Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of Teaching
Repeat. My name is Dylan and my name is
Hayden. It's Hayden and Hayden here
again. And don't don't worry, this
isn't the episode from last week.
I know Aiden late in the same top again, but it's not the
episode from last. Week.
I don't have many, many teachers, right, Dylan?
No, you don't. Where's the key?
Yeah. Where's the key?
Sorry, I thought I saw an inmate on the screen, but.
Fresh out of gaol. I love, you know, I'm not only
having an inmate, I'm an inmate from France.
As always, listeners not watching completely pointless
content for you? Welcome back to this podcast.
Ohh, is that it? That's it.
I thought I was gonna let you take the reins.
This is ladies and gentlemen, this is what this podcast would
be if I didn't take the lead. But ohh, Dylan's always
interrupting and there's even This is why.
OK, so here's here's going to happen.
Aiden over? To you, Aiden.
Alright Ellen, over to me. So Dylan, how are you?
Yeah, bit of a cop out. I'm good, pal.
I'm good. We are one week in to our New
Year's resolution targets. We are.
So anyone who listened last week, it was all about the new
year and we set ourselves a competition because resolutions,
Honestly, I used to hate them. Whenever I did them, I would
always be like that person. Why would I wait until January
the 1st to make a change or just make a change straight away if
it's necessary? Well, the reason is because I
don't make the change. It's something to make me.
Do it? Exactly.
So we made a competition. Are you still on your daily
streak? Still on my daily streak of
fasting. Good.
So can you, how's that going? It's going really well,
genuinely. If anything, I'm adding in like
an extra. Hour.
What? The details now then tell us
actually, what are you doing? You're eating from when until.
When? So basically the loose rules are
I eat between lunch and dinner, That's it.
So I have lunch and have dinner and in between that time is
fine. The technical timing I'm giving
myself are 12 to 8. So it's an 8 hour window you're
supposed to do for this particular.
Does that always work? Though and like a newborn around
do you ever find you're like I need to eat now that she's
fussing about to do this and. That I found it worked even
better. Because dinner, I think we're
we're quite good at just having on time.
Yeah. Whereas lunch.
I suppose it's easy when you do nothing for the baby.
Ohh yeah. Was he saying?
Yeah, no, I did actually wonder because I thought have it cause
you used to have a really strict times on your fasting, so I
thought that's not gonna happen is.
It. Yeah, well, basically, right.
The only thing that often becomes late because of the baby
is lunch. OK, so it just delays my start
time, which actually makes the fasting even longer.
So quite often eating lunch at 1:00, then still have dinner at
like 6, half 6-7. Change that.
And then realistically. I've just had a long feeling
Cramps, you, feeling pain, even hunger.
Fine, I thought. Absolutely fine.
I feel like what you should feel like because I'm eating our
food. Yeah, a day.
Good point. I can't remember it was someone
was telling me before that, you know, in the same way like we've
just there's just made-up things in culture, right?
And we all just accept that's it.
Like the order of the alphabet, just things.
Like no one questions. It's just the thing.
Yeah, but objectively, would it really matter if C&E swap?
Yes, what I mean, right? And someone said to me one day
they were like, I think someone to do fitness.
Like maybe some of the worst Pi can't remember.
But they were like, you don't. There's no actual reason that we
have breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Yeah, like that. We did just make up.
Then we have to have those free meals at those.
Particular is not just because it's like when we wake up we
wanna eat. I don't know, maybe.
But they they were talking about how, you know, for a long time
in history, those things didn't exist.
You just ate when you're hungry. You just had food when you and
it could. You could go days without food.
And sometimes they didn't even have food back in the day when
they were hunter gatherers. Exactly.
So if you had to go another day because you didn't have any
food, then you have to go another day.
We've just got really used to. Ohh, I have to.
I have to eat. My dinner, there's a whole adage
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
I know so many people who don't eat breakfast.
I mean, I'm sure there's something in that.
I'm sure there's something to do with your metabolism.
I don't know. But I'm not fussed by breakfast
and and kind of flipped to you where you're not having
breakfast. I am having breakfast now and
it's like I that's the one me and I feel I have to force down
me. Yeah, I don't like eating in the
morning, not really. But by 10:00 I'm hungry and I'm
like, well, that's what I'm. So do you feel better?
I suppose is the whole point of this is like do you actually
feel, I know obviously throughout this you know process
when we come on and talk about it, we're gonna talk about like
the weight loss and stuff because at the end of the day,
whatever we're doing, it's gonna cause a calorie deficit and
we're hoping to lose weight. But genuinely, the number one
goal is do you? Feel better in yourself?
Not yet. Really, no, not yet.
Being honest with you, I feel I feel the same.
But I have done this diet before and I do remember it taking a
few weeks to kick in and feeling pretty good after that.
But at the moment I just feel exactly the same.
I think I just need to do it for a bit longer really.
I mean, you obviously feel different then.
No, I I don't feel massively different.
This is a really weird thing because I've done this.
So I'm doing the daily challenge review and my challenge is to
not eat sugar. And to clarify, I mean like, you
know, the most obviously added sugar, high, hyper, high
process, super palatable foods like crisps and yeah, you know,
Pringles and chocolate and snacks and things like that.
All I'm doing is simply eating breakfast, dinner and lunch and
not snacking that order. Yeah, Ohh.
No, ignore my comment about the culture.
We Dylan. Doesn't.
Yeah. What do you mean, culture?
That breakfast, lunch and dinner in order and, you know,
everything's homemade. Yeah.
So no takeaways because? It's in the process.
Exactly, yeah. And when I say takeaways again,
I mean like McDonald's KFC for example.
We had a Nando's that time. I know Nando's sauce will have
some sugar in it. I understand that.
But the point is that I'm not having those like ultra bad
things. Because normally would have a
Nandos and then you'd smash like an entire bar of Dairy Milk
exactly, exactly and have like a milkshake and terminates.
Yeah, exactly. That exactly what I'm doing.
I'll have three refillable full fat Cokes, right.
So I've not had any sugary soft drinks.
I've just had water and I've had I think again because I want it
to be sustainable. When we had Nandos, I did have
some no added sugar lemonade, right.
So again, I'm not having all the time. 95% of my drinks have
been. Water 0 Sugar Lemonade not no
added sugar. That's.
Very Ohh yeah, 0 sugar. Yeah, there's no sugar.
But. But the point being that 95% of
my drinks now look at that. You know how much refuge change
that is for me? Yeah, I've not consumed any
chocolate. I'm not consumed any crisps.
Now the thing I wanted to talk about quickly was I don't have
that horrible pang that I've had every other time I've done this,
where after three or four days I've had this horrendous
headache like like intense in the front of my head, like, get
some sugar down you. Yeah, but the last time you did
it, you went. I did think it was a bit
extreme. You went actual, like,
completely no sugar. Yeah, that's a good point.
Dylan didn't eat anything with sugar, and I'm talking like
bread, like literally anything with sugar in it.
Didn't eat just completely, completely cold Turkey from
sugar, which was a bit silly, really.
Well, suspect it was, but I felt unbelievably good.
But then you got the headaches and all.
That yeah, I did. But I got through the headaches.
That's what I mean. I was waiting for headaches to
finish and then you get through them and then you feel so much
better, Sure. So at this point I'm not
worried, but I'm kind of like, well, I've not had them
horrendous headaches. But honestly, like for dinner
and lunch and stuff. Lunch.
