It’s the end of the school year, which can only mean one thing: performance appraisal season. But with targets that feel random, policies that haven’t caught up, and a system still obsessed with spreadsheets… we’re asking:
Do schools even value great teaching anymore – or just good data?

In this episode, Dylan and Hayden unpack:

• What appraisals are supposed to be vs. what they’ve become

• The 2024 rule change that schools are quietly ignoring (hint: appraisals shouldn't affect your pay anymore)

• Two shocking listener horror stories — including one about a school disco being used to block a teacher's progression

• Why stretch targets often just mean stretched teachers

• What a fair, supportive appraisal system could look like

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The hidden crisis closing schools, cutting jobs, and reshaping teaching

This week, Dylan and Hayden dive into a topic that’s flying under the radar but changing the future of teaching forever.

UK birth rates have fallen to historic lows – and now schools are feeling the impact. From empty classrooms and school closures to teacher redundancies and disappearing job ads, this episode uncovers how a quiet demographic shift is creating a very loud crisis in education.

🔍 We unpack:

• The huge drop in UK birth rate – and why it’s happening

• Why schools across the country are merging, shrinking, or closing altogether

• How fewer children means fewer teaching jobs - even if you're brilliant

• Why a fall in teacher vacancies isn’t always a good sign

• Our personal story

Whether you're a classroom teacher, a school leader, or just education-curious, this is a must-listen on where the system might be heading next.

📚 LINKS & SOURCES

• ONS 2024 Birth Rate Statistics: www.ons.gov.uk

• BBC Report on School Closures: bbc.co.uk/news/education

• NEU Press Release on Redundancies: neu.org.uk

• TES: “Why falling rolls could be the next big crisis” – tes.com

💬 Tell us your story!
Have you seen your school shrink, merge, or quietly lose staff? Drop us a message on Instagram or TikTok – or send in an anonymous story for a future episode.

📸 Instagram: @teachsleeprepeatpodcast
🎬 Tiktok: ⁠@teachsleeprepeatpodcast⁠

Last week, we shared the biggest news of our careers: we’re leaving teaching.

In this episode, we dive into what comes next. We're joined by Sophie Hayes, a former teacher and founder of StoryZoo - a brilliant initiative helping schools spark a love of reading. Sophie opens up about her own leap out of the classroom and how she turned her passion into a thriving business.

We also reflect on the emotional toll that teaching took on us - the constant pressure, the mental exhaustion, and the precious moments with our own children that we missed. It wasn’t an easy decision to leave, but it was one we had to make.

Try StoryZoo now & get hold of Sophie to book a free demo: https://storyzoo.org/

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BIG NEWS - We are stepping away from teaching.

This has been a long-time coming & is a huge, difficult decision.

You can't do a weekly education podcast without being passionate about it, but as you've seen form previous episodes... There's a lot wrong with the system.

We dive into why we have taken the decision to step away from teaching & how we plan on staying in education and still getting into the classroom to do the bits we love.

Oh and... the podcast isn't just staying - it's growing. News to follow!

Get in touch with us: teachsleeprepeatpod@gmail.com

Instagram: www.instragram.com/teachsleeprepeatpodcast

TikTok: www.tiktok.com/teachsleeprepeatpodcast

Hello Teach Sleep Repeaters!

This episode is an eclectic mix of laughs, rants and putting the world of education to rights.

We talk about why term-time holidays are so appealing for so many reasons, discuss some toxic story write-ins with a twist, and finish off by addressing some of the crazy teacher trolling we have seen on TikTok this week.

It's a goodun!

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In this episode, we dive into two hot topics every primary teacher is thinking about right now:

✏️ Writing Moderation

Is it fair? Is it consistent? Or is it the biggest postcode lottery in primary education? We share our own experiences of moderation, discuss how useful (or not) it really is, and ask the big question nobody likes to say out loud: how many people are bending the rules when it comes to writing levels?

🤖 Using AI to Write Reports
End-of-year reports are here — but can AI actually help? We break down the benefits, the best ways to use it, and how to make sure your reports still sound personal and professional. Plus, we tackle some of the common pushbacks:

• "It still takes forever!"

• "It’s bad for the environment!"

• "My school would never allow it!"

If you're deep in the report-writing trenches or heading into moderation season, this one's for you.

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This week, we’re joined by teacher, education writer and Learning by Questions legend Sophie Bartlett for a full-on SATs debrief! We take a deep dive into the 2025 Year 6 SATs papers – English, GPS, and Maths – and break down what really stood out.

We chat about:

• Recurring question strands and skills being tested

• Some wildly harsh mark scheme moments

• Questions we thought were genuinely clever and well-designed

• What this year’s papers might tell us about where primary assessment is heading

  
  

🆓 Download Sophie’s free CPD slides:
Packed with detailed analysis of this year’s papers, perfect for staff meetings or personal CPD.
👉 Click here to grab the slides

💬 Let’s stay connected!
Follow us on Instagram for behind-the-scenes bits, teaching memes & more:
📸 @teachsleeprepeatpodcast

Catch bonus clips, laughs and classroom chaos on TikTok:
🎬 @teachsleeprepeatpodcast

📝 Loved the episode?
Please leave us a review! It helps more teachers find the podcast and keeps us going.

In this episode of Teach Sleep Repeat, we dive headfirst into the absolute state of spelling in schools right now – and why teaching it (and English in general) feels harder than ever. We chat about the importance of reading, the pressure to teach perfectly, and how it’s all become a bit of a mess.

Then, it’s time for some hilarious listener stories – including a few accidental classroom swears that had us howling (and hiding from SLT). Finally, we wrap things up with a chaotic Q&A where we tackle everything from whether we regret becoming teachers, how on earth to get enough sleep, and the all-important question: what kebab filling would we be?

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