Episodes

  • Frank and Stan Chat No. 187

    Frank and Stan Chat No. 187
    May 17 2024
    The gents are delighted Aelwyn Pugh, Former HMI, Senior Effectiveness Officer and Head of Music Service decided to return as a guest. His first appearance was in September 2023 and led to comments such as 'at last we get to hear a proper HMI chatting about education' and 'this is what HMI used to be like. Aelwyn gets things moving by explaining how his career covered a wide range of settings and experiences. Frank suggested this made him a strong candidate for HMI. He then goes on to give the reason why he never received a proper induction as HMI. A very different experience to Frank's. Stan then demands that the government create an award called 'The what doesn't happen that should be banned award' as he considers the release of recent sex education guidance that covers amongst other things, gender identity. All guests consider how poorly the Secretary of State conveyed the need for such guidance. Aelwyn then reflects on efforts to improve attendance and why his periods of non-attendance at school enhanced his educational experience. Frank then ponders how effective management is not all down to salary and prestige but is all about community and dedication. He explains who Kevin Maher is and why he won a major football award this week.

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    41 mins
  • Frank and Stan Chat No. 186

    Frank and Stan Chat No. 186
    May 11 2024

    When Frank and Stan held their first chat in May 2020 we never imagined others would be interested in them. We certainly didn't envisage that eminent thinkers, practitioners and respected colleagues would join us as guests. This week we are delighted welcome back Neil Jurd, author of 'The Leadership Book', former army officer and RMA Sandhurst instructor and now a business leader of a training organisation in leadership development and coaching. Neil has an MA from Cranfield University and a fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management. He was appointed OBE in 2021 and awarded the British Citizen Award in 2020. Along with this impressive CV Neil is a very interesting and well informed colleague.


    The chat considers how Neil's military training and experience influenced his approach to leadership. He gives some clear, practical examples with the discussion moving on to trust and humility as key themes. Stan then considers what's caught his eyes this week and focuses on an MA dissertation he received for comment from Lucy Truman, a regular guest on the Frank and Stan Chat. He reflects on how the period of COVID encouraged local authority staff to get on with decision making without having to consult. He wonders whether consultation is currently getting in the way of decision making. Neil then reflects on the impact of AI on essay writing and how it weakens the writing style and reduces individuality. Frank then ponders over the surprising news that the DWP had harvested some pupil data from the DfE to check on benefit fraud. This arrangement was not widely known. We all then considered what other data is being shared on citizens.


    A varied and interesting chat. Hope you enjoy it.


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    50 mins
  • Frank and Stan Chat No. 185

    Frank and Stan Chat No. 185
    May 3 2024
    It was a privilege to be joined by Jan Rowe from John Moores University for a chat about ITE and the latest education news. It didn't take long for us all to reflect on the teacher trainer market review and the impact it has had. It is fair to say we found it hard to identify many strengths, if at all. Teacher recruitment numbers remain low and existing providers have had to devote valuable time to the process when all available resources should have been focused on increasing recruitment figures. Stan considers the decision by a MAT to lose all Teaching Assistants from their Primary Schools replacing them with fewer positions with a different title and focus. He considers whether it was a good look for there to be a big increase in the number of senior colleagues earning over £100k while introducing the change. He also considers the different layers of leadership some trusts have adopted. Jan then explains why there was such an outcry when the government stopped funding the Now Teach charity. Jan explains that this charity does not train the teachers, they just identify potential candidates and pass them on to a training provider. Jan connects the charity's links with media outlets and celebrities as the possible reason for such an outcry over the loss of the £1.7m project. Frank ends by drawing attention www.thealternative big listen.co.uk and the success it has had in attracting much better than expected responses. Great chat. The best bit of professional development Frank and Stan get each week. We will always be grateful for the time our great gusts give us. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

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    45 mins
  • Frank and Stan Chat No 184B

    Frank and Stan Chat No 184B
    Apr 26 2024
    This week the gents are joined by Neil Sheldon, Chair of the Teaching Statistics Trust, Fellow of the RSS and a Chartered Statistician Vice-Chair of the UK Linguistics Olympiad and Member of the Committee for Linguistics in Education. A teacher of pupils aged from 9yrs to 90yrs he's a fascinating and well informed colleague in the way statistics are used in society and particularly in education. Neil kicks off with a reflection on how we were connected through the work of Dr Dennis Sherwood and the accuracy of examination results. He explains how statistics is about insight rather than numbers. Stan then considers the government's response to the Coroner's Report following the tragic death of Ruth Perry. He highlights the inconsistencies and vagueness of their response. Neil then explains the enjoyment he gained from reading 'All that remains' by Sue Black. This is a reflection on questions or mortality by a professor of anatomy and forensic anthropology, who works in war and disaster zones, As Neil indicates it is a gripping and fascinating read. Frank then reveals the launch of The Alternative Big Listen which is an attempt to discover the views of professionals about Ofsted's work. It launches on 1 May. The chat ends with Neil reflecting on what he would change in education if he had the power. He focuses on the need to ensure all those reviewing data have a clear understanding of what it means. A riveting chat.

