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Frank and Stan Chats
Frank and Stan Chat No. 185
Season 5, Ep. 30
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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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41. Frank and Stan Chat No. 195
37:58The gents are delighted to welcome back as a guest Emma Ainsworth. Emma is currently a Chair of Governors at a Primary School in Bradford, a former senior manager at The Coop and currently working on strategic architecture at Biffa. Stan draws attention to a rugby medal he found in his attic which led to him researching the relative who played Rugby Union in the 1880s. Emma reflects on grief and how schools cope with tragic news and support the family and the wider community. Frank then considers the events in Harehills last night as well reveals that the chat has seen 26% increase in views, 24% length of watching and 10% increase in subscribers in the past year. This is the last chat of the academic year. We are back on 6th September and have guests lined up well into 2025. Thank you for your support and encouragement. Oh, the chat with Emma is great cos she's a fascinating individual. Enjoy.
40. Frank and Stan Chat No. 194
35:00This week Frank and Stan chat with Jill Gray, former Principal at Blackpool 6th Form College and now a leading figure in the creation of The Coastal Collaborative Trust, a new multi academy trust that includes her former College. The chat opens with Stan having mixed emotions around the news that the new Government intend to undertake a Curriculum Review to ensure there are wider opportunities for pupils and students. He worries whether having such a clear stance on improving the time devoted to the arts and physical activity is a good starting point for an independent review. Jill then reflects on her recent visit to Australia and how members of her family out there are showing amazing resilience. Frank completed that chat by drawing attention to the publication of The Alternative Big Listen and how the authors have been able to draw on support from a colleague and friend steeped in experience in the media and public relations. Time to start trusting the experts a bit more is the general theme. A very enjoyable and relaxed chat. Amazing where the 35 minutes disappears. Enjoy.
39. Frank and Stan Chat No. 193
35:14A momentous night followed by a Frank and Stan Chat. What more does education need? The two gents chat about their views on the past 14 years, what might happen in the next 100 days and what they hope for in the future. It's just a gentle glide through a range of issues. For those who have been up half the night and had to teach today, it might be just what you want. We hope so!39. Frank and Stan Chat No. 193
35:14A momentous night followed by a Frank and Stan Chat. What more does education need? The two gents chat about their views on the past 14 years, what might happen in the next 100 days and what they hope for in the future. It's just a gentle glide through a range of issues. For those who have been up half the night and had to teach today, it might be just what you want. We hope so!38. Frank and Stan Chat SPOTLIGHT No. 7
35:19Ever wondered what it felt like to be a long-established tutoring provider during the pandemic? Ever wondered why existing providers were not included in the initial list of 33 national providers for the National Tutoring Programme but new providers were? Ever considered why the Randstad contract ended so quickly? How did tutoring programmes survive and what are they doing now? This special SPOTLIGHT focuses on all of these issues and more with Anne Morris, CEO and founder of Yipiyap. There's positive and negative sides to the story but the strength of the relationship between the tutoring provider and the school is central to the success of the programme. Success depends on a mixture of tutoring and supporting the individual student's wider needs. It is so much more than just academic success. It appears the government lost sight of this during the pandemic. Watch/Listen here to discover the ups and downs of the National Tutoring Programme.
37. Frank and Stan Chat No. 192
42:43This week Stan returns from his two week break and we are joined by Education Director, author, keynote speaker and great guest Paul Ainsworth. Paul's most recent publication 'No Silver Bullets' draws on his considerable and varied career involved in school improvement. True to his character he doesn't plug any of his books, although Stan and Frank do. The chat begins with Stan 'reflecting' on hotel mirrors before Paul explains how optimistic he is that so many senior Opposition leaders were educated at comprehensive schools. He feels this will ensure the majority will not be forgotten as education policy changes with a possible new government. He then reflects on his disappointment that an iconic Joy Division song has been chosen for an important video when there were possibly some better choices. Frank ends the chat by discussing how inspection should not be used as a crystal ball. It was fun to take part and we hope you enjoy some of the light hearted moments as well as those that perhaps make you ponder on leadership and education policy.
36. Frank and Stan Chat No. 191
33:02It has taken a while but it was great to have Mags Bradbury, the Head of Social Responsibility and Civic Engagement at University of Manchester as our guest. Mags previously led the Coop Group's education programme which included their early foray into academy sponsorship. In fact, Mags was instrumental in encouraging Frank to apply for a senior role with the Group. This led in turn to him being appointed the CEO of the Co-op Academies Trust. The chat kicks off (it is the Euro tournament at the moment) with Kendra explaining the importance of creativity including music and art for the development of children and young people. She describes a number of events she has witnessed recently where learning and development have been enhanced through creative engagement. Mags then gets two free kicks as she explains the importance of raising awareness of the political system to young people and how they can come to terms with their beliefs and values. She then considers the importance of kindness in leadership. Frank raises the issue of the Welsh 20 mph traffic limit in some built up areas and how it has quietly reduced the number of serious accidents, reduced insurance claims and saved around £34m in the first 6 months through less serious road traffic accidents. The guests consider why this good news isn't news in many places. A great chat. The final week for Kendra stepping into cover Stan so a big hug for her encouragement, support and great viewing figures in the past week or so.35. Frank and Stan Chat No. 190
35:25With Stan taking a couple of weeks away from the chat we are delighted to have Kendra Allen as the co-host. Kendra has been a longstanding follower of the weekly chat and has appeared on three separate occasions as a guest. The chat kicks off with Kendra discussing the level of abuse online that female politicians receive and why this makes it difficult for some to consider a career in politics. Frank then offers some insights into some appalling comments made about Angela Rayner and why he respects her life journey and her commitment to her home area. Kendra then rolls through the various party manifestos published this week and the lack of serious attention to education matters. Frank chips in with some thoughts on scorecards, the pride he felt when he realised 1 Angel Square, his former workplace, had been chosen as the launch venue for the Labour manifesto and the enjoyment he got from attending the Forum Strategy Symposium this week. All good stuff with a dose of light heartedness thrown in as well. Frank added later that on reflection he may have implied that Forum Strategy was responsible for the lack of ethnic diversity amongst senior trust leaders. This is far from the truth.
Frank and Stan Chat No. 189
33:13Sometimes major news stories have relevance for education and the way they show poor leadership and/or judgement. This week's faux pas was not directly about education but it demonstrated poor judgement and a lack of awareness. John Cosgrove former headteacher, author and freelance writer joins Frank and Stan as they unpick the decision of the PM to miss part of the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy. As usual, we move the chat towards an education scenario and Stan compares the decision to missing the leavers' assembly because of a less-than-important appointment. John then considers why education doesn't appear to feature in the various leader debates that have taken place and what this may mean for the future direction of education policy. Frank then asks others to consider whether 16 year olds should have the vote and links this to the conscription/community work furore. It's a good' un. Enjoy.