The Happy Teacher Pod

Season 2, Episode 6 - How can you be a Happy Teacher for 20 years?

On this podcast we have a special guest, Roxy’s husband, Dan! Jenny was under the pump with a cake making emergency and we thought what better than to have a discussion about teaching with two teachers that live together and have been married for 10 years.
In this episode we dive into Dan’s 20 years of teaching and how he has gone from being a professional rugby player to an assistant head with everything along the way. Dan has had many different experiences in teaching and has a lot of ‘stories’ to tell and with input from Roxy as they met in a school they discuss how someone long into the profession can still be a ‘happy teacher’. Dan does speak about a dark time in teaching where he was not so happy and his mental health was massively affected.
In this week’s Break-time Banter, we hear from Dan and typo’s in his BTEC sport lessons and how sometimes as teachers we cannot hold in our laughter either.
Dan also provides the ‘Get in the bin’ talking about how his research from the book ‘The teacher and the teenage brain’ https://amzn.eu/d/c9ljl17 has really made him think about the ‘one size fit’s all' CPD approach.
Follow us on: @thehappyteacherpod on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, and X.
Watch us on YouTube at: http://youtube.com/@thehappyteacherpod
Email the show: thehappyteacherpod@gmail.com

Season 2, Episode 5 - How do you grow a healthy school with happy teachers?

We’ve had a very special guest on episode 5 today! We’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Rebecca Leek, who has been a SENCO, a headteacher, and an executive head amongst others. She undertakes school reviews and provides advice and mentoring to school leaders. She has also just finished writing her first book on school governance. There was so much we wanted to speak to Rebecca about but we narrowed it down to diversity in education, what good governance of schools looks like and how permaculture (look it up!) relates to running a successful school. In short, permaculture is about sustainable living through working in harmony with natural ecosystems. Rebecca beautifully applies this theory to schools. She persuasively asserts that if head teachers looked at the range of existing talent they have in their schools, rather than trying to change everything and creating conformity amongst staff, they would have a happier, more sustainable school.
In this week’s Break-time Banter, we hear from Roxy who tells us about the time she got tongue-tied around a headteacher and ended up having a five minute conversation with her about cheese.
Our guest, Rebecca Leek, provides this week’s Get In The Bin.
Find out more about Rebecca by following her on X or visit her website at www.rebeccaleek.com
Follow us on: @thehappyteacherpod on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, and X.
Watch us on YouTube at: http://youtube.com/@thehappyteacherpod
Email the show: thehappyteacherpod@gmail.com

Season 2, Episode 4 -How does lifelong learning make you a Happy Teacher?

Our fourth episode of season 2 discusses how both Jenny are Roxy put a worth on being a life long learner. When we worked together middle leader training was all about being a life long learner in education (links to retention in previous episode - you need to invest in your staff development beyond ECT and tokenistic gestures/one size fits all training ).
Jenny speaks about her being the Chair of the Board of Governors and just signing up to Coaching Level 5 CVP and Roxy speaks about just completing her NPQSL and why that is something that she enjoyed and saw worth in.
If you’ve got into teaching for the right reasons, you love learning so your employers should be giving you opportunities to learn.
In this week’s Break-time Banter, we hear from Jenny and learning on the job especially when it comes to the pronunciation of words!
Get In The Bin comes from Roxy and why even now Roxy loves to learn with others in the classroom rather than online where everyone has their cameras off.
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Watch us on YouTube at: Jenny and Roxy
Email the show: thehappyteacherpod@gmail.com

Season 2, Episode 3 - How do you retain Happy Teachers?

Our third episode of season 2 discusses the teacher retention crisis. Roughly 35,000 teachers leave the state sector every year and 27% of those leaving are women aged 30-39 (that’s people like us!). Despite what the media and the government might say, we don’t have a recruitment crisis, we have a retention crisis. And money alone isn’t going to solve it. The average leaver experiences a 10% pay cut but also a 12% cut in working hours. What’s more, 20% of secondary teachers take up part time roles after leaving the profession. What these statistics point to is that teacher profession needs a reduction in workload and flexibility to be truly embraced by every headteacher in the land. Without these two, the crisis will never be solved.
In this week’s Break-time Banter, we hear from Roxy about the move her colleagues made from PE teaching to train directing!
Get In The Bin comes from Jenny who throws away job adverts that only offer full time contracts. Her Go For The Win is a simple one: offer all roles with flexible contracts. If a role truly requires five full days of in-school work, offer it as a job share, as well as a full time role. If you don’t, you’re missing out on some excellent staff.
Follow us on: @thehappyteacherpod on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, and X.
Watch us on YouTube at:The Happy Teacher Pod
Email the show: thehappyteacherpod@gmail.com

Season 2 - Episode 2 - How do boundaries create Happy Teachers?

Our second episode of season 2 is all about boundaries and saying no. If saying no feels a bit too hard for you, why not use Jenny’s tried and tested phrase: “I’m not on that committee!”. In all seriousness, you are allowed to say no. Requests are only reasonable if you are given the time and capacity to carry them out. We discuss the different ways we have established boundaries but check out our socials for further tips.
In this week’s Break-time Banter, we hear from Roxy about the joys of school coach journeys and what happens when a child has a glass of milk and a Milky bar for breakfast beforehand.
This week’s Get In The Bin comes from Jenny who throws away the phrase “reasonable expectations at the discretion of the headteacher” from job contracts. Listen to this week’s episode to see how Jenny would do it differently if she were headteacher.
Follow us on: @thehappyteacherpod on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, and X.
Watch us on YouTube at: http://youtube.com/@thehappyteacherpod
Email the show: thehappyteacherpod@gmail.com

Season 2 - Episode 1 - How do Happy Teachers keep a manageable workload?

