Teachers Talk Radio

It will come as little surprise to most that work in education to hear that teachers are leaving the classroom in their droves. This is a pattern being repeated around the world, but in England the statistics are above the OECD average, with 7.2% of fully qualified teachers resigning in comparison to a 4.2% average. 91% of these are resignations in England, in comparison to an average of 55% across OECD countries. Membership of Facebook groups which support and promote life beyond the classroom run into the tens of thousands… but why are teachers in England resigning at a higher rate than our international colleagues? Is it workload? Unsustainable expectations? Behaviour? Ofsted? Working conditions? What do you think is driving teachers to leave? What would solve the increasing retention crisis in education? Should the government be holding exit interviews to try and get to the heart of the problem? Join Rae Whitehouse, Carl Smith and Liz Webb live at 10am on the Points of View panel to share your views in part 2 of the debate.

Why are teachers in England resigning at a much higher rate than the international average and what would persuade them to stay? According to the OECD figures reported by Tes, 7.2% of fully qualified teachers in England resigned from the profession in 2024–25, compared with an OECD average of 4.2%. Teachers in England also reported longer working weeks than similarly qualified workers in other occupations. JP, Ollie Bayliss and Tony Harwood join the Points of View panel to debate what is driving teachers to leave. Is workload the biggest problem, or do pupil behaviour, pay, leadership and accountability play an equally important role? We’ll explore what these international comparisons reveal, whether England’s expectations of teachers are sustainable, and what schools and government could do to keep experienced staff in classrooms.

Join Famida Choudhary on The Lunch Show with English educator and trainer Divya Joyce J as they explore how public speaking can transform English learning. From building confidence and vocabulary to supporting quieter learners, strengthening oracy and finding an authentic voice in the age of AI, discover practical ways to create classrooms where every child feels they have something worth saying.
 
 

Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner John Tizard recently declared: “School exclusions are failures.” He argues that minimising exclusions could reduce crime and help young people build positive futures. Join Tom Rogers live on Teachers Talk Radio as he asks John what prompted the statement.

Homework has long been a bone of contention between home and school. A report in the TES this week reports that “Homework is Vanishing” as teachers set less and family lives make its completion increasingly difficult. And this is before debates over content, time taken, level of challenge, too much vs too little and access to resources are considered. Times have changed. More young people are living in homes where both parents need to work and time together is built around after-school care and clubs. Should small windows of family time be spent in a battleground on homework? Teachers’ workloads have exploded; setting, marking and chasing homework is yet another administrative task which absorbs time but is the value added worth it? Would teachers be better spending this time adding value to face-to-face teaching? However, with curriculum time increasingly stretched, is homework the only time for certain tasks to be completed? Is homework an important opportunity to consolidate learning? And with revision the ultimate goal, do we need to lay the groundwork for this from early on? Has the time come to evaluate who and what homework is really for? Join Rae Whitehouse, Lucy Trimnell, Maud Waret and Liz Webb on the panel live at 10am to add your views to the debate..

In this episode, Toby talks to Hayley Carlyon about creating lessons which engage, entice and motivate learning. We go from the importance of building relationships to discussing activities and strategies that work in the classroom.

We talk how to cope when things change in and outside the classroom.

In this show, Darren looks at a UK Teacher forum and discusses what the participants say keeps them in the profession. 

What does it really mean to make an assessment fair and accessible to every learner without compromising academic rigour?
Hosted by Tom Rogers and Christopher Vowles, we explore Universal Design in assessment and AQA's work to identify and remove unnecessary barriers that prevent students from demonstrating what they truly know and can do. The special guest is Louise Badham. We’ll look at what Universal Design means in practice, the barriers that can exist within exams and assessments, and how research, teacher feedback and learners’ lived experiences are helping to shape AQA’s approach. We’ll also tackle the question: does making an assessment more accessible risk making it easier? And what is the difference between removing an unnecessary barrier and changing what is actually being assessed? Plus, we go behind the scenes of assessment design to discover the thought, evidence and expertise involved in creating assessments that are accessible, rigorous and fair.

Join Michael Wright for his Sunday Lunch Show with guest Ed Watkins as they discuss the continued decline of A-Level music in education and why it's happening. Ed will also share his insights into his research on how music students have been graded compared with other subjects.