I've had chicken breast salad, so that's nothing.
Mornings I've had egg on toast and for dinners I've just
constantly had something home cooked from home.
I've been cooking a lot. I've been doing spaghetti
bolognese. I've been cooking a Curry.
Yeah, so all all that stuff is homemade and it is good, but
I've not had those pangs. I'm like, I'm either getting
away with it and this is brilliant or something's not
happened yet. It's on the horizon.
But yeah, in general it's good, it's really good.
But moving on from that nice little catch up with you guys
there, we're going strong. So we seven days now.
Yep, I'm going for as long as possible.
I want it to be like a. Lifestyle for you?
Yeah. I'll bet you it's not that
ultimate competition and mines harder.
So yeah you have got more extreme ones fair.
I need to start adding in a bit of your diet to mine.
Yesterday when I sat there in my yeah, my Meringue tart.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, in my in my window. Your window.
I've had 74 Dairy Milk bars, but it's in my window.
Anyway, how's your week at school?
I've been back. Yeah, it's it's been all right.
Yeah. I mean by all right.
I mean, yeah, you know, it's working.
It works work. We did a little part.
We're gonna have a lot more coming in later on.
But there was a there was a thank you so much on our
Instagram. By the way you follow us at tech
support podcast. Let me say that again at Teach
Sleep repeat podcast. Do find us on there because
we're often putting on polls. We use that in our podcasts.
And the first question asked was, how are you feeling about
going back to work in 2024? Really split down the middle.
Now I know we're massively right towards teachers, but I did have
some friends on there, some other people to follow us who I
know aren't teachers who also went back to work in 2024, so
they're involved in that too. But it was really interesting to
split 30% of people mostly positive, 30% of people mostly
negative. OK, 40% of people neutral.
Ohh right. Dead split down the middle.
So really, really even split. And I just thought it.
I looked at that and my first thought was, that's all right,
yeah. But if you really think about
it, going back to work is what you spend your life doing.
It's what you spend over half of your awake time doing.
Hmm. The fact that it's 5050 on how
you feel about it is unbelievably bad, isn't it?
Like, it's objectively terrible that half of people, well, let's
think 70% of people were neutral or negative about going back to
do this thing they do for most of their lifetime.
Yay, capitalism. Baby capitalism, baby.
And I don't know, it just made, it just made me think.
When you think deeper about it, it's mad our society where we're
like, oh, that's all right, that's my other, OK, you know,
half and half, 90%, that's up. Yeah, that's up.
I know. So it's just I I thought that
was crazy. But personally, in the moment,
the day before I went back, Hmm. And when I was in school, I felt
great. Yeah, I was positive because I
get to see my kids. Yeah.
I love seeing my kids. I love seeing my work colleagues
I like. I just remember something.
Go on. What you laughing at me?
You're my work colleague. I love seeing my work
colleagues, love seeing the kids in my class.
That was brilliant. That was brilliant.
But very slowly, the reality does hit you at 5:45 when I was
still at work on Wednesday, because I finished.
When I passed everything over, I'm like, OK that.
Yeah, there. Is lots to do.
Just lost completely. My initial feeling from day one
was ohh man this is. So we've got.
Children now, Yeah, they're just makes it that bit more
exhausting. I just remembered you talking
about you've seen your kids and stuff.
I went into the staff room hands and Dylan was in there and he
had his phone out. This is so cute really.
He was just standing there looking at pictures of Rory
cause he'd missed him because it was lunchtime.
He hadn't seen him for like 3 or 4 hours.
He was standing there looking at looking at his own pictures of
his child. Yeah, he's taking all his.
I miss him. Just was so cute.
Rory could be in my arms, just chilling, yeah.
And I'll look at pictures of him.
OK, that's weird, yeah. Just, I just want to look at him
all the time. And any time anyone asked me and
they're just being polite. Classic small talk like
Christmas. OK, don't ask me that, don't ask
me that. Because of me.
Within 10 seconds, I like his picture of Rory smiling over my
shoulder. The Christmas tree.
Everyone. Everyone at work.
I've just obsessed. I just.
I miss. I miss him when I'm with him.
Like what do you think I feel like at work when you're with
him. Yeah.
I miss him when? When Especially when he's
asleep. I know people mean now.
Yeah, I'd like. I know it's exhausting and it's
tiring and stuff but when he when he goes to sleep.
Yeah. Ohh, I missed you.
I wanna see you. So I just watched him phone and
it was good. Just good.
It's a good feeling. Yeah, it's nice.
It's. Good.
I'm thoroughly enjoying having a child, despite the sleepless
nights sometimes. But last night she slept all
night. Yeah, for the first time.
Like a whole night's. That's unreal and.
Crazy. So good.
You had that about this time, didn't you?
Remember. Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, just been like it's something.
Wrong. I know.
Because we were we were up from like 2 till four.
Watching him wait like you're up by now.
What's going on, man? Sleeping.
Yeah. Unbelievable.
But other than that, yeah, instantly.
Horribly exhausted is my phrase that I wrote down for how I felt
about going back to school. Made me appreciate being at home
a bit more and just being with with my gals and yeah.
Very, very, very grateful at this point and that we took that
plunge to go part time. Yeah.
And took what was a risk at the time.
And we're not like don't want anyone to listen thinking we're
massively monetarily numerated for that.
Like it's not like we've we're unbelievably like.
We had a scary time, didn't we, When?
Yeah, last year we sort of went part time and then the cost of
living crisis all kind of kicked in and our kind of like customer
bases were yeah, we were like, oh, we've just gone part time.
Could you all come back? And they did over the year like
we got to do a really good place.
But it was it was it was like scary at first when when when
suddenly you're this is the thing that always keeps teachers
in the job as security. Yeah.
Right. So when you go part time it
sounds like all roses and people always take the Mick out of us I
think, which I quite enjoy. I'd rather people be doing that
than being like are you OK now take the, take the.
Make of me when I'm walking out on a Wednesday.
Ohh, you want Monday. But like, there were certain
times I was like, haha, but you know, I did.
We did sacrifice hundreds of pounds to try and hope that this
other thing works. Yeah, but and many.
Years of grafting on. Top of That's the thing.
It wasn't. I don't know how we did that,
man. No, we couldn't do now.
I'm glad we did it. We.
Did it? We did, didn't we?
About how tutoring helped us go part-time.
Go check it out. We talked about our story of
going part time and how we built our.
Business. It's one of our biggest, biggest
episodes of almost 60, yeah. And all I would say to people is
don't. This is interesting because I
know, I know, I know, I know, I know.
We're going to talk to people in the future who have left
teaching been successful. I, you know, I don't want people
to think it's all roses and simple.
It's not OK You don't quit and then hope it's a three, 4-5
years of working. Constantly evenings and
weekends. Creating curriculums, making
stuff, building business to be able to do that.
So don't just you see the light and you think, oh wow, you've
done it, there's a bit more. Complicated.
You see, the Instagram rails are like 2 steps on how you can
become financially free this. Year, Yeah, No.
Or if it was just two steps and everyone would.
Do do some drop shipping on Amazon.
No stop. But anyway other than that I had
one funny thing and one thing that I just kind of want your
opinion. Really so funny thing one of the
I've got. I've got the nicest class this.
Year. I know because I thought so
nice. And they're my babies.
They're just lovely, man. I just love it.
