Teachers Talk Radio

Darren explores the relationship between test anxiety and school avoidance, examining how anxiety around exams and assessment can contribute to absenteeism, emotionally based school avoidance, and disengagement from learning. Drawing on current educational and psychological research, he discusses the warning signs teachers and parents should recognise, the impact of exam stress on student wellbeing, and the practical strategies schools can use to support anxious pupils before attendance becomes a wider concern.

In March, Index on Censorship reported on a school in Greater Manchester that had pulled 200 books from the school library shelves after the Head raised an issue with one book.

With huge parental pressure in the US to censor young people’s access to certain literature, particularly that relating to race, gender and sexuality, is the UK following suit in this worrying trend?

In a world where our young people carry access to a whole world of unrestricted material in their pockets, why has the war been waged on literature rather than smartphones and social media?

Louise Pickering meets with Vivienne Porritt OBE to discuss:

The concept of masculinity

The impact of social media on boys and men

The research/evidence behind the concerns

How misogyny and sexism manifest in schools

How schools can design effective systems and establish a healthy culture that safeguards girls and women

In this special Teachers Talk Radio show, brought to you in partnership with Hachette Learning, hosts Tom Rogers and Sarah Wilkinson Crute are joined by bestselling author Kate Jones to explore her Feedback Resource Guide. Following on from her work on feedback, Kate’s new guide offers over fifty evidence-informed, classroom-ready strategies designed to make feedback more effective, efficient and manageable for teachers. The conversation will explore practical approaches to verbal and written feedback, self and peer assessment, whole-class feedback, audio tools and online feedback resources. With a focus on low-effort, high-impact strategies, this show offers useful takeaways for teachers across subjects, phases and settings.

Teacher wellbeing is at its lowest since 2019. Education Support’s Teacher Wellbeing Index reports that 76% of teachers report high levels of stress, while 36% are at risk of clinical depression. Nearly half of those surveyed said that their school’s culture negatively impacts their mental health. Has wellbeing become a series of token gestures? Why do schools struggle to take meaningful steps to improve staff wellbeing? Is it a fundamental misunderstanding of what is needed to combat low staff morale? Is the problem much bigger than individual institutions? Or is it a toxic culture created by poor leadership?