René Kneyber and Valentina Devid are two of the founders of Toetsrevolutie (Test Revolution), a teacher training cooperative based in the Netherlands which specialises in formative assessment, summative assessment and curriculum design. René and Valentina are also two of the four authors of an excellent new book - Formative Action - the English translation of which was published in April 2024. René was the first person to introduce formative assessment in the Netherlands. But while he...

Ife Obasa is an educational consultant, activist and sought-after speaker who advocates for greater representation in education - among many other strings to her bow. Ife spoke at the 2023 Rethinking Education conference about why we need representation in education more than ever - a topic that we discuss in some detail in this episode. Ife’s work centres around mentoring and empowering young people to make their voices heard and to get involved in shaping the decision-making processes...

Peter Higgin is the Artistic Director and joint CEO of Punchdrunk Enrichment, a charity that creates transformational theatre for education, community and family audiences. Punchdrunk Enrichment is an independent charity which was founded in 2008 to take the pioneering practice of immersive theatre company, Punchdrunk, into schools and communities. Listed amongst the 50 most influential artists of the last 50 years (Sky Arts, 2022) alongside David Bowie, Sir Steve McQueen and Vivienne...

Peps Mccrea is an award-winning teacher educator, designer and author. He is Director of Education at Steplab and author of the ultraconcise High Impact Teaching series, one of which - Motivated Teaching - is the main topic of this episode. On the side, he writes Evidence Snacks, a brilliant newsletter that we speak about at the top of this conversation, and composes excellent instructional threads on Twitter. Previously, Peps was a Dean at Ambition Institute, where he oversaw the design of...

This episode features a fascinating conversation with Fiona Millar, a journalist and campaigner on education and parenting issues whose work I have admired for many years. Following a career in journalism, Fiona worked in the office of the Leader of the Opposition from 1995 to 1997, and as an adviser to Tony and Cherie Blair from 1995 to 2003. On leaving Downing Street, Fiona started writing a monthly column for The Guardian about education, and in 2004 she made a documentary film for...

In the last episode, almost 300 people tuned in to our first ever live podcast, when I was joined by Naomi Fisher, Ellie Costello and Ben Davis to talk about the attendance crisis. In case any of you listened to that and were wondering ‘Hey, who is this Ben Davis guy? Why don’t you do a full episode with him?’ Well, strap yourself in! Ben is the headteacher of St Ambrose Barlow RC High School in Salford. I’ve had the great pleasure to get to know Ben a little over the last year or so, as...

Since the COVID pandemic, persistent absenteeism in England has more than doubled, from 10% to 22%. According to recent reearch by the Centre for Social Justice, more than one in four parents agreed it is not essential for children to be in school every day. Both the major political parties have announced plans to tackle the attendance crisis. Often, there is an assumption that school is the best place for children to be, and blame is laid at the feet of the parents. What's going on? Why...

Eliza Fricker is a talented writer and illustrator who has written three books: 'The Family Experience of PDA: An Illustrated Guide to Pathological Demand Avoidance' 'Can't Not Won't: A Story About A Child Who Couldn't Go To School' And most recently 'Thumbsucker: An illustrated journey through an undiagnosed autistic childhood' It’s the second of these books that we’re talking mostly about in this episode - Can’t Not Won’t. It’s a fascinating read - funny and heartbreaking in equal...

Lord Jim Knight of Weymouth is a life peer and former Labour politician with a strong interest in education. He is also the chair of the Beyond Ofsted inquiry which recently published a fascinating report setting out an alternative vision for a schools accountability system. In this conversation we put the 'Beyond Ofsted' recommendations under the microscope, comparing them with the recommendations of the Education Policy Alliance. LINKS: Beyond Ofsted: https://beyondofsted.org.uk...

SUPPORT THE RETHINKING ED PODCAST: Become a patron: www.patreon.com/repod Buy me a coffee: www.buymeacoffee.com/repod SHOW NOTES Until recently, Calvin Henry was the headteacher of St. Mark’s C of E Primary School in North London. Last year, Calvin went through an experience that he describes as being “uncannily similar” to that of Ruth Perry, the headteacher of Caversham Primary School in Reading who tragically took her own life earlier this year following an Ofsted inspection that...

Christian Bokhove is a Professor in Mathematics Education, University of Southampton. He is a specialist on international comparisons in mathematics education, the use of technology, and innovative methodologies. In this episode we discuss domain knowledge, generic skills, a famous paper by Tricot and Sweller, the Maths wars - and much more besides… LINKS The EEF evidence review on metacognition and self-regulation by Bokhove & Muijs -...