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    3 mins
  • Frank and Stan Chat No.184 Part A

    Frank and Stan Chat No.184 Part A
    Apr 26 2024
    This week the gents are joined by Neil Sheldon, Chair of the Teaching Statistics Trust, Fellow of the RSS and a Chartered Statistician Vice-Chair of the UK Linguistics Olympiad and Member of the Committee for Linguistics in Education. A teacher of pupils aged from 9yrs to 90yrs he's a fascinating and well informed colleague in the way statistics are used in society and particularly in education. Neil kicks off with a reflection on how we were connected through the work of Dr Dennis Sherwood and the accuracy of examination results. He explains how statistics is about insight rather than numbers. Stan then considers the government's response to the Coroner's Report following the tragic death of Ruth Perry. He highlights the inconsistencies and vagueness of their response. Neil then explains the enjoyment he gained from reading 'All that remains' by Sue Black. This is a reflection on questions or mortality by a professor of anatomy and forensic anthropology, who works in war and disaster zones, As Neil indicates it is a gripping and fascinating read. Frank then reveals the launch of The Alternative Big Listen which is an attempt to discover the views of professionals about Ofsted's work. It launches on 1 May. The chat ends with Neil reflecting on what he would change in education if he had the power. He focuses on the need to ensure all those reviewing data have a clear understanding of what it means. A riveting chat.

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    37 mins
  • Frank and Stan Chat No. 183

    Frank and Stan Chat No. 183
    Apr 19 2024

    We are grateful to Adrian Lyons for stepping in when the planned guest was unavailable. Adrian was one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Education, one of the most experienced HMI in Ofsted with a national lead for economics, business and enterprise. He regularly led the inspections of secondary schools, primary schools and initial teacher training providers. He led major national surveys such as ‘Getting Ready for Work’ in 2016 and in 2019 was the lead HMI for Ofsted’s research into initial teacher education (ITE) training programmes. His role for many years involved working with directors to find solutions to individual and organisational problems. Now he works as an independent consultant and is a frequent keynote presenter across Europe.


    The chat begins with the gents considering the value of Ofsted's Big Listen. Adrian and Frank reflect on previous surveys of views from Ofsted and note that the closed nature of the questions leads to fairly predictable responses. Also, the survey doesn't cover a number of important issues such as whether a single word grade should continue, whether more emphasis should be placed on school self evaluation and whether it is right to excluded data provided by the school.


    Stan reflects on the recent IFS report on Sure Start Centres, Adrian considers the recent Ofsted report on Religious Education and Frank shares some views on how work experience opportunities are changing.


    An interesting and varied chat. We hope you enjoy it.


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    40 mins
  • Frank and Stan Chat No. 182

    Frank and Stan Chat No. 182
    Apr 14 2024

    Following a short Easter break the two gents are back this week with an amazing guest. Dr Vic Carr is a Primary headteacher on The Wirral, Reserve Army Officer; Chartered Manager; CollectivEd Senior Fellow; Chartered College of Teaching Fellow; Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Army Leadership; author and TEDx speaker who focuses on leadership and the power of language. She has lectured part time at Master’s degree level, has 3 MAs in Equality and Diversity; Leadership; and Modern War Studies/Contemporary Military History; and a doctorate in leadership and politics.


    Following the normal introductions Frank focuses on Vic's military training and the leadership development she has experienced through this work. This is just up Stan's street so the insight and examples provided by them both provide a powerful example of why honesty, integrity, consistency and consideration and love are at the heart of effective leadership.


    The clarity of thinking and the way Vic draws in examples from her varied career make the chat compelling. There is just enough time to consider the rather bizarre idea the government has come up with recently which is to encourage scouts to become teachers.


    It is a belting chat and we recommend colleagues sit back and listen to Vic explain her leadership philosophy. We are amazed that such wonderful guests are willing to give us their time. Frank and Stan, we hope, our watchers, listeners and followers are the real beneficiaries.


    Enjoy


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    32 mins
  • Frank and Stan Chat SPOTLIGHT No.6

    Frank and Stan Chat SPOTLIGHT No.6
    Mar 28 2024

    The next SPOTLIGHT Edition considers a recent blog written by Mark Innes, Dr Elizabeth Gregory and Dr Lisa Murtagh on the apparent marketisation of professional leadership qualifications. The three academics published a BERA piece to explains the development of national leadership programmes and how they have shifted through the DfE's control into six NPQs provided by nine lead providers. Their blog initially 'focused on job adverts which demonstrated how government policy had enriched a handful of densely networked players, put others in potentially precarious positions, and impoverished teacher development'. It's a cracking discussion which reflects on the lucrative market and the concerns about a 'golden thread' approach. The researchers are keen to hear from colleagues who have completed the various programmes to discover how useful they have been. Contact details are below:


    mark.innes@manchester.ac.uk

    Elizabeth.Gregory@manchester.ac.uk

    Lia.Murtagh@manchester.ac.uk


    Enjoy.


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    33 mins