Teachers Talk Radio

What is great RE teaching? Practice, Purpose and Curriculum: TTR Special with Joe Kinnaird

In this special Teachers Talk Radio show, brought to you in partnership with Hachette Learning, hosts Tom Rogers and Charlotte Newman are joined by Joe Kinnaird to explore his new book, Secondary Religious Education in Action.
Drawing on classroom experience and the latest research, Joe shares a vision for high-quality RE, one that challenges students to engage deeply with religious and non-religious worldviews, grapple with philosophical and ethical questions, and develop informed, critical responses. The conversation explores practical strategies for curriculum design, teaching disciplinary knowledge, and handling sensitive or controversial topics, alongside a wider discussion about the purpose and value of RE in today’s schools.
Check out the book here: https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/joe-kinnaird-2/secondary-religious-education-in-action/9781915261915/

Do Worksheets Deserve Their Bad Reputation? The Saturday Lunch Show with Famida Choudhary

In this show of Teachers Talk Radio, Famida Choudhary is joined by Amir Taron Ayres to rethink one of education’s most debated classroom tools — worksheets. Moving beyond the idea of worksheets as passive tasks, the conversation explores how teachers can transform routine activities into opportunities for intellectual engagement, discussion, error analysis, collaboration, and deeper learning. Drawing on ideas around alignment, relevance, student thinking, and Charlotte Danielson’s work on active engagement, the episode highlights how worksheets can become scaffolds for meaningful learning experiences rather than simple completion tasks.
 
 
 

How far should schools go? Revision sessions, Intervention sessions, Exam season: Points of View

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.

Final push?: The Sunday Breakfast Show with Phin Adams

We talk how to make meaning out of stress in the classroom.

Blank Canvas - What Would You Do If There Were No Rules?: The Late Show with Tim Smale

In this live show Tim is joined by Michael Everett, an educator whose career has taken him from challenging secondary schools in England to international schools in Qatar and Brunei. Together they ask a genuinely provocative question: what would you build if you started from scratch? It is a conversation about what school is actually for, and who gets to decide.

Educational binaries: Is there a compromise? The Twilight Show with Tony Harwood and Yannick Berland

Headteacher Jonathan Sands joins Yannick and Tony to talk about the big binaries! Is DI the only way or is there room for discovery? Do we need rules or are relationships enough? The 'prog' vs 'trad' debate. A reasonable argument or simply a tool for division and toxicity?

Graphic Novels in the Classroom:The Sunday Late Show With Huma Mirza & Toby Doncaster

Hosts Huma and Toby talk with teachers John and Richard about why graphic novels matter in schools, how they encourage reading for pleasure, and how they support inference, vocabulary and cross-curricular learning from science to history.
The episode includes practical classroom examples, age-appropriate suggestions (from wordless picture books to manga and teen titles), evidence on learning impact, and stories of students whose attitudes to reading  is transformed.

Gender, Performance and Test Anxiety: The Saturday Breakfast Show with Darren Lester

Darren looks at the research into the differences, and similarrties, in how test anxiety presents itself in boys and girls.

The Myth of the Good Teacher-Why We Should stop Beating Ourselves Up: The Friday Morning Break Show with Carl Smith

This is a show for teachers everywhere. Teachers who are exhausted. Teachers who feel under pressure. teachers who feel like they are failing. In other words, all teachers, all the time.
Carl explains why the myth of the good teacher is quietly taking the joy out of the job and why we need to embrace the idea of the good enough teacher to rediscover it.

Should Schools Teach Patriotism? Flags, Kings & the Curriculum Debate: Points of View

Reform has unveiled plans for a “patriotic curriculum” — including flying the Union Flag in every school, displaying portraits of the King, and reshaping history teaching to focus more heavily on British achievements. Supporters say it’s about restoring national pride, identity and balance in education. Critics argue it risks politicising the classroom and narrowing how history is taught. So where should schools draw the line? 👉 Should education actively promote patriotism? 👉 Is national identity being lost — or protected? 👉 And who decides what version of history gets taught?