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All Episodes

Thinking Deeply about Primary Education — 304 episodes

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Title
1

Four ways to get the most from formative assessment...

2

A Human Education for an Artificial World: Rachel Higginson on oracy, belonging and what schools must protect in the age of AI

3

AI Tutors in Schools: Breakthrough or Hype?

4

Illuminating Metacognition in Writing with Jen Sutherland and Donny Morrison

5

Beyond the Right Answer: Teaching for Deep Mathematical Understanding

6

Protecting the Human Work: AI in Schools, 15 Months On

7

Leadership, Belonging and the Power of Teams with Sam Crome

8

March 2026: What Emerged Across the Conversations

9

One to One Correspondence: The Hidden Challenge in Learning to Count

10

The Mechanics of Effective Professional Development with Scott Wells

11

That's the Good News: SEND Reform, Teacher Voice and the Future of School Leadership

12

Better Planning, Better Thinking, Better Teaching?

13

February 2026: What Emerged Across the Conversations

14

Primary English: How To Lead It

15

Thinking Deeply about AI for Schools: AI Music and The Death of Creativity?

16

Avoiding Snake Oil: Using the Hype Curve to Make Better Tech Decisions with Dominic Bristow

17

That's the Good News: Phones, Inclusion Bases, and a Quiet Crisis in Early Language

18

Teacher Voice, Credibility, and the Confidence Trap with Tom Rogers

19

Can an AI Tutor Reduce Maths Anxiety? Inside Third Space Learning’s “Skye”

20

January 2026: What Emerged Across the Conversations

21

Film, Review, Refine: A Practical Guide to Teacher Self-Coaching With Lesson Video

22

School Done Smarter: The Headteacher Blueprint for Sustainable Change

23

That's the Good News: Inclusion, belonging, autonomy and more...

24

The Hidden Barriers for Left-Handed Pupils (and what the Writing Framework means in practice)

25

Performance ≠ Learning: What recent research says about maths apps for struggling learners

26

TDaPE London: What Do You Go To When Everything Looks Good?

27

AI in Schools 2026: Predictions, Policy, and What Might Actually Scale

28

Behaviour, Trust, Transparency: Leading in challenging circumstances

29

The Honest DSL with Hannah Carter

30

A Model for Collaborative Planning with Lewis Sargent and Matthew Lee

31

Handwriting, the 2025 Writing Framework, and Reluctant Writers with Nicky Parr

32

Building a Whole School EAL System for Multilingual Learners with Dr Robert Sharples

33

Thinking Deeply about AI for Schools: Alpha School

34

It’s the Thought that Counts: Why Learning to Count Is More Complex Than You Think

35

Succeeding as Deputy Head with Chris Passey and Adam Kohlbeck

36

Play Time: Neurodivergence, psychological safety and creativity in the classroom

37

Iterative Lesson Design: A Practical Cycle for Teacher Growth with Stuart Welsh

38

What We Asked. What We Learned: TDaPE in Term One 2025

39

The Power of Maths Journaling with Dr Kirsten Fenton and Holly Drummond

40

Mathematical Talk: The Heartbeat of Classroom Thinking (with Amy How)

41

Teacher Writers with Andy McHugh

42

Accessible by Default: In Action

43

What the science of learning teaches us about arithmetic fluency with John Jackson

44

The Teach Like a Champion Guide to the Science of Reading

45

Curriculum Thinking: International Perspectives with Lucy Crehan

46

Implementing the Writing Framework with Care and Balance

47

Calm, Consistent, and Certain: Building Better Behaviour in Primary

48

Accessible by Default: An Inclusive Teaching Discussion

49

Reforming Lessons: Sir Nick Gibb on Evidence, Policy, and Change in Education

50

The Illustrated Guide to Pedagogy with Fin Wilson and Jane Miller

51

More Than Flags and Rainbows: Part Two – From Foundations to Implementation

52

More Than Flags and Rainbows: Meaningful LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Schools with Ian Timbrell

53

Inside the 2025 Writing Framework: Jane Considine on the Future of Writing Instruction

54

Time for Reflection: Disciplinary literacy, supporting new literacy leads and the role of coaching in the school-improvement eco-system

55

A Language Pedagogy Deep Dive: Teaching Welsh in English-Medium Schools

56

From Maths Anxiety to Maths Advocacy: Leading Sustainable Change in Schools

57

Conceptual Clarity: A Conversation with Pete Mattock

58

Curriculum Coherence or Curricular Chaos?

