cross-Country Race in the school grounds! Find out more about www.HeadStart.FM at the website Copyright music has been removed. Please do not text in as you will be charged and your comment or vote will not be recognised. We played Happy New Year by ABBA. See the radio kit that was used to make this broadcast at www.AndertonTiger.com/HUB Russell produces live broadcasting workshops in your school around resilience and coping skills . Find out more at www.AndertonTiger.com/Workshop

Year 6 at Goosnargh Oliverson's Church of England Primary School have been finding out about the whole-school topic, 'Faith Street'.  Each class found out about a person of faith, learning about their holy book, place of worship, shared values and much more. Welcome back for our second episode.  Year 6 visit Year 3 where they have been learning all about Judaism.

Year 6 at Goosnargh Oliverson's Church of England Primary School have been finding out about the whole-school topic, 'Faith Street'.  Each class found out about a person of faith, learning about their holy book, place of worship, shared values and much more. This first podcast episode follows Year 5 and Year 1 as they find out all about Sikhism.

Welcome to a different kind of show. In response to a number of listener requests we have put together the Summer Spesh, a show that brings together some of the listeners favourite music from previous shows, some inspirational quotes, some poetry and an interview between Peter Osborne and Eddy Canfor-Dumas, the author of The Buddha, Geoff and Me. Music from tonights show includes: Vittoria Conn singing Mirror $12.99 by Dave Potts Building Our Own Future by Howard Jones Bill singing Panacea Eoghan Colgan with Planetary Woman Selsted Church of England Primary School with Save Our School Supersuckers with Some People Say Matthew Ebel singing Drive Away All the music from tonights show is from the Podsafe Music Network. We will be back in a couple of weeks with a a lecture on The Persecution at Tatsunokuchi Gosho. Next week is episode 4 of The Buddha, Geoff and Me. Thank you for listening! If you have a question or an experience you would like to send us, write to karen(at)thejarretts.com or jason(at)thejarretts.com If you get a moment, and you would like to, it really does help spread the word if you could write us a review on ITunes. Have a great week!

Tonights we talk about the Nine Consciousnesses in the midst of a bout of colds, sneezes and coughs that have enveloped the house this week! We talk about; 1. 5 senses 2. Trapped in the cage of our 7th Consciousness 3. Karmic River 4. Palace of the Ninth Consciousness 5. Starlit Hawaii Shoutouts to everyone from Gibbo in LA to Mike Hellier touring Europe! Selsted Primary School get  reprieve and Vittoria offers an experience about chanting for her mothers situation. As usual music from tonights show comes from the Podsafe Music Network at music.podshow.com. We play Dave Pottz song, $12.99 and we close with the wonderful children of Selsted Church of England Primary School singing, Save Our School, because they did save it! If you would like to send us an experience, feedback, question or comment, drop us a line at karen@thejarretts.com or jason@thejarretts.com Oh...and if your in London and its Friday night and your thinking, where should we go? Go down to Earls Court and check out Jazzfly at My Place Great people, great music, kosen rufu in action. Have a great week!