Welcome back to The Happy Teacher Pod and welcome to season 2!
We kick off this season with an episode on workload: one of the key reasons our country is facing a teacher retention crisis. Roxy and Jenny discuss the various ways they have learned to manage their workload over but with an important reminder that the onus should be on the government and school leaders to keep a teacher’s job manageable. Roxy discusses time blocking whilst Jenny sings praises for spreadsheets. They also discuss what constitutes workload; note to leaders: if the work is meaningful, it feels a lot less like work!Check out our socials or further tips on managing teacher workload.
 
In this week’s Break-time Banter, we hear from Jenny who used a ripped clothing moment (her trousers!) as a learning opportunity for herself and her students.
 
Get In The Bin comes from Roxy who throws away lesson plans in favour of well-thought out scheme of works.
 
Follow us on: @thehappyteacherpod on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, and X.
 
Watch us on YouTube at: @thehappyteacherpod
 
Email the show: thehappyteacherpod@gmail.com

Episode 11 - How do Happy Teachers get through an inspection?

In our final March episode we navigate the world of Ofsted and how each time has been quite a different experience. Join us in the discussion to see how public and private schools differ when it comes to inspections as well as what to expect when expecting! Roxy has recently been through and inspection and so she gives her insights into what it was like on the two day inspection and how to handle the stress of the days when they come. We also speak about before inspections and how sometimes the lead up can be worse than the actual inspections themselves.
Remember to go onto our socials in the week if you are interested in some step by step posts on how to approach inspections.
In this week’s Break-time Banter, we hear from Roxy was tasked with speaking with Ofsted inspector and was worried she said the ‘wrong’ thing. Our Get In The Bin comes from Jenny who debates if it would be batter to go from the four stage inspection grading to a simple pass or fail and if this would be better for schools and parents alike.
Follow us on: @thehappyteacherpod on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, and X.
Watch us on YouTube at: http://youtube.com/@thehappyteacherpod
Email the show: thehappyteacherpod@gmail.com

Episode 10 - How do Happy Teachers have a Happy Interview?

This is the follow-up episode to episode 8 on applications. This time, we discuss how to get the most out of the interview process. Student tours, for example, are a great opportunity to get a real feel for the school and to get honest answers to questions you have. We also remind you that YOU matter and YOU are impressive; interviews are a two way process and if something about the school bothers you, you don't have to take the job. If you do want the job, we also discuss the importance of negotiation - that salary is not set in stone. Jenny always negotiates her salary and terms and conditions, and we urge you to too.
Remember to go onto our socials in the week if you are interested in some step by step posts on how to be successful when doing an interview.
In this week’s Break-time Banter, we hear from Roxy who got headhunted through Facebook. Our Get In The Bin comes from Jenny who warns against schools that don't let you meet your prospective department on interview day. What are they trying to hide?
Follow us on: @thehappyteacherpod on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, and X.
Watch us on YouTube at: http://youtube.com/@thehappyteacherpod
Email the show: thehappyteacherpod@gmail.com

Episode 9 - How do Happy Parents Make Happy Teachers?

In this week’s special Mother’s Day episode, we focus on the theme of happy teachers = happy parents. We are delighted to have on not one, but two, guests - Claire Neaves and Florence Norel- who talk to us about how to make the workplace more parent friendly and, by default, more life friendly. Claire and Florence are fellow chapter authors of the book Jenny co-wrote - A Guide to Teaching, Parenting and Creating Family Friendly Schools: The Maternity Teacher Paternity Teacher Project Handbook and so they are fully-fledged experts in their topics! Claire speaks passionately about discrimination in the workplace and how schools can create truly inclusive places to work, whilst Florence talks to us about how schools can help manage working parenthood. Both guests filled us with hope that there are lots of schools out there that are inclusive and do want to keep parent teachers in the profession, fully able to realise their career ambitions.
This week’s breaktime banter comes from Roxy at a time when she was pregnant but hasn’t told her colleagues yet. She makes her aversion to the smell of a certain porridge well known though! Our Get In The Bin comes from Claire who is rightly fed up which school policies that aren’t truly inclusive of everyone in the workplace.
So many amazing organisations were mentioned in today’s episode. If you want to find out more about flexible working, have a look at the following websites:Pregnant then screwed - www.pregnantthenscrewed.comWomen Ed - www.womened.comMTPT - www.mtpt.org.uk. You can also join the Facebook group. Contact them or Jenny if you want to know more about joining your regional WhatsApp group.The MTPT book that Jenny, Claire and Flo co-authored with six other authors can be purchased here - https://www.waterstones.com/book/a-guide-to-teaching-parenting-and-creating-family-friendly-schools/emma-sheppard/9781032043616

Episode 8 - How do Happy Teachers apply for a new role?

This week, we discuss strategies for putting in successful job applications. We speak of the importance of showcasing your USP (unique selling point), as part of our 100% success rate of securing interviews. As well as how to write a really solid application that should get you the interview every time. Remember to go onto our socials in the week if you are interested in some step by step posts on how to be successful when doing an application.
In this week’s Break-time Banter, we hear from Jenny who didn't let a small thing like a very recently broken leg get in the way of an interview lesson. Our Get In The Bin comes from Roxy who speaks about having some kind of disclaimer when there is an internal applicant who the job is made for. Don’t you hate it when you have gone through the rigmarole of applying to get to interview and realise you never had a shot anyway.
Follow us on: @thehappyteacherpod on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, and X.
Watch us on YouTube at: http://youtube.com/@thehappyteacherpod
Email the show at: thehappyteacherpod@gmail.com