Dave McPartlin is the headteacher of Flakefleet Primary School in Lancashire. In this episode Dave speaks openly and candidly about the impact Ofsted has had on his mental health and that of his colleagues. He makes a compelling case for why Ofsted needs to change - and how. LINKS Dave on BBC breakfast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMNRMQOBhL0 Flakefleet get the golden buzzer on BGT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itSbV3YiRkI Metro profile on Dave:...

SHOW NOTES Ron Berger is Chief Program Officer for the non-profit school improvement network Expeditionary Learning, a national network of over 160 public project-based schools in 30 states in the US. Ron was as a public school teacher and carpenter in rural Massachusetts for 25 years. His writing and speaking centre on inspiring quality and character in students, specifically through project-based learning, original scientific and historical research, service learning, and the infusion of...

Dennis Sherwood is a management consultant who specialises in creativity, innovation, and systems thinking. He has a Physics Masters from the University of Cambridge, an MPhil in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University and a PhD in biology from the University of California in San Diego. After being a consulting partner at Deloitte Haskins + Sells, and Coopers & Lybrand, he became an executive director at Goldman Sachs. He now runs his own business, The Silver Bullet...

Ty Golding (https://twitter.com/tjgolding) is the Headteacher of Holton Primary School, in Barry town in South Wales. Ty has experience of teaching at every level of primary education, including nursery. He has worked with Welsh Government policy development and implementation, developing a national online platform for learners and most recently as Head of Curriculum Design & Development. Cat Place (https://twitter.com/catrplace) grew up in Newport where she currently lives with her...

Frank Norris is a former headteacher and HMI (His Majesty’s Inspector) with decades of experience leading and inspecting a wide range of schools and other settings including secure units, independent schools, prisons, initial teacher education as well as secondary and primary schools in England and abroad. From 2014-19, Frank was the CEO of the Coop Academies Trust. The Coop Trust is highly regarded and is one of the highest performing for disadvantaged students according to reports by the...

An astonishing conversation with Derry Hannam, a fascinating thinker and writer and practitioner of democratic education, and the author of the brilliant book ‘Another Way is Possible - Becoming a Democratic Teacher in a State School’. In his 20 years as a teacher in English state secondary schools, Derry Hannam always tried to create environments where students could make choices about - and take control of - their own learning in a democratic and rights respecting context. Derry has been...

This is the second in a series of episodes featuring headteachers and former heads talking about Ofsted. David Phillips is the headteacher of Chilwell school in Nottingham. He has been in senior leadership for over twenty years and a headteacher in both the academies and maintained sectors. He is one of the East Midlands representatives for his professional association and has a particular focus on leadership and governance. He has worked in schools throughout the East Midlands with...

Martin Robinson is an educationalist, author, writer, consultant, orator and liberal artist. He worked in East London state schools for more than 20 years as a teacher, head of department, advanced skills teacher and school leader. For the last ten years he has worked as an education consultant delivering workshops and keynote speeches about curriculum design, teaching methodology and culture. He is a regular on the conference circuit both in the UK and internationally. In this - the second...

This is the first in a series of interviews with headteachers and former heads talking about Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education - England's schools inspectorate). Rebecca Leek is an experienced strategic leader who has worked across a wide range of settings and organisations, and she’s currently the Executive Director of the Suffolk Primary Headteachers' Assocation. She has been a headteacher, executive headteacher, chief executive, a teacher and a Senco, and is a veteran of no...

Melissa Benn comes from a long line of outspoken campaigners and prominent Parliamentarians. She was educated at Holland Park comprehensive and the London School of Economics where she graduated with a First in History, the first woman in a generation to do so. Melissa’s journalism has appeared in a wide range of publications, including the Independent, the Times, Public Finance, Marxism Today, London Review of Books, Cosmopolitan and the Financial Times. She is a regular contributor to the...

Martin Robinson is an educationalist, author, writer, consultant, orator and liberal artist. He worked in East London state schools for more than 20 years as a teacher, head of department, advanced skills teacher and school leader. For the last ten years he has worked as an education consultant delivering workshops and keynote speeches about curriculum design, teaching methodology and culture. He is a regular on the conference circuit both in the UK and internationally. Of his first book,...

Fiona Cuthbertson is a political lobbyist who has been involved in politics for many years. A former councillor and parliamentary candidate, Fiona now runs a public affairs agency where she works on a cross-party basis to help people get involved in the political process and to lobby on a range of issues that affect people’s lives - including, but not limited to, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). She is also the author of a political thriller, Party Games, which reveals the...

Dr Chris Bagley is a man with a dazzling variety of hats. He is psychologist, writer and musician with an interest in youth justice, educational transformation and systems change. He is Director of Research at the social enterprise States of Mind, and a lecturer and doctorate supervisor at the UCL Institute of Education. He also works part-time for South Gloucestershire psychology service, primarily in a Secure Children’s Unit and Pupil Referral Unit. Chris describes his purpose as being to...