59

From the Classroom to Leadership: Building Cultures that Thrive

60

Beyond Sentence Stems: Deep Scaffolding for Inclusive Literacy

61

Three Lessons Learned from Three Years in Deputy Headship

62

Lessons learned from a classroom sabbatical with Lisa Coe

63

Thinking Deeply about Conceptual Understanding

64

School-wide maths improvement with Lisa Coe

65

Literacy Leadership, Testing and Disciplinary Reading with Chris Such

66

The One Paper Every Primary Teacher Should Read – with Lloyd Williams-Jones

67

From Planning to Practice: Mastering Professional Development Design

68

Driving School-Wide Change with Lloyd Williams-Jones

69

Standing Room Only – Deconstructing Word Problems by Gareth Metcalfe

70

Deconstructing Word Problems with Gareth Metcalfe

71

Teaching Through Comparison: What Works and When?

72

Writing First, Assessment Second: A Conversation with Chris Youles

73

From Coaching to Confidence: The Power of Whole-Staff Rehearsal

74

What do schools who provide a stellar religious education offering do so well?

75

What's in Store at TDaPE Manchester 2025?

76

Ausubel's concept hierarchy explained

77

Sustaining School Improvement – Leadership, Culture, and Change with Adam Lowing & Stuart Welsh

78

What are some high-impact, low-effort ways to improve mathematics across a school?

79

Concreteness Fading: Bridging Procedural and Conceptual Understanding

80

How can schools embed a consistent, research-informed approach to mathematics teaching?

81

Disciplinary Literacy: Unlocking Deeper Learning with Juli Ryzop

82

How can I incorporate retrieval effectively in maths lessons without causing unnecessary cognitive overload?

83

The Future of School Inspection: Still Analysing Ofsted's Proposed Reforms

84

Improving reading across a whole school

85

The Future of School Inspection: Analysing Ofsted’s Proposed Reforms

86

David Ausubel's Key Ideas (In Summary) with Sarah Cottinghatt

87

Finding time in busy timetables for high-quality art lessons

88

Is the English writing system introduced in ways that can lead to spelling difficulties?

89

The Hospital of Hope and The Fight Against Cancer

90

To what extent is English orthography a representation of spoken language?

91

Maximising Learning with Interleaved Practice in Maths

92

Summative assessments: Why and when do we use them?

93

What are the four most prominent features of an effective mathematics lesson?

94

Beyond Words: The Purpose and Practice of Modern Foreign Language Education

95

What are the four most prominent features of an effective lesson?

96

Unlocking Learning: Background Knowledge, Spelling, and Modelling

97

Transforming Reading and Mathematics: Powerful Questions for Teachers

98

Promise or Peril: Can AI shape the future of education?

99

Exploring Explicit Teaching with Zach Groshell

100

What's in Store at TDaPE London?

101

Building Confidence in Primary Mathematics with Amy How

102

Lesson Design – Insights from Cognitive Science and Direct Instruction with Jake Cowling

103

Powerful RE with Adam Smith

104

Language and Learning – Supporting EAL Pupils in Mathematics

105

Time to Look – A Primary Art Field Guide

106

The questions that keep me thinking

107

Strategies for Success in Leadership

108

Primary Reading Simplified with Christopher Such

109

Sequencing the Primary Curriculum

110

Small Numbers, Big Ideas

111

Flourishing as a new or beginning teacher

112

Ofsted Overhaul: Changes, Challenges, and Complexities

113

Effective School Leadership with Lloyd Williams Jones

114

Purposeful Coaching with Matt Stone (Part Two)

115

Purposeful Coaching with Matt Stone (Part One)

116

The Phonics of Maths?

117

1:1 reading, AI in schools, challenges ahead for the DfE and Labour, and more...

118

Thinking Deeply about Mathematics Education: A Live Panel

119

Transforming Teaching: Essential Strategies for Curriculum Success

120

Changing your maths curriculum?

121

How to be present in your professional development

122

Why is teaching handwriting so difficult and what can we do about it?

123

Lessons learned from a decade of executive leadership

124

The key to effective teacher professional development

125

How to solve a problem like....Fractions

126

Bond, Don't Break: Developing a systematic approach to number facts

127

The Scaffolding Effect with Alex Fairlamb and Rachel Ball

128

A Blueprint for Exceptional Maths Teaching

129

'Using student data' with Richard Selfridge

130

"Following the Evidence" with Jon Kay

131

Spelling for Life with Lyn Stone

132

Comprehend This! (Reading is not a skills based subject)

133

Working independently, subject knowledge professional development, and an NPQ vs a Masters...

134

The key(s) to effective modelling

135

Establishing a belief in the potential of ALL pupils

136

Becoming a more responsive teacher

137

Learning from the world beyond education

138

Making learning more challenging

139

Primary Mathematics: The A - Z and everything in-between...

140

Becoming a teacher who is published...

