Teachers Talk Radio

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?

How do you lead a school on AI when you're operating across multiple curricula, multiple countries, and a staff team that turns over every few years?
This Wednesday at 6pm I'm chatting with Rita Bateson on The Twilight Show about her new book International School Leaders' Guide to AI, published by Hachette Learning under the John Catt imprint. Rita brings practical strategies for navigating what she calls the AI labyrinth, written specifically for the realities of international school leadership.
We'll dig into where leaders are getting stuck, what's working in schools that have moved early, and how to build something durable rather than reactive.
 

In this Teachers Talk Radio show, host Famida Choudhary is joined by Cara Zelas to explore how respect in early childhood classrooms is not simply a rule to follow, but a skill that must be intentionally taught, modelled, and experienced. The conversation will highlight practical ways to help young children feel seen, valued, and connected while building classrooms where belonging comes first.

Konstantinos discusses with guest Dr Jonathan Wright how creativity is taught in higher education, exploring risk-taking, imagination, feedback, AI, employability, and the realities shaping contemporary creative classrooms and student experiences.

In this show, Tom Rogers speaks to Welsh headteacher Alun Ebenezer about discipline, behaviour, boundaries and the growing debate over whether schools have become too soft. From closing wellbeing rooms and bringing parents into lessons, to challenging what he sees as a culture of over-labelling and lowered expectations, Ebenezer has become one of the most controversial voices in British education. But are stricter schools exactly what many teachers and parents now want? The conversation explores resilience, SEND and mental health debates, attendance, behaviour culture, parenting, Wales vs England, inclusion, competitive sport, and why some school leaders believe schools have become overly therapeutic. Are firm boundaries the key to restoring standards or is there a danger schools lose compassion in the process?

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.

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.