Teaching Matters | School Anxiety, Lego Play, Hope in Education

In this end-of-year Teaching Matters, Paul is joined by Dr Shauna McGill, Shaniqua Edwards-Hayde, Lucy Neuberger and John Gibbs in conversation about anxiety in schools, creative approaches to learning and the deeper moral purpose of education.Drawing on The Times, the panel reflects Editor Nicola Woolcock’s article highlighting research showing that 49.45% of secondary pupils avoided school due to anxiety in the past year, with 68.25% wanting to. Shaniqua describes anxiety as “systemic, not exceptional”, shaped by performative pressures, limited time, and the intensity of modern life for young people. The panel questions whether schools sometimes normalise stress in the name of resilience and argues that safety, belonging and wellbeing must sit at the heart of school culture.The conversation turns to creativity and learning, inspired by research on Lego by Martha Shaw and Alexis Stones, as a tool for exploring identity, belonging and complex ideas. The panel discusses play, metaphor and hands-on learning as powerful ways for pupils to express thoughts and emotions that are hard to put into words, challenging narrow ideas of evidence and formality in education.The final story draws on Caroline Barlow’s article A powerful end-of-term reminder that education gives us hope. The panel reflects on education as a moral and hopeful act, drawing on writing about teaching in times of conflict. The panel considers how teachers shape lives through care, belief and enthusiasm, while recognising that moral purpose should never mean burnout, exhaustion or self-sacrifice.The episode closes with the panel’s “bananas”, moments of joy, gratitude and reflection, marking the final show of the year.Not Waving but Drowning by Stevie Smithhttps://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46479/not-waving-but-drowningI Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelouhttps://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48989/caged-birdArticles discussedHalf of secondary pupils avoid school due to anxiety, The Timeshttps://www.thetimes.com/uk/education/article/half-secondary-pupils-avoid-school-anxiety-fb95b9flkHow building with Lego can help teens talk about life’s big questions, The Conversationhttps://theconversation.com/how-building-with-lego-can-help-teens-talk-about-lifes-big-questions-244113A powerful end-of-term reminder that education gives us hope, TEShttps://www.tes.com/magazine/leadership/strategy/powerful-end-term-reminder-education-gives-us-hopeChapters00:00 Welcome and end-of-year reflections02:10 School anxiety and pupil attendance05:30 Is anxiety individual or systemic?08:45 Resilience, stress and school culture12:30 Leadership, ethos and belonging16:40 Lego, play and learning beyond words21:15 Metaphor, creativity and expression25:40 Evidence, formality and curriculum limits30:20 Education as hope and moral purpose36:10 Teaching, care and avoiding martyrdom41:00 Personal reflections on teacher impact46:30 Bananas, gratitude and closing thoughtsFollow us, we're worth it:🔗 Website🔗 Spotify🔗 Instagram🔗 Bluesky🔗 X (Twitter)