Anyway, one of them is, boy, I like in the class he was really
sweet, like he's got such a nice personality.
He came in, it was just post Christmas and he got this little
literally just a little plastic bowl, right?
And it's got a button on it. Hmm.
And if you roll it, it always lands on on this button and then
it makes a fart noise. And he was so proud of it,
right? This gives really genuinely so
chilled and nice, normally very quiet.
And then it's just about to start my input in maths and my
door opened, he's in another class and this ball came rolling
in. I immediately knew what it was
and it landed and everyone did this fart noise and I could just
see him giggling and laughing outside the door.
Like, you just think of the situations where that would
annoy you, right? Other classes or particular
children. But no, that's really because it
was him, because he never does this thing and he knew the right
time. He hadn't started really.
I was just getting people sat down and it just really made me
laugh and it made my day and it made his day.
With a different teacher, that would have been a huge.
Problem Big Yeah, I think he knew.
But but this is my point. Though I think this is my point.
Bigging you up a bit sometimes. Who cares?
It's sometimes who cares? Yeah, look at this.
It's not a blanket. That's always bad.
But aren't you awful? Come on, they're human being.
Less than one. Yeah.
Like, if anything, it just the most important.
That's a bit happy, yeah. Happy, like, cheered up.
It doesn't come back to school. Yeah, it was funny.
But he knows, like, there's no way.
One, he would never do it again. Yeah, the joke's over now.
And some kids would do it. They see you laugh at one time.
They do it might make more times.
And it's like, yeah, you wouldn't do again.
And there's no way he would have done it in like, a natural,
crucial time. Yeah.
So it's just. Yeah, ohh blessing.
So that's that. That's good.
There's another slightly funny thing, OK, I don't know what to
do about really. Alright.
And this is where you might. You are about teacher.
So because I do like to have a bit of fun with the kids, do ya?
And maybe sometimes maths blows up.
Mask done any of that this year? That was nuts.
Like what was wrong with me last year?
You. Were almost think I lost.
The plot, Yeah. I.
Think we both did? Lost the plot?
Great. Time to start a podcast where
both Yeah. Yeah, if you don't want blow,
dark matter is go and just listen to any of the, any of.
The episodes and just hear. About the insane things was
doing last year of Mass. So obviously I joke about my
baldness with the kids sometimes, right They're bored.
I'm bored. If you didn't know if you're not
watching bald, you might. I don't sound like it.
I know. Sound like I've got a lot of
hair. Can you?
Can you do a voice if someone who's bored?
Like what? Someone who's bored, Someone is
bored. Ohh hello everyone.
I'm I don't have much hair. Boy, my voice sounds a little
bit different now we've got lots of hair.
It soaked up the soaks up, the was thinking.
More Ross Kemp. Alright mate, I'm bored.
Anyway, from extras. That's it.
So yeah, a few jokes. And obviously you've joked about
it as well. So you've you've trained
children to say OK as. Retaliation for being called an
ogre everyday. Let's make that clear.
No, I'm. I'm the Gruffalo.
Works in year four, right? Yeah, Yeah.
There we go. So he's trained kids to say make
jokes about my baldness. Anyway, the free hairs.
Yeah, I'm gonna. Stop and and then the kids At
one point this song, the song like baldy Baldy over there,
you've got no hair, something like that.
Like Baldy Baldy over there. What's it like to have no hair.
And a couple of them sang. Never thought that like a break
time. And I was like did the whole.
That's so cheeky because you can't say that.
Anyway there's nothing more of it.
They just wanna giggled or run off until umm, I was dismissing
the kids at the end of the day. Yeah.
And are you small sibling OK of one of the children who's not
ask us. We're a Junior School.
They they must be in like year one or something.
Come running over really excited and when ohh dear baldy got no
hair ohh no What's it like to have no hair little kid?
I don't know who this child is on the playground like in front
of all like the parents and my kids.
I'm dismissing. I'm like ohh was so awkward
because my instant reaction was I need to tell this child off
because that's like they've crossed the line.
I don't mind it when kids understand the line and they
know why. Joke I don't even know the kid
in my class. Their sibling has obviously gone
home and. Said.
This is what we've said to my teacher.
And I'm like, Oh no, this is where it goes wrong.
Yeah, because that's not OK. No, that's where.
You've made your bed and you have to line it because that
situation you cannot possibly then tell her off like her
brother's done it in school to his teacher shouting at the
yeah, yeah, no, no, no, Ohh. So I was just I was like ohh
this is so cringe and I hope the parents aren't listening cause
anyone if I was, if I was a parent and saw that I'd be
thinking about teachers. Got no control.
OK, so. Here's the thing, then.
That is the point, isn't it? If you if there's something that
happens and you wouldn't want parents to hear it, then it's
not good, is it? I don't know.
Because it might just be that I think they don't know the
context, so. I guess so, but in that.
Situation I wouldn't want them well.
Yeah. And this is the problem with as
a teacher, especially in year six when they've had five other
teachers or 6-7 other teachers ever who have this line where
that's not acceptable for you to.
Then in year six we're like, Oh yeah, that is acceptable.
That's obviously going to go around and be like.
Yeah, because I'd feel if we had another bald teacher at school,
Yeah. And then they went and did that
to them. I would feel awkward because I
don't want to presume that you're OK Sure.
Sure, sure, sure. Exactly.
Yeah. And it could work with children.
I think the onus is always on us.
We need to own it. Own it.
And be like, OK, yeah, that's my problem.
Yeah, so own it. I cried.
And went off. Yeah, you did.
You did. It was just really.
Awkward. Just stop doing that.
Well, no, I. Think it's just when I look
over. To you.
Then you realise. Yeah, it's me.
Get on my high horse. I think you just have to own it.
Years of saying it's OK now. No.
Now go and get Lord Baltimore his lunch, please.
Thank you. Yeah, but anyway, all good.
So that's a long 20 minute. It's a really long term.
Didn't even talk. About your day what?
Was going to say is there's a whole thing a minute with darts.
Been up for the darts because the maths doubles trebles and
things. The only thing I was going to
say, it's been a whole discourse on like the news and stuff, like
GB News and why they keep going on about it.
And it keeps popping up. Like call for darts in schools
because it's good for maths class.
No. Yeah.
Like, no. Like I I, I watched the darts
and I was like, that's really cool opportunity.
We can use that. Of course we can do it every now
and then. Yeah.
Amazing. What do you mean though?
Call for ducks? Are we just gonna do doubles or
you replace? Them maths and yeah, we're just.
Gonna it's a really cool tool and we should as teachers be
looking for tools and I'm gonna use it at some point and I think
it's great and we can watch YouTube videos or get a magnetic
dartboard but it would be the same as getting a fractional it
would be the same as getting some counters it it's just a
resource the idea of like course written score.
Look at his look at his yeah this kid didn't get GCSE maths
so didn't get any like he he didn't pass his maths GCSE's and
he's amazing at darts as good as you can possibly be at like
arithmetic and stuff. So that does show that the darts
isn't the answer to get kids to their GP.
Yeah, it shows. It's a really cool thing.
That's amazing for that one and that can really help a lot of
kids. And what he's done is
unbelievable as all the way behind him.
But let's not pretend that Ohh, let's put that into while
they're not doing that in schools.
Again, because it's not useful for the curriculum like as a
whole, it's useful for a bit. It's also a.
Very specific end game kind of knowledge, doubles and triples.
