The Happy Teacher Pod

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

Episode 7 - How does effective well-being in schools lead to happy teachers?

This week, Jenny and Roxy discuss how effective wellbeing in schools can help to create happy teachers. We discuss some good and some not so good experiences we have had with wellbeing in schools. We conclude that at the heart of successful wellbeing lies planning and consideration. Wellbeing, if it is a one-off event to celebrate a particular challenge, such as an inspection, needs to be unique, not just something we could replicate ourselves with a few friends. But well being shouldn’t just be limited to one-offs; staff well-being should be built into every decision leaders make. Reducing ‘pinch points’ in the year, for example, goes a long way to helping teachers’ wellbeing.
In this week’s Break-time Banter, we hear a hilarious story from Roxy about a slap of a seal’s bottom intruding onto her lesson (yes, you read that right!) whilst this week’s Get In The Bin comes from Jenny who takes a swipe at well-being that happens before 8.30am!
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
Links from the show:Education Support: the only UK charity focused on the mental health and well-being of education staff. www.educationsupport.org.ukParticularly worth viewing are the ‘Staff Wellbeing Audit Tool’ and ‘Developing a technology strategy to support staff wellbeing’, both under ‘Resources for organisations’.
Anna Freud, Mentally Healthy Schools.http://mentallyhealthyschools.org.ukParticularly worth viewing are ‘the 5 Steps framework - supporting staff’ and ‘10 steps towards staff wellbeing’, a handbook on measuring, monitoring and improving staff wellbeing.

Episode 6 - How do life-friendly schools lead to happy teachers?

This week we discuss with our first guest (!) How do life-friendly schools lead to happy teachers? Welcome to Emma Sheppard, founding director of the Maternity Teacher Paternity Teacher Project, the UK’s only parent teacher charity. I have the honour of being Policy Officer for this charity so it’s very close to my heart. It provides support for pregnant and expectant staff, networking, coaching and professional development during parental leave, return to work workshops and coaching, as well as a focus on how to create family-friendly schools and how to make teaching a sustainable career choice.
Emma provides this week’s Break-time Banter, where we discuss naming our own children and how hard that decision is as a teacher. 
Follow us @thehappyteacherpod on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok and X.
Email the show at: thehappyteacherpod@gmail.com
Links from the show:
Maternity Teacher Paternity Teacher Project

Episode 5 - How do the holidays create happy teachers?

This week, Jenny and Roxy discuss the holidays. We begin with a conversation on the importance of taking care of oneself during term time, not pushing to make it to the holidays and then collapse from exhaustion. We also consider the difficulties of holidays for supply teachers and those on fixed term contracts whilst also pointing to opportunities the holidays can bring. We look at the perception of summer holidays and highlight, that for some, a long holiday can be a period of isolation. Our show notes provide further support on this matter.
Roxy provides this week’s Break-time Banter, we hear some hilarious stories from other teachers whilst this week’s Get In The Bin comes from Jenny who gets frustrated at those that say “teachers get too many holidays”.
Follow us @thehappyteacherpod on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok and X.
Email the show at: thehappyteacherpod@gmail.com
Links from the show:
Anna Freud: Full of useful resources for teacher wellbeing
School and college resources
Education Support: the only UK charity focused on the mental health and well-being of education staff. www.educationsupport.org.uk

Episode 4 - How does good mental health make a happy teacher?

Join Jenny and Roxy as they both open up about their mental health struggles in their quests to be happy teachers. We discuss our struggles with balancing workload with parenthood and how we both found balance and the right schools for us.
In this week’s Break-time Banter, we hear some hilarious stories from other teachers whilst this week’s Get In The Bin comes from Jenny who condemns senior leadership teams that don’t take mental health seriously.
Follow us @thehappyteacherpod on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok and X.
Email the show at: thehappyteacherpod@gmail.com
Links from the show:Education Support: the only UK charity focused on the mental health and well-being of education staff.www.educationsupport.org.uk

Episode 3 - What makes a happy teacher?

In this episode, we focus on what is needed to make a happy teacher. A great school alone won’t create happy teachers; both what you do inside and outside of school will. Roxy and Jenny discuss their lives and what they do outside of school to keep their happiness level high.
As usual, we begin with a Break-time Banter story, this time from Roxy. It involves a dance class and glow sticks! The episode finishes with Jenny giving her two cents on tokenisation workplace well-being gestures and should, therefore, “Get in the Bin!”
Follow us: @thehappyteacherpod on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok and X. 
Email the show at: thehappyteacherpod@gmail.com
Links from the show: Education Support: the only UK charity focused on the mental health and well-being of education staff. www.educationsupport.org.uk