141

Becoming a teacher who writes with Leisa Grace Wilson

142

Small Schools: Leadership, Curriculum and Pedagogy

143

Variation Theory, DI and Cognitive Load Theory: Estranged siblings or rivals to the throne?

144

The Role of Background Knowledge in Reading Comprehension with Reid Smith

145

Counting: 5 things you didn't realise you needed to know about...

146

3 fundamental aspects of geography teaching

147

Cursive writing, small school organisation and subject leader folders...

148

9 common misconceptions surrounding the teaching of phonics

149

Engaging parents/carers with mathematics at home

150

Under the Microscope: Research and Pedagogies for Early Math (Part Two)

151

'Leading from the middle' with Stuart Welsh

152

Smashing Glass Ceilings: Empowering Women in Education

153

EAL: What every teacher needs to know about teaching pupils who use English as an additional language

154

EAL: Supporting pupils who use English as an additional language

155

Under the Microscope: Research and Pedagogies for Early Math (Part One)

156

"Convince me AI has a place in education" with Neil Almond

157

Implementing an 'evidence-informed' approach to Reading

158

Morphology with Kathy Rastle

159

Balancing Whole-School and Personalised CPD with Neil Gorton

160

Unlocking the Magic of MathsBot.com with Jonny Hall

161

The Power of Geography with Sarah Larsen

162

Culture, evidence and school improvement with Rachel Ball

163

Thinking Deeply about Primary History with Stuart Tiffany

164

Leadership Reflections with Shannen Doherty

165

Persistent Classroom Problems with Tom Oakley

166

Becoming a Teacher with Ben Ebdon

167

Assessing reading, staffing, technology, research, teacher development and life beyond school...

168

Positive environments, differentiation, collaboration and assessing progress...

169

Under the Microscope: Cognitive Architecture and Instructional Design - 20 Years On (Part Two)

170

Under the Microscope: Cognitive Architecture and Instructional Design - 20 Years On (Part One)

171

Igniting Curiosity: Embracing Education Research

172

Manipulatives, assessment, mathematical language and retrieval success....

173

Breaking Free 3: The Future of Key Stage One Writing Assessment

174

Teacher Induction: A Field Guide for Teachers and Leaders

175

Breaking Free 2: The Future of Key Stage One Reading Assessment

176

The Erosion of Art, Music, Sport and Cooking

177

Breaking Free: The Future of Key Stage One Mathematics Assessment

178

Demystifying Ofsted: Outstanding

179

Bonds, Basics, Bars and Breadth: Primary Mathematics Unplugged

180

5 Things Every Teacher Needs to Know about Reading Comprehension

181

Strategic Thinking with Lloyd Williams-Jones

182

Knowledge Organisers: A Field Guide

183

"I’m leaving teaching", No hands up, Testing in Year 1 and Working walls...

184

Test-Enhanced Learning

185

In search of the Science of Mathematics (Teaching) with Brendan Lee

186

How to land your dream teaching job...

187

Summative assessments, planning with high quality texts and leading Year 6...

188

The stickiness of stories and what this means for teachers...

189

The English writing system and what every teacher needs to know about it...

190

Task Design for Teachers: Designing Effective Tasks

191

Some Practical Advice on Practicals in Science

192

Effective Communication with Parents/Carers: A Field Guide for Teachers and Leaders

193

It's time to face facts: Teaching multiplication tables for automaticity and understanding

194

Teaching Writing: A Field Guide

195

Backward Faded Examples with Dave Taylor

196

Curriculum Conversations: Implementation Challenges 2023

197

Supporting Struggling Readers

198

Is this the future of Planning?

199

The Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading 2.0

200

Evidence Informed Practice: Connecting research with the classroom

201

The Great Subject Knowledge Compendium 2.5

202

The Great Subject Knowledge Compendium 2: Know Harder

203

Supporting HLTAs in their professional development...

204

Wellbeing: A Field Guide for Teachers and School Leaders

205

100 ways to Think Deeply about Primary Education with Kieran Mackle

206

5 ways to get the most from "Technology" in the classroom...

207

Manipulatives and Mathematics: A Thinking Deeply about Mathematics Education Panel

208

Problem Solving with Gareth Metcalfe (Part Two)

209

Primary History with Stuart Tiffany

210

(S5,E8) Mathematics, Research and More with Craig Barton

211

(S5,E7) Retrieval Practice with Kate Jones

212

(S5,E6) Assessment w/James Pembroke and Richard Selfridge

213

(S5,E5) Stress, Learning and Memory with Dan Rosen

214

(S5,E4) Evidence Informed Practice with Juan Fernandez

215

(S5,E3) Blogging, social media and subject leadership with Aidan Severs

216

(S5,E2) Teacher and School Development w/Becky Allen and Sam Sims

217

(S5,E1) Leadership with Clare Sealy

218

How to get the most from Interventions...