But. Also an adding yeah, but it's
the start on 5/01 is the instantly knowing what they're
down to. Yeah yeah.
When they hit some darts and what they need to change to,
like if they miss, they know exactly what stuff like that.
It's a cool skill. But when my kids don't know the
number ones to 10, Yeah, that is not that.
Darts is the absolute end game of that kind of knowledge.
It's like that's not something I'd ever want to do with those
kids. Yeah, unless the darts went up
to two. Can you imagine?
Me is like one and two only. I just, it's just I I get it's
cool. But I'd probably only do it as
like an enrichment activity with the best mathematicians really
at the primary school level. Like we're on 200.
And 73? I've just hit 318.
Two sevens and a four. What am I left with?
Yeah, and. How many of your kids?
Well, I. Didn't do it.
It's not relevant. I watched arts and I absolutely
can't do that. Yeah, it's a skill, isn't it?
Like it doesn't. I'm good at maths but I cannot
do that. Yeah, I've not learned that
skill. It's a cool.
Skill to have. No no harm in teaching the kids
here. Please stop telling us to put in
well the timetables already round.
Ohh. That's that's like a a call
forward to you know what we're going to talk about is the
timetable. Fit for purpose?
That's cool. Let's do a.
Jingle and come back to that question.
So Hayden, before the Jingle I asked you one simple question.
Is the primary school timetable fit for purpose?
Thanks for. Reminding me Dylan.
I hadn't. I hadn't remembered that, no.
How many times have we made that joke we are?
So record you know. OK, let's let's dive a bit more
real. Answer OK, real answer.
Now, so the primary school timetable, it's a very generic
question. We're gonna go into lots of
detail about lots of different parts of the timetable, the
amount of stuff we have to teach, the order we have to
teach it, the proportion of what we get for each lesson, etc etc.
But in general, what is your first response to this question?
Because it's a big one at the minute, a lot of discussion
around it. Is the primary school timetable
fit for purpose? Does it meet a goal?
Is it? Is it there for a reason?
Is it good? So if someone.
On the street asked if I wasn't in the podcast right now where I
know we're gonna talk about it forever, and someone just asked
me that and they wanted a fairly quick answer.
My gut reaction to that is I don't think so because it
doesn't feel like we can fit it all in.
OK, I think that would be. That's kind of like the big
answer, which we can dive into a bit more.
But it just doesn't feel. I constantly feel like I'm not
doing all of the things I should be doing.
Or you'll speak to teachers from other schools and like, what?
You only do three lessons of that week.
We do 5. Because then the curriculum says
you have to do five of these. Yeah.
And it's like, well, we can't fit.
If we do that, then we have to drop something else in another
school. The thing you dropped to be
like, oh, no, you can't drop that.
That's really important. We do.
We we make sure we do an art and DT lesson every single week of
every of every term. And we're like, OK, well, we
can't drop that then it does just get to the point.
If you carry on doing that and then go for that analogy, it's
like, OK, we can't actually fit it all in.
So what would your answer be like you know, if someone said
to you, no. OK, so you're given the the
ability to now design A timetable because you're saying
the timetable itself is wrong. There's almost two prongs here
of the timetable and the amount of stuff we have to do.
So OK, the amount of stuff we have to do is too much.
Agreed. So then what would you do with
the timetable and how can you fix this?
If the timetable is not fit for purpose?
What would be your answer? Not saying do less the actual
timetable itself. What do you think is wrong with
it? This is this is.
Where it's really hard because I don't think that.
I think it's hard to answer that question because I'm, I mean,
maybe you've got an answer but I'm not sure the timetable or
anything to do with the timetable is the solution
because I do. I think there is literally just
too much to fit in. I don't think there's any
magical timetable you could do. Yeah, with this curriculum where
you feel like you've adequately covered every subject to the
level that they're supposed to be covered in.
OK. I don't know.
What do you think? Well, we asked again on
Instagram a simple question. Given the power, would you
change your schools timetable? Nothing to do with what needs to
be covered. So let's try and focus down that
narrow bit I suppose for a minute.
And 58% said, yes, I would change it.
Now 42% said they wouldn't and I think that's boiled down to
what's the point in changing it. Yeah, we love same thing you
said. Well, what's the point?
Because then we'll just be missing four they.
Just got a good timetable, exactly.
They need to get in touch with us to tell us.
Yeah, but 58% still said yes, I would change it.
And I suppose their point is OK, we've got too much to cover.
But in the current system, one person said to me, I would love
for a bit more creativity. I'd love for a bit more of a
chance for children to be Mystic.
Yeah, I'd hate I I want a bit less of a concentration on maths
and English. Yeah, that's and science and and
you know, although they're important, they certainly do
take up a huge chunk of the timetable.
So do you think there's any merit in the timetable, perhaps
changing to reflect the fact that not everyone's got an
English or maths or a science lesson?
Kind of money. There are creatives out there,
definitely. All right.
I think if we just for a minute, we're just ignore the end goal
that the government pressure the assessment.
If we ignore the fact that we all get grilled as a country, as
a profession. If we dropped a mass lesson a
week and actually the standard of mass went down ever so
slightly, but children were happy and doing because if they
if. They did that and got better at
art. There'd be no way of telling,
really, no. And they.
And the government don't care about this, that's why, I mean
from the government have made it very, very clear.
So for those not in education, it's, you know, it's always been
maths and English heavy and science, it used to be a lot
more important. But over the last, like 10 years
we have become obsessed. Obsessed with maths and English
only specifically about nothing else matters.
We will pretend, the government pretend.
Oh yeah, these subjects are important.
But but look at these big league tables we've got and we're going
to compare internationally with maths.
Come on guys, China are smashing us in maths.
Yeah, come on teachers. Yeah, if we just ignored that
for a bit, I think we probably could make a better timetable
where maybe we didn't do maths and English every single day,
even just four days a week. How much time that would free
up? Like most school, I'd say the
majority of schools in this country, based on my limited
knowledge just from talking to other teachers, do maths and
English every single day. Ohh absolutely.
Absolutely. Over 95%, I think.
Yeah. Yeah.
There are schools that don't, I have definitely heard of schools
where it's like, Oh no, no, we we just have like 3 or 4 maths
sessions a week. One of them's in the afternoon.
Yeah, three of them are in the morning, but don't you?
Think that with English and maths in particular there
there's so much emphasis put on them because they're so
important, they come up everywhere, right?
Reading a mass comes up and everything OK, so therefore a
science lesson could be maths, history and geography lessons
could be. Reading history is almost
always, yeah. So there's no reason why we
can't have less English time in inverted commas and more history
time. Well, they're still reading,
they're still learning new vocabulary, they're still going
to be doing spelling like they're going to be doing
handwriting in the afternoon. You can still, you can still do
this kind of stuff built in cross curricula, but less, I
don't know. I feel like with that there
seems to be less structure and a huge thing that's really
important to people in teaching and myself included.
I like structure. So the idea of daily maths,
daily English, three afternoon lessons a week, one afternoon of
PE, one afternoon of PPA. I know my PPA days on a Tuesday.
I know that on a Friday I'm going to do an arithmetic test
in the morning. Yeah, I know that.
I'm gonna check timetables every single day from this time to
this time. I suppose the timetable at the
minute is really good for that kind of structure, yeah.
Yeah, and. Moving away from that, you're
gonna lose some of that structure and that kind of
knowing what you're doing every day.
