Rethinking Education

In this episode I am joined by Fran Morgan and Ellie Costello from Square Peg, a social enterprise that was set up in 2019 to shine a light on the plight of the many young people who struggle to attend school for various reasons. Fran and Ellie were inspired to set up Square Peg following their own experiences as parents of young people who have struggled to attend mainstream. As Fran points out in the conversation, one day her daughter refused to go to school, and it was like being plunged into freezing water - total shock, and an increasing awareness that there is scant help for the parents and carers of young people who struggle to go to school for any length of time. Fran and Ellie have since come to realise that the current situation – with school budget cuts, problems in the SEND and mental health systems and increasing anxiety amongst children and young people – means that things are far worse for families today than theft were even ten years ago. Working closely with another organisation, Not Fine In School, Square Peg has achieved an incredible amount in its first year, including appearances on various national television news programmes, articles in the mainstream and education press and questions being asked in parliament. This is a eye-opening conversation in which we discussed Fran and Ellie’s experiences as parents of young people who were ‘not fine in school’; the jaw-dropping statistics around absenteeism, school refusal and exclusion; and School Differently, a new organisation that Fran and Ellie have set up with Ian Gilbert and others to look at how we might urgently rethink a school system that serves so many young people so poorly. LINKS: Square Peg: https://www.teamsquarepeg.org Poem - https://www.emilyperlkingsley.com/welcome-to-holland School Utopia - https://www.teamsquarepeg.org/school-differently Petition: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/create-a-new-absence-code-for-school-refusal Book: Changing our minds, by Naomi Fisher: https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/naomi-fisher/changing-our-minds/9781472145505/ Not fine in school Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NotFineInSchoolPublicPage/ Book - Hey Warrior: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hey-Warrior-Karen-Young/dp/1912678004 Fran Morgan on Channel 4 news: https://www.channel4.com/news/parents-fined-because-their-sen-children-wont-go-to-school Fran Morgan on BBC Breakfast TV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9An8doDKO8&t=3s School differently: https://www.schooldifferently.net/ The Rethinking Education podcast is hosted and produced by Dr James Mannion. You can contact him at https://rethinking-ed.org/contact, or via @RethinkingJames on Twitter. You can join the Rethinking Education Mighty Network here: https://rethinking-education.mn.co

Episode 4 of Rethinking Education Campfire Conversations, a series of live-streamed, group conversations with people who want to rethink and reform education so as to bring about a more harmonious, less hair-raising state of world affairs. Today, Dr James Mannion, Kate McAllister, Kath Pratt and Natalie Rothwell-Warn are joined by three young people from Pupil Power - Sephora, 18, Yumna, 16, and Zoya, who is in Year 10. This is a powerful conversation in which we discuss, among other things: why education can’t simply be reformed; how children are treated as economic commodities - their words, not mine; and in which we pose the question: “What if… schools nurtured young imaginations?” Here's a link to Yumna's TEDx talk, Re-Imagining Education To Create An Impact In The World: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkpeN64AuLU To view the video version, visit: https://youtu.be/1hEOrzmXWLs To view the comment feed, join the (private) Rethinking Education Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/rethinkinged To join the Rethinking Education Mighty Network, visit: https://rethinking-education.mn.co/feed

Tom Sherrington, a seasoned educator with over 30 years of teaching experience, dives deep into effective instructional strategies and behavior management. He passionately critiques the practice of grading schools, arguing for systemic change to support educators and enhance student outcomes. The conversation also highlights Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction, emphasizing their crucial role in fostering effective teaching. Tom shares insights from his journey, revealing the transformative power of a supportive learning environment in education.

Episode 3 of Rethinking Education Campfire Conversations, a series of live-streamed, group conversations with people who want to rethink and reform education so as to bring about a more harmonious, less hair-raising state of world affairs. Today's episode features a conversation between James Mannion, Kate McAllister, Aliyah York, Lottie Cooke, Grace McAllister, Lox, Andreas, Olivia, Marcos, Sam and Eddie. To view the video version, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7iOUZRqZWE. To view the comment feed, join the (private) Rethinking Education Facebook Group: www.facebook.com/groups/rethinkinged To join the Rethinking Education Mighty Network, visit: rethinking-education.mn.co/feed

Today’s show features a conversation with four inspirational women who have taken matters into their own hands and set up alternative schools in recent years - 3 in the UK and one in the Dominican Republic. Avid listeners of the Rethinking Education podcast will probably know that the one in the DR is my good friend, co-author and Learning to Learn copilot Kate McAllister, who featured in Episode 9. My other 3 guests today are people that I have come to know only very recently, as a result of having set up this podcast. They are Kath Pratt, who has set up an alternative school called Soweni, down on the cliffs of Cornwall; Hayley Peacock, who has set up a proudly progressive private school called Atelier 21, in Crawley; and Lucy Stephens, who has set up a democratic school in Croydon, known as the New School, which is free to attend because it is funded by private philanthropists, rather fascinatingly. Links: Soweni: https://www.soweni.com/landing-page Hive: https://thehive.school/about Atelier 21: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP80Nt5ynps New School: https://www.thenewschool.org.uk/ Guardian article about the New School: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/mar/13/a-community-of-equals-the-private-school-with-no-fees-set-up-by-a-south-london-teacher First Follower: Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ Glossary of acronyms: AP: Alternative provision IB: International Baccalaureate PYP: Primary Years Programme PWC: PricewaterhouseCoopers SCITT: School-centred Initial Teacher Training The Rethinking Education podcast is hosted and produced by Dr James Mannion. You can contact him at rethinking-ed.org/contact, or via @RethinkingJames on Twitter. You can join the Rethinking Education Mighty Network here: rethinking-education.mn.co

