After a short break the Frank and Stan Chat returns with a familiar guest joining us again. Brian Lightman, the former leader of ASCL (for 6 years) and secondary Headteacher of two Welsh schools, author and education consultant returns to consider

- the role of Facebook in deciding on which school to select

- the dangers of the current Ofsted inspection proposals

- the role of the RISE teams and they intersect with existing school improvement programmes and strategies

- the lack of a clear vision for education, and

- balancing the budget.

The chat ends on a more positive note with better news on teacher recruitment and the possible push for more Drama teachers which may indicate a shift in focus coming through the Francis Curriculum Review.

A great way to start the summer series of chats. Enjoy.

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Every now our channel is contacted by an individual who asks to be a guest. Some of these requests are rejected mainly because the issue to be covered has already had an airing in a previous chat. When Rebecca Hanson contacted us we felt she was going to bring a fresh perspective on a current issue in schools and she didn't disappoint.

Rebecca works as a supply maths teacher in a number of inner city schools in the north of England. She also provides maths tuition for children who are struggling with maths and support for parents who are home educating. She previously spent years providing professional development for primary teachers and teaching assistants, before free sharing professional development and advice for teachers through her RebeccaTheMathsLady YouTube channel. She is also an experienced conference speaker, facilitator and workshop leader and has substantial experience in national-level education policy development and the press and live mainstream media.

The chat covers Rebecca's recent experience of teaching in socially diadvantaged communities and why she feels too many students find mathematics irrelevant and uninteresting. She is clear who is to blame.

It's a spiky chat but one many should watch/listen to.

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This special SPOTLIGHT edition of the Frank and Stan Chat considers the work of Alan Braven and Anthony Benedict who have a new book being published 31 March called 'Educating Everyone - An introduction to Relational Inclusion in schools'. The book recognises the struggle schools face around funding, behaviour, attendance, increasing rates of exclusions, lack of SEN support and adequate suitable places and teachers leaving the profession. It identifies the present time as a transitional point in history where two camps have formed: the Behaviourists and the Relationalists. It introduces the reader to the idea of Relational Inclusion, tracking the origins of its concept and exploring current thinking around the causation of some of the issues raised, including epigenetics, automatic negative thinking and the deficit narrative.

The chat enables the four colleagues to reflect on how their approaches to behaviour management, inclusion and relationships have changed over time and how they see the challenges now being faced by many children, young people, their families and those who teach.

A fascinating and highly topical chat that also includes a generous 30% book discount using the code FRANKSTAN30 if bought through the Routledge website.

Enjoy.

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This week the two gents are not joined by a guest. We find it hard to believe that some of our followers like it that way. We know, however, that our guests add so much to our weekly chats and we are grateful for their time and commitment. Anyway, today we cover two main issues

1. The recent documentary on the failings within Thames Water and what the lessons are for leadership in education and elsewhere

2. The Interim Francis Curriculum Review Report

The chat meanders a little but it is punchy and direct in terms of our views.

Also, Frank ends by plugging The Alternative Big Consultation survey he is running wioth Prof Colin Richards. The link is at the end of the chat, if you are on video. If you are downloading the chat as a podcast you can find the link at www.thealternativebiglisten.co.uk. It only takes 5 minutes

Enjoy

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This week Frank and Stan are joined by Rebecca Leek, the author of the recently published book 'The School Ready Governor'. Rebecca has written an insightful and easily accessible book that covers the history and development of the governor role, how effective governance manages to bridge the operational and strategic divide as well as encouraging governors/trustees to be brave and firm when things do not seem right.

The chat includes Stan drawing attention to a mechanical device his father created that includes a 'governor' which he explains is a speed limiter or controller. Rebecca reveals that she intended to mention this in her book but decided to withdraw it before publication. Stan is experiencing the joy of trying to potty train his 2 year old grandson and considers the latest report that identifies what children are expected to be able to do before they start school. He makes the case for a degree of understanding on such matters.

Rebecca then considers how she is managing supporting her father who is in a care home. She references the James Taylor song 'The Secret of Life' which includes the lyric 'the secret of life is enjoying the passage of time'. Frank is also an avid James Taylor fan so the conversation considers how he is abler to write uplifting lyrics when he was facing significant personal challenges. Rebecca also draws in the importance of spiritual development for children and young people.

Finally, Frank remembers his brother Barry, who passed away nearly a year ago. He was a guest on the FRank and Stan Chat on two occasions and was keen to see teachers grabbing back more of the national assessment process.

It's a positive and fascinating chat. We've already booked Rebecca again for a second chat. Still so much ground to cover.

Enjoy.

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Due to Frank's personal circumstances, it has been necessary to move some planned weekly chats around. This has meant that the chat with amazing Rebecca Leek, author of 'The School-Ready Governor', planned for the end of this week has been delayed until the middle of March. We had a planned chat with Ross McGill as part of the SPOTLIGHT series so we asked him if he would follow the usual weekly pattern of our chat, and he agreed.

Ross was our guest last year and proved very popular. His Teacher Toolkit website has over 250k visits each month with nearly 20 million visits to the website since it launched in 2007. He has become particularly interested in neurological conditions and during this chat he explains hopw the knowledge he has gained has affected how he views pupils with ADHD. He also discusses the strengths and weaknesses of Ofsted's Parentview survey and how his recent visits to schools is influencing his work. He is left with a deep respect and gratitude for the work of many in the teaching profession.

Stan considers the role of play and whether it is reasonable to expect school to be fun? He prefers it to be enjoyable...most of the time. Frank then summarises his involvement in the Alternative Big Consultation which launched earlier in the week and how he hopes it leads to a better form of inspection.

Enjoy!

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