So in your point of view, how important is it for a timetable
to be consistent compared to all over the place?
This is a tough. One, because I think it does
boil down a bit to personal preference here, right?
I am similar to you. I really, really like a very set
routine, but I think that is because I just the job is so
stressful. Sure.
I think there's there's lots of elements here that are all like
working together. I think if the job wasn't as
stressful, if I didn't have as, if the pressures of maths and
English maybe weren't so heavy, then maybe I would be a bit more
inclined to have a more flexible timetable.
I know that's one of our points to talk about is this kind of,
you know, most schools have a static timetable, I think.
I think most schools, if you went in there, they'd be like,
yeah, on Mondays. We did this on Tuesdays, we do
this weekend. On the table a weekly.
Timetable. Sometimes that changes per term.
Yeah, like I know our certainly does every, every term
afternoons. Do.
Yeah, we'll. Do different things in the
afternoon or whatever. But generally, you know, I'm
saying it's the same time every single day.
But I have a friend who works in a school where they have a
flexible timetable and they will do English at different times at
different weeks. And I'm like, how can you cope
with that? Like, yeah, we just the week
before, we just kind of map out our week, right?
Map out. Yeah.
You know we've got a lot of history to this week.
So when I drop one of the English lessons, we're gonna do
double history and then next week we're gonna pop in another
English in the do you think? That's better, more responsive
it probably. Probably is better, yeah.
Stress. More stressful, I think, as a
teacher. More workload I suppose in terms
of this is the problem with being a teacher at the minute I
feel like everything that makes you a good teacher is extra
workload. So it used to be years ago, you
wouldn't mind, wouldn't care, sitting down and being
responsive and be like, I actually know what it would be
really useful if the children, let's say history, right.
They didn't quite get this topic last time.
So I'm going to use this lesson now instead of starting the new
topic. I'm going to go over it because
it goes from maybe Greeks to Romans or something.
Like there's kind of a thread through there.
Yeah, it's, it's the next step in history in terms of maybe
going from through the Iron Age and the Bronze Age and the Stone
Age and things like that. And they didn't quite get that.
So be really useful for me to actually just sit down, look at
the old time plan a bit of a recap lesson, put that in there,
shift this around, and then we can do an extra lesson in the
morning because you know what, actually that English.
We can drop that off because we've done loads of that.
Yeah, that is objectively much better teaching objectively,
yeah. But it's much more workload.
And at the moment, I I would absolutely err on the side of
saying, well, OK, let's let's just do the lesson.
If the kids didn't quite get it, I'll try and pick up the gaps
during the lesson. But it's easier for me just to
start onto this new topic. And I think that's a big part of
the culture of teaching now, which is shifting, is people are
moving towards the easier option only because they're already
horrendously stressed, the cognitive load huge.
That's it. Isn't it?
It's the cognitive load. They're already.
Working really hard. When I say the easy option, I
mean of that exact thing, yeah, they're already doing 10 million
other things as well. When?
You're cognitive load is already maxed out.
You're not. Gonna make history your priority
to replan and do no when you've got so much stress and timetable
time on English and maths and things like with assessments.
Coming up and all that, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
It's tricky one. Same as PPA saw recently online
took people talking about PPA, flexible PPA or not and someone
was asking like do you do is inflexible?
Like you choose or well. As in like, so in our careers
we've always had static Cpas and it's the same day every week.
At the same time, like Gary, I like I.
Like that? Yeah, me.
Too. Yeah, I like that.
But I recently learned just from reading some stuff that some
schools don't do that. So in some schools, in this one
I was reading about in particular on at the end of a
week, they would get their PA timetable for the next week, so
P. A For anyone who doesn't know is
time out, right, Yeah, so it's. Our planning, preparation and
assessment time, so we just. Time out of class to do whatever
we need to do to get ready. Yes, if you're a.
Teacher, you get you're entitled to 10% a week of your teaching
time, which is normally like half a day.
You might get like an afternoon or morning out of class to
basically just sort out the rest of your job.
Go back and listen to our PM so to find out why that is not so
good. And yeah, this person was
assassinated. I've never heard of it.
This person was talking about getting their PPA timetable on
like the Friday or just at the end of the week before to be
like your PPA next week is going to be on this day.
Wow. So they never know when their PA
is gonna be, so they don't, do they?
OK. That's really interesting
because a big thing about PPA is that teachers aren't to prepare
or market anything for it. So if that's constantly being
changed, like for example, it's Tuesday morning, right, have
just planning. Yeah, thank you.
We'll use that. So yeah, I don't like the idea
of that because I think it brings so many more problems.
And they were saying that in this thread that people talking
about other schools do it as well.
And people like, yeah, sometimes we don't get it as well until
like on the week. So imagine finding out on Monday
morning. Ohh, you got PPA now Monday
morning. I've just planned lessons for
this. Yeah, that's.
Awful. And I didn't.
Plan for Thursday. I thought maybe that was gonna
be my PA again. Do you plan your?
Yeah. Do you plan your PA time though
in terms of I know for example, in PA next week, right?
I'm going to be planning some English for week 4 of term.
I never. Planned it?
No, no. But what?
Sorry, what I mean is, do you plan your time?
So my my time in PPA? I've got PPA.
I know that. OK, cool.
My PA is on a Tuesday. I know I've got to do something
for Friday morning. Now I might say getting my P I'm
gonna get that Friday morning job done.
So I know I don't have to do outside of school.
I I've chunked my PA on Tuesday now to say OK for the for the
first hour I'm going to get a couple of lessons planned for
week 4. Sure.
So my point is if that's moved or taken away it might scupper
your plans. Might my my swallowing.
Apparently it's scuppered my plans in terms of OK, I was
going to use that time to do this.
It makes me less. I'm already not very organised,
so the minimal thing I can have control over of I'm doing work
in school, my PPA. If that's been moved round, I
feel like that would set me off. You're right.
Because actually I do for example we do Friday like
arithmetic test on Friday sure. And I do often plan it for that
week in that week PA, PA And it's just one of the things I do
every week. It's like I'm gonna plan this
week's arithmetic test because we always do it based on the
most recent like understanding of their of what we write them
we write them arithmetic test. So if your.
PPA were coming up PS on Friday afternoon.
You just got to do that now, Yeah, yeah, Yeah.
At some other point, yeah, it would be.
Really annoying, so I don't like the idea of flexible PPA.
Let us know if you to, because I don't know, I don't actually
know anyone personally. Yeah, who is in that situation
where their PPA is decided upon flexibly each week like that
sounds horrendous and when it's set.
When it's set though, like I just when it's moved around,
rather, it feels like there's so much more opportunity for it to
be dropped off. Whereas when it's set, it's
like, OK, everyone knows every Tuesday the sports coach is
gonna be doing this and that. Didn't you do a?
Poll Yeah, I did a. Poll on Instagram and it was
basically what is your PPA consistent, So vast majority as
we expect, 75%, yes, consistent, still not as high as I thought
it would be. I thought it be much higher, 15%
of people have it moved around. Wow.
That's. Way less good.
Yeah. So this is the thing that I
just, I never understand 10%. Yeah, clicked lucky if we get
it. And I don't get it because in
the timetable, to me PPA is sacrosanct and very luckily it's
sacrosanct to our management as well.
There is never a question, it's not even a thing.
