Teachers Talk Radio

At Connaught School for Girls in Waltham Forest, frustrated students are directly confronting teachers in the third week of strikes. With GCSE preparations severely disrupted, pupils are demanding the National Education Union members return to class. Teachers, protesting heavy workloads, management issues, potential redundancies and pay cuts, have been seen turning away or standing with keffiyehs and Palestine flags. Parents are bitterly divided - some backing the teachers’ fight for better conditions, others furious that their daughters’ futures are being sacrificed. Is this a necessary stand for workers’ rights, or are students paying the price for adult disputes at the worst possible time? On the panel: Tom Rogers, Dave Brown and Lucy Trimnell.

Great schools don't happen by accident. Behind every turnaround story is a leader who understood that sustainable improvement isn't just about strategy; it's about people. It's about building a culture where staff feel trusted, students feel they belong, and everyone believes that better is possible. Yet so many schools find themselves stuck. They have the data, the development plans, the training days and still the gap between knowing what good looks like and actually getting there remains frustratingly wide. So what makes the difference? What separates the schools that talk about change from the ones that live it? In this episode, we explore the human side of school improvement. What it takes to walk into a school and create the conditions for change, quickly, and in a way that lasts. We dig into the leadership decisions that matter most in the early days, the role culture plays in unlocking or blocking progress, and why the most powerful driver of school improvement has never been a policy or a framework. It's has always been people. Special Guest: Andrea Rosewell.

A major new study has revealed that nearly a quarter of newly-qualified teachers in England never actually enter the profession after training. Researchers point to “reality shock” with workload, administration, lesson planning and long working days among the biggest concerns for trainee teachers. But is workload really the main issue? Or are deeper problems driving graduates away before their careers even begin? On this week’s mid week Points of View, Tom Rogers, JP, Liz Webb and Rae Whitehouse discuss whether teacher training courses are properly preparing people for the realities of the classroom, whether excessive workload has become normalised in schools, and whether teaching today is fundamentally different from what many trainees expect when they begin. The panel will also discuss whether schools are doing enough to support early career teachers, whether the profession is losing people before they even start, and whether the recruitment crisis can really be solved without confronting the retention crisis first.

Tom Rogers is joined by Matt Wrack, General Secretary of the NASUWT, for a special one-off conversation on the biggest issues facing teachers right now. With growing concerns around pay, workload and retention, are we heading towards further industrial action? What’s really driving teachers out of the profession and what needs to change to stop it? The discussion explores funding pressures, maternity rights, behaviour, and the widening expectations placed on schools. Are teachers being asked to do too much? And is the system reaching breaking point?

Michelle sits down with David Didau to challenge the myths around lesson observations. Who are they really for, and are they working? A sharp, thought-provoking conversation on rethinking what effective observation should look like.