Teachers Talk Radio

Clockwork Classrooms - Solutions for smoother running lessons: TTR Special with Carmel Bones

Join Tom Rogers and Dave Brown for a Teachers Talk Radio special with experienced teacher and author Carmel Bones discussing her new book, Clockwork Classrooms: Solutions for Smoother Running Lessons. Drawing on more than thirty years of classroom experience, Carmel shares practical, time-saving approaches designed to help lessons run more smoothly, reduce friction in the classroom, and make teaching more sustainable. The conversation explores how small changes to routines, interactions and classroom systems can have a major impact on behaviour, workload and learning culture. From simplifying classroom practice to reconnecting educational research with day-to-day teaching reality, this show will unpack the strategies behind “clockwork classrooms” and ask what genuinely helps lessons flow effectively in 2026’s challenging school environment.

Imposter Syndrome & Perfectionism in High Achievers : The Saturday Breakfast Show with Darren Lester

In this show, Darren explores the hidden pressures faced by high-achieving students, focusing on the growing impact of imposter syndrome and perfectionism in education. Why do some of the most successful pupils feel as though they are “not good enough”? And how can teachers, parents, and school leaders recognise when academic ambition becomes emotionally damaging? Drawing on current research into student wellbeing, motivation, anxiety, and performance under pressure, Darren examines how perfectionism can fuel exam stress, undermine confidence, and contribute to burnout in academically able learners. Darren also discusses the difference between healthy striving and maladaptive perfectionism, alongside practical, evidence-informed strategies schools can use to support pupils during exam season.

So You Want To Be a Teacher: The Friday Morning Break Show with Carl Smith

Do you think you'd make a good teacher?
Are you thinking of becoming a teacher?
Teaching wants you, but do you want teaching?
Carl tells you what the brochures don't, so you can make up your own mind.

Pickets, Flags & GCSE Panic: London School Strike Divides Everyone: Points of View

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.

Why do schools struggle to achieve excellence?: The Twilight Show with Donavere Benjamin-Mahon

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. 

The Reality Shock of Teaching: Points of View

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.

Teaching on the Brink? Matt Wrack on Funding, Strikes and the Future of the Profession: The Late Show with Tom Rogers

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?

Watching to Learn: The True Purpose of Lesson Observation: The Twilight Sow with Michelle Hinds

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.

Interventions to Reduce Exam Anxiety: The Saturday Breakfast Show with Darren Lester

In this second show in his series on exam pressure, Darren explores what the research says about reducing student anxiety in assessments. Drawing on evidence-based strategies, he focuses on practical in-school interventions that can make a measurable difference to how students experience tests. From classroom approaches to whole-school practices, this episode offers clear, research-informed insights for teachers and school leaders looking to support student wellbeing and improve performance under pressure.

How far should schools go? Revision sessions, intervention sessions, exam season

A school letter has sparked controversy after making extra GCSE revision including weekends compulsory, with consequences for absence. But where is the line between high expectations and excessive pressure? In tonight’s Points of View, we ask: Should schools be able to mandate extra sessions? Do strict systems raise standards or risk burnout? And who decides what’s “too far” when exams are on the line? Join the debate as we explore how far schools should go in the name of results.
 
Featuring JP, Tom Rogers, Tony Harwood and Michael Wright.