219

The Early Career Framework: One Year On...

220

Establishing Routines in the Classroom: A Field Guide

221

Implications for Teaching, Learning and Curriculum: The Work of David Ausubel

222

Mathematics Education: A Thinking Deeply Panel

223

Learning Objectives: What is the point?

224

How do you solve a problem like Staffing?

225

A Traditionalist Approach to the Performing Arts

226

Self-Explanation with Michael Pershan...

227

What Every Teacher Needs to Know about Fractions...(part 1)

228

SEND: The 2022 Green Paper

229

Teaching Children to Read Irregular Words...

230

5 Principles for Religious Education Curriculum Design...

231

The Mysterious World of Independent Schools...

232

School and Teacher Development: A Field Guide

233

Small school leadership...

234

The KS1 Moderation Survival Guide...

235

What every teacher needs to know about Place Value...

236

5 ways to get the most from Comparative Judgement...

237

Getting Routines Right...

238

The 2022 Education White Paper…Take Two

239

The 2022 Education White Paper...Take One

240

3 ways to get communication right in schools...

241

Writing Moderation...

242

Multiplication Tables

243

7 ways to support middle leaders...

244

(S4,E7) The Past, Present and Future of Professional Development with Mary Myatt

245

(S4,E6) Walkthrus with Tom Sherrington, Oliver Caviglioli and Shannen Doherty

246

(S4,E5) Leadership with Nick Hart

247

(S4,E4) SEN with Cassie Young

248

(S4,E3) Phonics with Charlotte MacKechnie

249

(S4,E2) Mathematics with Sarah Farrell

250

(S4,E1) Motivation with Peps Mccrae

251

8 ways to get the most from Pupil Progress Meetings...

252

Thinking Deeply about Primary Education Live (New Years Eve Special)

253

The Power of Professional Reflection

254

The Great Subject Knowledge Compendium One

255

Problem Solving Part One

256

5 ways to salvage book scrutiny...

257

9 ways to get the most from pre-diagnostic assessments.

258

7 ways to create the conditions for high quality writing...

259

6 ways to improve the use of manipulatives in Upper Key Stage Two.

260

8 ways to get the most from talk in the classroom...

261

5 ways to get the most from collaborative planning...

262

7 ways to improve your teaching of spelling...

263

Planning?

264

(S3,E7) Mathematics with Berkeley Everett and Steph Elliot

265

(S3,E6) Curriculum with Jon Hutchinson

266

(S3,E5) Mastery with Matt Swain

267

(S3,E4) Leadership, Leverage and Learning with Lloyd Williams-Jones

268

(S3,E3) Teaching, Learning and Mental Health with Tom Brassington

269

(S3,E2) School Leadership and Professional Development with Gareth Rein

270

(S3,E1) Mathematics with Andrew Jeffrey

271

Struggling Mathematicians...

272

Reading Fluency?

273

Career Development?

274

Education Book Clubs?

275

Confidence Weighted Multiple Choice Questions...

276

Differentiation...

277

Subitising...

278

Reading Comprehension

279

Feedback?

280

Number Lines?

281

Primary Science?

282

(S2,E8) Quiz 2: Cruise Control

283

(S2,E7) Mathematics with Gareth Metcalfe

284

Season Two, Episode Six: Christopher Such (Reading)

285

Season Two, Episode Five: Adam Smith (Religious Education)

286

Season Two, Episode Four: Victoria Morris and Neil Almond (History)

287

Season Two, Episode Three: Victoria Morris and Neil Almond (Geography)

288

Season Two, Episode Two: Andrew Keegan (Music)

289

Season Two, Episode One: Tom Garry and Matt Swain (Supporting Early Career Teachers)

290

Mathematics Subject Leadership

291

Workload…

292

Mathematics Curricula (Part 2)

293

Episode Twelve: How do you solve a problem like...Reading for Professional Development?

294

Episode Eleven: How do you solve a problem like...Mathematics Curricula (Part 1)

295

How do you solve a problem like...Supporting Early Career Teachers?

296

How do you solve a problem like...Number Bonds?

297

(S1, E8) The Great Primary Education Quiz

298

(S1, E7) Mathematics with Shannen Doherty

299

(S1, E6) Teaching, Learning and Curriculum with Jack Harker

300

(S1,E5) Task Design with Elliot Morgan

301

(S1,E4) Teaching, Leadership and Development with Christopher Such

302

(S1,E3) Teaching, Learning and Curriculum with Neil Almond

303

(S1,E2) Mathematics Subject Leadership with Lisa Coe

304

(S1,E1) Pedagogy and Research with Lloyd Williams-Jones