The Garden Pod

We meet our new Principal, Peter Derby-Crook, to hear about his philosophy of education and plans at GIS.

Head of World Languages, Tom Ball & Head of Spanish, Dylan Viñales talks about their popular new Spanish readers series.

Head of the Business Faculty, Simone de Souza, talks about developing critical thinking skills.

EAL Teacher, Natasha Viñales, discusses the importance of translanguaging in supporting developing linguists.

Head of Computing, James Abela, gives an update on recent AI developments and which skills are the important ones to focus on.

Head of Social Sciences, David Whitney, discusses the importance of Social Sciences for individuals and society.

Middle leaders, Hannah Granger and Rahma Sesay, talk about supporting women in leadership.

Psychology teacher and Assistant Headteacher, Catherina Carragher discusses PSHE in schools.

Spanish teacher, Paloma Lozano, discusses the role of lifelong learning for educators.

Child Protection Officer, Lindsay Round, talks about the role of safeguarding in schools and her journey in her role.

Athletics Director and Assistant Athletic Director, Mark Springall and Rachel Price, talk about how to make sports programmes in schools successful.

Deputy Head Primary, Etienne Visser, talks about neuroscience and how to harness our knowledge to improve student learning.

Service Learning Leaders, Alan Archer and Tijana Randelovic, discuss the role of service in education.

Tiffany Lacey-Edwards, Assistant Head Primary, talks about the importance of outdoor education and the opportunities it provides for authentic learning.

Nicola Howard, interim Head of Secondary at Alice Smith, talks to Amy Marsh about developing leadership skills in our staff.

EAL Leaders, Mike Riding and Christine Joseph, talk about how to support multilingual children.

Amy Marsh and Dan Plant talk about effective professional development programmes in schools.

Our Digital Leaders, James Wright and Alex Turner, talk about how to support students in using devices productively and positively.

Rachel Price, our Assistant Athletics Director and Interhouse Leader, provides insights into the House System in schools.

Head of Inclusion and Global Citizenship, Robbie Davies, talks about Global Citizenship education in schools.

Head of Secondary Maths, Natalie Clark, talks about Mathematics and the skills it develops.

Librarian, Roger Fortune, explains what graphic novels are and some of their benefits to readers.

Head of Drama, Joe Wyatt, talks about the role of drama in developing important skills in students.

Head of Art, Ev Abbott, demystifies the assessment process in Art and outlines the four areas that students focus on.

Secondary leaders, James Saunders and Rebecca Weeks, talk about how the memory works and how to utilise this to study effectively.

Deputy Head, Dan Plant, discusses curriculum models and the knowledge we teach our students.

English teachers Dru Goldman and Maddy Allen give advice for getting children to read and explain the benefits of reading. For more information, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ukP1XPFPSPJ9vvK28wlBcEYvu97xcusX/view?usp=sharing

Secondary and Primary PE teacher, Abbie Burke, talks about the developments in the curriculum and improving PE provision for all students.

Maths Leader, Shalome Benjamin, explains the role of manipulatives in developing mathematical fluency.

Early Years Leader, Ratna Dalal, explains the importance of motor skills and how practitioners and parents can support their development.

SEL Teacher, Renie Leng, talks about the importance of adult social and emotional development for parents.

Nursery teacher and leader, Bethany Freeman, talks about Jungle School and the benefits of outdoor education for children.

Head of CCAs, David Crane, talks about the importance of extracurricular opportunities and why schools seek to offer a holistic education.

Deputy Head, Lindsay Round, talks about how we make changes in the classroom to help support a sense of belonging for all members in our community.

One of our school counsellors, Tanya Ramanah, talks about psychological flexibility and how important it is for young people and mental health.

Head of Computing, James Abela, talks about the benefits and dangers of AI, and the importance of teaching students how to use it.

Simon Mann returns as Principal of GIS. Here he speaks about his vision for education and what he hopes to achieve this year.

Members of the Primary Leadership Team, Etienne Visser, Sam Crews, and Tiffany Lacey-Edwards, discuss the Topic Curriculum and learning outside the classroom in the bumper episode of the GardenPod.

Director of Professional Learning, Amy Marsh, speaks to teacher-librarian Roger Fortune about modern children’s literature, its relatability and realism, and concerns for parents.

Lindsay Round speaks with the leaders of our anti-racism working party, Al Archer and Dave Whitney, about our strategic work on Belonging and the culture of schools.

Director of Professional Learning, Amy Marsh, speaks to CEO of Sea Change Mentoring, Ellen Mahoney, about developing social and emotional competencies.

Director of Professional Learning, Amy Marsh, speaks to language experts Tom Ball, Paloma Lozano, and Alan Robertson about the importance of language learning for everyone.

Director of Professional Learning, Amy Marsh, speaks to Head of Secondary Computing, James Abela, about his pioneering work in supporting all learners, for which he was nominated for a Trailblazer in Inclusion award

Deputy Head in Primary, Kelly Hersey, speaks to LS teacher Trish Henderson about how we use data in school to support students’ well-being and personalised learning for each child.

Deputy Head in Primary, Etienne Visser, and Assistant Headteacher, Antonia Confalone, discuss how learning through play supports brain and child development and how this can extend to the home.

Deputy Head of Secondary, Lindsay Round, and Deputy Head of Primary, Etienne Visser, discuss strategic work around intercultural learning they have been involved in, and why Belonging is a key strategic focus at GIS this year.

Director of Learning, Damian Graizevsky, speaks to Kkabir Bhalla from the Learning Strand of our Student Leadership about the GIS Learner Skills and awards. This episode of the Gardenpod will be of particular interest to GIS parents and students.

Head of Secondary LS Rebecca Weeks discusses executive functioning with Amy Marsh, This is a set of skills that include organisation, attention and task initiation. This podcast is particularly relevant for parents.

Deputy Head in Primary, Kelly Hersey, speaks to our innovation lead, James Wright, about his groundbreaking work with data and PowerBI to make vast amounts of data accessible and useful to educators.

Director of Learning Damian Graizevsky speaks to Liza Phillips about the importance of service learning and the skills students develop by being authentically involved in service.