Whereas I think I've worked in schools before where if you lose
your PPA it's like, oh God, I'm like you're kind of like your
thumbs and you're like, could you please Sir, may I have some
more all? Right.
We'll we'll take you out of that really crucial lesson to give
you some BA. Please, Sir.
May I have my basic rights as as a as a worker in your place.
Yes, of course you can like, so I know how it feels.
Some people being like, yeah, give taking it away and then
they feel awkward to ask. Yeah, well, that's.
What toxic schools are all about that if you work in a toxic
school, you know this feeling of you feel bad for the things that
you should just have. You're what you're owed.
You feel bad for asking about it.
If you're in that kind of place, get out.
Get out. Honestly, it's not a good place.
You should feel empowered, yeah, to be given what you deserve.
I don't even. Feel that empowered.
I just feel like it's just a thing.
Like if if ever we missed, for example, we went back on a
Monday, which was bank holiday, sorry, we went back on a Tuesday
this year, you would have missed your PPA.
Wasn't even a thing. It's just like, OK, it's planned
for this year. You're gonna get this release
time. So in that respect he has moved.
But that's because you weren't gonna get it.
Yeah, and now you've got it. And I've worked in schools
before where if there was a bank holiday, so one person, Mr PA,
right. But one year group, let's say
Miss PA. Yeah.
The answer would be no one gets P that week then Yes.
Yeah. What?
Excuse me. Yeah, Like I still need 10% of.
If you're gonna be picky, give me 10% of four days, then it's
half an hour less. OK, well, I'll still take it.
The answer. The answer is not.
No one gets it. The answer isn't just a scrap PA
for the whole timetable. The answer is sorry, no.
Give me my 10%. So.
Been there as well. I think that's quite common.
The response often back to that is we had Monday off and the
whole of Monday off doesn't matter because.
That's not that's. Not my it's not working time
though it's not. 10% of my working time.
It's as simple as that. So I worked four days that week.
Cool. What's 10% of four days?
Nought .4 of a day? Thank you.
Give it to me. I love that.
Yeah, literally. Honestly, it's unbelievable.
There we go. So timetables could be flexible
in terms of subjects. We agree that that's probably
probably objectively better because you can respond to that
need. But PPA, I think we agree that
that needs to be a set in stone time.
So do they are together? They don't.
Obviously they don't do it, I think.
Well, OK, they can do because other weekend settings though.
Yes, yeah, of course they. Are so we never move stuff to a
Saturday. We never moved off to a Sunday.
Yeah. So we just never moved stuff to
P afternoon. Simple as that.
Everything. Everything else to move around
through. But that.
That's as sacrosanct to me as a Saturday or Sunday.
But I guess. I guess it's more about what the
kids do, I suppose. Yeah, the kids can just always
do the thing they do in PA. Yeah, that's the one thing
that's static. Yeah, so.
What sports coach, for example? Or have music?
Yeah, whatever. They do in PPA in your school.
They just always do that. That can never be changed.
Because then that helps the specialist teachers and we'll
come on to specialist teachers from.
But it helped specialist teachers because they know.
OK, Tuesday I've got your 4. I'm working through the sporting
curriculum of year four. Every Tuesday I'm gonna do
basketball. Yeah.
The music specialist might know. OK.
I'm doing recorders for year five on on a Monday.
Yeah. So every Monday.
I know I've. I've got that consistency as
well. So is the timetable fit for
purpose? I think a lot of the time it is.
It's fit for the purpose of delivering as much of the
curriculum as possible. But it depends what your purpose
is. I think that's the point I
wanted to make from this. And we're going to talk about
different types of children in the 2nd and disruptions and
things. The timetable itself in my
opinion can never be technically fit for purpose because it can
never be fit enough to fit in everything.
Yeah, however it is fit for purpose in that it depends what
the purpose of your school is. If your school is concentrating
on ensuring their massive English drives up, you can do
massage every day. If your school is in a situation
where actually you can afford to move and drop in inverted
commas, again some English and do history which I still think
the English and to enrich your children even more objectively.
Good. So what the purpose of your
school depends on your timetable.
That's why if you walk into 10 different schools you will see
ten different timetables. There is there is no like set
way that you walk into a school now.
If you're a parent for example and your children, your child's
going into school or is already at school.
If you move to schools, they'd have to get used to a brand new
timetable. So it is the timetable fit for
purpose. That's down to your individual
school. What's your school's purpose?
It's never gonna be able to fit everything in that we're
supposed to. But what do you want your
children to get out of it? What I think is important for us
to to realise because you're more, I think anti saying no
it's not and I'm more yes. I guess the point is what we're
really disagreeing on is what is the purpose of going to school?
What should the purpose of the timetable be fulfilling?
And I suppose if you're saying enrichment and being able to
access the whole curriculum properly, it's obviously no,
Yeah, yeah. It's never gonna work, Yeah, but
if you. Accept that it's never going to
work and be like, OK, well, I can at least have an impact on
my school's curriculum to meet the purpose that we've all
agreed is important. Yeah, then schools do have that
autonomy to teach however much time they want.
There is nothing actually in the curriculum, is there, that says
you have to teach maths every day?
No, not. At all.
It's just. It's just that.
Maths curriculum is 80 pages
long and the geography curriculum is 2 pages long.
So what do you think is gonna happen?
And we're tested on maths and we're not tested on geography.
Yeah, what do you think's gonna happen as a result of that?
Regardless of. Best intentions Obviously people
are gonna hone towards mass, so spanner in the works then?
Just thinking again about this sort of timetable being flexible
or whatever, being a big, big push for a long long as I can
remember anyway in teaching. Maybe been around for a long
time of having things like visual timetables in classrooms
for children with special educational needs.
Sen registered children routine can be really, really, really
important for those children, hence the visual timetables.
Do you think it could have a negative impact of having a
flexible timetable or do you think the visual timetable is
enough to be like, no, they're fine, they've got that changes
every day like where I see you? Mean.
I think so, yeah. So basically you're saying a lot
of children like routines are being flexible is gonna disrupt?
Yeah, and make them feel visual. Timetables are useful.
I do like them. I think they are useful.
And I think it's good not only for special educational needs
for anyone in the classroom to know we all have that child who
walks in and says what we doing today.
Yeah, well it in this afternoon. And sometimes they are just
being nosy and sometimes it just sets their mind at ease.
Especially, for example, if you work in a school like us which
blocks there afternoon learning into weeks.
But the children don't ask me anymore what we doing this
afternoon. They say what we doing this
week. Yeah.
Said we're doing this week and I'll say we're doing geography.
We're gonna look at rivers or yeah, we're doing DT We're gonna
look at mechanisms and hinges and things like that.
And I love telling them that they get excited and they what
they can go home and look at hinges or they can look up
rivers and things like that. That that is enough for some
children, Yeah. But having it laid out on the
board visually, even if it helps one child in your class, it's
clearly a good thing. Now, I know for a fact I'm not
very good at keeping on top of it because that's just me as a
teacher. Yeah, I need to, I need to stop
monitor basically because. But the monitor, a really good
thing to do would be to choose a monitor who's a child who would
use the visual timetable. That's nice because because
then, you know they're they're naturally going to come up to
you and what's going on today. And it's no longer an
apprehension for them because they just want to know
themselves. Oh, I want to know what's going
on. Do I ask him, do I not?
It's just they come up and ask me and it's in the masquerade
off because you're doing the visual timetable on the board.