Episode 2 of Rethinking Education Campfire Conversations, a series of live-streamed, group conversations with people who want to rethink and reform education so as to bring about a more harmonious, less hair-raising state of world affairs. Today's episode features a conversation between James Mannion, Kate McAllister, Kath Pratt, Sarah Fraser, Natalie Rothwell-Warn, and two special guests: Lottie Cooke, a member of Pupil Power, a community of young people who are working together to rethink education from the ground up; and Kulvarn Atwal, the head teacher of two schools in EastLondon, who is doing a really impressive job of reforming education from the top down. To view the video, join the Rethinking Education Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/rethinkinged To join the Rethinking Education Mighty Network, visit: rethinking-education.mn.co/feed

Naheeda Maharasingam is the headteacher at Rathfern Primary School in London, the Leader of Rathfern Teacher Research Network, and a local leader of education. In this conversation, Naheeda outlines her homespun framework for school improvement - the 3 Ms - metacognition, malleable intelligence and moral purpose - and outlines how the curriculum at Rathfern is underpinned by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). LINKS Naheeda's talk to the Chartered College of Teaching on diversifying and decolonising the curriculum: https://my.chartered.college/2020/07/webinar-diversifying-and-decolonising-the-curriculum/ Ash Sarkar's critique of the race report: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DR0fTtTlf0 The opera Rathfern scholars made recently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1ab9If7cY8 An article about the opera Rathfern scholars made recently: https://www.dramaandtheatre.co.uk/features/article/everything-is-possible-a-boat-in-an-endless-blue-sea An article by Naheeda on teaching through the UN Sustainable Goals https://impact.chartered.college/article/implementing-sustainable-development-goals-social-action-london-primary-school/ A recent article by Lottie Cooke from Pupil Power, detailing her vision for the future of education: https://www.getrevue.co/profile/innovatejournal/issues/innovate-journal-issue-2-485387 The Rethinking Education podcast is hosted and produced by Dr James Mannion. You can contact him at rethinking-ed.org/contact, or via @RethinkingJames on Twitter. You can join the Rethinking Education Mighty Network here: https://rethinking-education.mn.co

Episode 1 of the Rethinking Education Campfire Conversations. A series of fortnightly fireside chats spontaneous, unplanned group conversations to run alongside the podcast. Today's episode features a conversation between James Mannion, Kate McAllister, Kath Pratt, Sarah Fraser, Grace McAllister and Natalie Rothwell-Warn. To view the video, visit: https://youtu.be/13Isyk_MzgA To join the Rethinking Education Mighty Network, visit: https://rethinking-education.mn.co/feed

Professor Guy Claxton is a hugely influential academic, thinker and author of over 30 books on learning, intelligence and creativity, including Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind, Wise Up, What’s the point of school, Intelligence in the flesh, Educating Ruby and The Learning Power Approach. Guy previously appeared on the Rethinking Education podcast, an episode you can access here: https://soundcloud.com/rethinking-ed-podcast/re07-guy-claxton. Guy’s latest book, The future of teaching and the myths that hold it back, is a blistering critique of what is increasingly a neotraditional orthodoxy. Here are some of the incredible things people have written about the book: "So much simplistic nonsense is being touted about “direct instruction” and the “knowledge rich curriculum”, it is great to see someone finally talking sense. As a practising cognitive scientist, Guy Claxton in perfectly equipped to take us beyond the familiar slanging-match between traditionalists and progressives. He illuminates, with his trademark wit and style, complex issues such as the function of knowledge, the psychology of creative and critical thinking, the true nature of memory, the culture of the classroom, and the many purposes of education. A timely tour de force." (John Hattie, Laureate Professor, Melbourne Graduate School of Education) "This is the book I’ve been longing to read for at least six years. The surgical dismantling of myths and misinformation, the clarity of explanation of complex ideas, the clear examples from real schools, and the humour peppered throughout had me punching the air, laughing, and then thinking hard to process those ah-ha moments. I’ll read it again and again." (Dr Debra Kidd, author of A Curriculum of Hope) "This is the book that was crying out to be written. Systematically, and with refreshing clarity, Guy challenges many of the assumptions that have held sway in education for the last decade. I defy anyone not to be challenged, stimulated, and inspired by the breadth of Guy’s expertise. His is no cheap or superficial assault on current orthodoxy but a fair-minded, forensic pulling apart of partial, lazy or simply wrong-headed thinking that too many have fallen for in the desire for simple truths." (Peter Hyman, co-founder of School 21 and Big Education) The Rethinking Education podcast is hosted and produced by Dr James Mannion. You can contact him at rethinking-ed.org/contact, or via @RethinkingJames on Twitter.

Kath Murdoch is a well known and hugely popular teacher, writer, university lecturer and consultant who has worked for many years with teachers and students in schools all over the planet. The author of 15 books and numerous articles for teachers – including the best selling ‘The Power of Inquiry’ (2015) - Kath is widely respected for her work in the field of inquiry-based learning in which she has taught, researched and published for well over 30 years. In fact, so popular is Kath’s work in the field of inquiry learning that she was recently described to me by a teacher in an International School as the Beyonce of the PYP (the Primary Years Programme, the International Baccalaureate curriculum for 3 to 12 year olds). Here's where you can buy 'The Power of Inquiry': UK: https://store.kortext.com/the-power-of-inquiry-793815 Australia: https://www.kathmurdoch.com.au/where-to-buy USA: https://www.follettibstore.com/search Here's Kath's website: https://www.kathmurdoch.com.au/ And here's her TED talk, The Power of Ummmm...: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFt15Ig64Yg The Rethinking Education podcast is hosted and produced by Dr James Mannion. You can contact him at rethinking-ed.org/contact, or via @RethinkingJames on Twitter.