Yeah. So there, what we're doing
today, not only are they getting the answer straight away, but
they can pretend or not have the pressure of it being for them.
It's for the class goes on the board.
So it's certainly something this year I need to get more on top
of. Yeah.
I've taught children in the past, not many, to be honest
with you, But I have taught children in the past who are
really anxious about the timetable and they really need
to know what their day is going to be.
And I get it right and I do find that, and it is slightly
flexible it they're still not really satisfied.
They're still anxious all morning knowing that their day
is probably going to be different to what it was
yesterday. So the benefit, I think the
small benefit of having a really static timetable where it's like
every day it's just the same, it's just maths, English and
then this thing as in on a Monday, it's always this rather
than like it's another lesson, one that changed.
It will be whatever. We do on a.
Monday we always do topic. Geography.
Yeah, or just topic yet? Hasn't even got a subject name.
A lot of schools don't have, like geography and history.
They just have topics that have those subjects weaved in them.
Yeah, I think so there's a massive benefit I think for
those children when it comes to just they just know what a
Monday is. Cause Monday is the same every
single week. Yeah, but yeah visual timetable
was really, really good way. Yeah, definitely, definitely
recommend them. I found them a nuisance in the
past. I'll be honest with you.
I have had plenty of times. I'm like do I have to do this
And it might be just because I've had.
I just haven't had any children in the class who have benefited
from it or that you. Know would benefit I know of.
Yeah, yeah. And retrospect.
I think it was a bit naive of me because I've definitely had
glasses before. I'm like, I haven't really
bothered updating it and actually there could have been a
child in that in that room, even one.
Child, Then it's worth it. Especially if you make it
autonomous. Yeah, all you need to do is say
what's happening. I do now.
Yeah, it's so easy. I just have, I just have a
monitor who comes. I pick someone who's always in
on time. Yeah, because they come in and
they just update the thing every day and it's just so much easier
because no one. There's no anxiety.
So very easy thing to do. Big win and it links.
To that classic thing you and I always have, which is there is a
difference between something that's objectively wrong and
I'll argue to the cows come home about teacher pay and government
and and funding and stuff like that.
But there is then just stuff which is just an opinion.
Yeah. So like when when I I personally
would would I would I make and print off a visual timetable?
No. But I actually think it's the
best thing to do That is that is my incompetence coming out.
You know, it's not, it's not me saying I I disagree with them.
There are there's things I don't do because I don't think they're
useful. This is not one of them.
This is something I don't do because I just don't stay on top
of it. Another thing to think about.
I agree with it. Completely cool.
Just bad at doing it, exactly, yeah.
Yeah. Do I make my displays look
beautiful every time? No.
That's a conscious choice because I don't care.
I don't think that's remotely useful.
This is. I still don't do it all the
time. Yeah, that's something I need to
work on, for sure. Should.
We talk about the big hole in every in everything that we've
been discussing here, the massive burning, burning hole
that ruined everything we've been talking about to do that.
OK, so the problem, the big, big problem is here.
No matter what you do with your timetable, right, you're always
going to feel stressed because children represent OK and that's
nothing to do. It's not.
I'm not complaining about them, but people are absent, People
are sick, People miss learning. So we put so much thought and
effort into this crowned timetable where it's like we
couldn't possibly drop a thing. Yeah, we can't do it because
everything is so important. And then the kids off for a
week. Yeah, well.
No. Can we catch them up?
No, because the timetable is crammed.
We. Could we?
Could. But then they miss something
else. Yeah, they missed.
Something else, I think we. Can look at the macro here and
just call it disruptions, right. So absence is a huge disruption
and I think, I do think there's a whole episode brewing on
absence because post COVID, the attitude to making sure children
are in in school. But not only absence lateness.
OK, it is. I can't describe as a teacher
how valuable the time is. We've been listening this far.
You understand how valuable our time is and how much we cram in
and how every minute is actually put in place because we have to
work towards something. That's how it is.
OK, so if every day the child is coming in at 9:30, yeah, 9:45,
ten. The problem with a static
timetable and that point is that means one thing.
They're always missing half of the same lesson.
It's not being spread out. It's not like, OK, listen,
you're late for whatever reason, not here to judge people, not
here to put anything on the children, especially whatever.
Children are going to be late sometimes, if they're
consistently late, there's an underlying problem.
We need to get to the bottom of that.
Let's try and fix it. No judgement at all again, but
it's something we need to try and sort out because we have a
static timetable and at the time you're going to miss half of the
same lesson. If you're missing half of the
same lesson 3 * a week, that is going to massively detriment
your progress in that subject and there is literally nothing
we can do as a school or as teachers to mitigate that.
The only thing we can do to mitigate that would be to take
that child out of a different subject and try and shift it
somehow, but then that's detrimental. 2 subjects.
It's never the same nightmare, isn't?
It happens a lot. Like, you know, if you're if
you're not in the teaching world, you'd be surprised at how
much this sort of thing happens. I've had possible classes in the
past where I'd have like one or two children who just every
single day just turn up between anywhere between genuinely
between 9:00 and 11:00. Yeah, somewhere in that.
In that time. And you just think.
And I never ever once, like you said, make it really clear,
never get cross with these children.
No, you can't get. Frustrated, but because I'm
frustrated, I'm like, I want you to.
Try not to even show them that because if like if a nine year
old is turning up to school an hour late, I guarantee you it's
not the nine year old fault. It might be on the odd occasion
they've had a Strop in the morning and their parent comes
in. But you know it cause parents
come in, they go, I'm really sorry, but they just, God could
not get out of the door this morning being a pickle.
But when it happens three times a week consistently for months
or years, it's like, OK, don't ever get annoyed at that child
because he's absolutely not their fault.
It's not their responsibility to get to school at nine years old
on time. So it's a really hard thing to
do. You do you get frustrated
though, because you're thinking they've come in half of my
lesson again. They've missed the entire input
again. I've now got to give them the
input while everyone else now has to just wait and do
something else because I was going to do something with them.
It's really frustrating. And that's just absence.
And that's just like morning absence.
Then you get things like this doesn't know me a little bit and
I know I shouldn't get annoyed because teachers holidays,
midterm like part half of me is like, do you know what life is?
Life is too short. I agree.
By the way, go and. Enjoy it, but for me right now
as a teacher it is really annoying.
Though they have now just missed the whole week and and I and I
don't have time to catch them up.
I'm expecting to catch them up. There's difference.
As a professional and as a human.
As a human honestly and I don't know should be saying this is a
teacher but I I don't care. Do you know if they go away
somewhere of their family. Yeah and it's that like once in
a lifetime opportunity and they and they go in enrich themselves
somewhere else right. I'm I'm just like have great fun
and their and their parents save 2 grand by doing it then have a
good. Time.
Have a good time. I loved it and I always make the
kids when they come back. I'd never ever.
I make the point of not being like holiday in term time.
I always go, you have a nice time.
That's really good, right? We've been doing this work hard.
Let's crack on. We're not going to go back
through this stuff, but you'll pick it up as we go objectively.
Objectively, clearly missing a week of school isn't is is going
to impact their progress on certain things.
It's going to be harder for us to catch them.
It's gonna be extra work for us to catch them up, you know?
It is just an extra load on our minds.
Can I vent? For one thing that I've had one
time in the past, right? There's one experience.
This is the only time I've ever got annoyed at an actual midterm
holiday, because when they met When holiday For two weeks.
In the middle. Of term I would.
Argue two weeks, by the way, is much different to one week,
yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Two weeks big. That's like, that's like double
it's it's almost that's like triple wow.
And when they came back and didn't have a problem with it, I
was just a bit like, it's a bit annoying for me, but fine,
whatever. You've been on holiday.
It wasn't until I got a formal complaint written in because I
hadn't. We did some fun stuff in that
two weeks and I hadn't, like, planned ahead to reserve some of
the fun thing for this particular child like that in
like, retrospect, right. I don't want to go too much.
Rocket, you mean? So you did something really fun.
I did something nice whilst they're whilst there cables off.
Yeah, and. Then, yeah, the parents had
expected me for when they got back to have reserved this
thing. So they got to retrospectively
do the fun thing as well, right. I I honestly, I had to like, I
had to remove without, you know. Yeah.
And I'm just horrible. Yeah.
So I was like, I can't speak to
this person because I would just be like, what are you talking
about? You took, you chose to take your
child out of time and out of school in term time.
You missed the stuff in term time.
I'm not. That's not my problem.
So. I'm gonna, I'm gonna save you
here from sound of the grumpy old man, because if the child
was sick, what would your response be?
Then they were off. They're tough.
They missed it. I don't know.
I just think but would. It be.
Would it be as angry? No, not as angry.
That's why I guess not as angry if they've gone on the way in a
lovely all expenses paid 2 week holiday somewhere.
Yeah. And they didn't get an ice lolly
in the afternoon. Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, OK. Yeah.
No, I think that's justifiable, though.
They were just sick. I'd feel bad for them.
Yeah, that's what I mean. Appalling.
And they didn't want to lose it. That's my point.
You wouldn't be angry, but like ohh, that is good.
You you've got no control over the fact you were ill.
You didn't go on the holiday. So you know what?
Maybe I'll try and get this thing in place for you.
I'll try and do this instead. You wouldn't necessarily still
you because you wouldn't know the real you wouldn't move a
whole day to another thing. That's when they're ill.
You'd feel bad for me. Like, I'm sorry, mate, Let's try
this instead. Yeah, depending on holiday, You
know, for a formal complaint. Guys I know.
You're so annoyed at that, Max. So I guess the one other thing I
want to talk about, and I hope lots of teachers feel on the
same boat and I understand the importance of this.
And this has happened in every school I've worked at.
This has happened in every school of people I've talked to
is, and it's linked to the timetable.
Maybe not being fit for purpose is that even though we're doing
English and Maths everyday, there are going to be children
who are on the cusp of something, a grade that they
need to try and push to, for our for data to look good or for
their progress from Key Stage 1 to be where it should be based
on, again, the government's overlooking eye and the league
tables and things like that. That I I reckon every school in
the country has interventions which are extra groups for
children running outside of English and maths time,
obviously because they need English and maths that go creep
into afternoon lessons now cards on the table.
I would much rather every child simply receive the whole
afternoon lesson. I'd much rather whoever, whoever
they are, the work that's gone into differentiating a task or
changing something so that it's suitable for everyone in your
class, for them in the afternoon then to be taken out for half an
hour to do a group. Yeah, it doesn't sit right with
me that they should lose history time or geography time or
science time because they didn't quite cover something in the
every single day coverage of English and maths.
Yeah, where do you sit with that?
Because again, that's to do with the timetable.
It's is it fit for purpose. They're not going to reach the
level that the government have decided should they miss out on
their history and I have spent. Nine years, very passionately
trying against interventions genuinely.
I really, really, really don't like them.
I don't like them. Ever.
Full stop. I just don't like them.
You know if your school has some magic time where you can run
them. So what about?
What about? You know, for example, I don't
know if assemblies happening. Yeah, so.
That's to me is like the only one where it's like, OK, you can
justify it a bit, eat. That's still missing something
that everyone else is getting. At the end of the day, we just
don't value assembly generally in schools as much as like a
lesson. So that one I'm like, OK, if
you're going to do an intervention, limit it to
assembly. So how do kids?
What's up? Through quality teaching.
Just think, honestly, it has to be free teaching.
English every single day. Yeah, we're.
Doing, Yeah. So I mean we're doing massage
every day, every year. Curriculum basically recaps the
last year's curriculum and adds a bit more to it.
There's just got to be a point where we say, well they are
doing 5 hours of that week or six or seven hours of that week,
15 minutes intervention, it's just.
They do not do that. Last bit they're doing.
Six hours of history a term? Yeah, they're doing 7 hours of
mass a week. Should we do some merchant
master in history? No, I've.
Always hated it. So I've always been very again,
I've always been very very vocal as well to help if if RSL will
listening for like yeah here we go.
So can I do I'll say it all the time like let's stop do let's
stop doing this. And I'm usually speaking about
afternoons. In fact I'm always speaking
about the same I hate kids missing.
I also from a selfish perspective and nothing annoys
me more than an adult coming into my room when I'm halfway
through an input and I've just got them all hooked on some
topic they might not have been that interested in.
But I've managed to get them hooked on it and say, well, can
I have so and so, so and so, so and so and so and so.
And it's the four children. You know who it is?
Yeah. It's the four children who need
to be in that room the most. Hence the reason they're in an
intervention to catch up on something.
They find learning harder. Yeah, please do take them out of
the end of my input and the start of the task so that when
they come back in, they have no idea what they're doing.
They're behind. Yeah, got it.
Annoys me so much. It's.
Frustrating. It is frustrating and it's the
same frustration as when a child's late.
We just, it can't be accepted. If someone sits there and goes,
yeah, it's it's quite frustrating when the child comes
in late or misses, you know, half an hour or less, isn't it?
Yeah, it can't. Then we can't then pretend it's
not frustrating when a child, she's half an hour of your
lesson for a different reason. It's still frustrating for the
same reason, yeah, only this time we have complete control
over it. Would you take?
A kid out of a maths lesson to an English intervention?
Of course you would. Push wouldn't.
So, so another, you know, side to this coin is OK, we're just
teaching the kids that these subjects are just not important.
Yeah, history. Not important.
Go out and do some maths. Yeah, so.
You know, in the past I've ran intervention groups.
It's my job. I've been asked to run
intervention groups. Therefore I've made them really
useful. They have been maths, sometimes
been English as well, then English.
Writing interventions have done reading interventions, but
mostly I've done maths interventions.
Geography, never done geography intervention, never done History
intervention, never happened. I'm going to take a child out of
masks. Didn't know who Julius Caesar
was. Yeah.
You know, I mean, however, I will take a child out of
geography because they didn't know how to bridge 10 past 98.
Yeah, you know. And you might listen to this and
agree, you might be like ohh yeah, maths, English are
important. Yeah.
And and you know what, I kind of agree to that as well.
But I don't. I just hate the whole double
mindset of we all unanimously agree that Mason things are the
most important. They are just really important.
But that's already. Built into the timetable
already. But also you have to tell the
children and make it really clear that every subject is
equally valuable. And it's like, well, what we
going what do you want? Do you want me to tell the do
you want me to pretend that the children, that these other
subjects are just as important, like that so much work into
them, are all becoming specialists in geography and
history but also not we all secretly behind the scenes.
But yeah, they're not that are they We'll take them out all the
time and do these other things or I don't want.
What are we trying to get across to the kids.
I don't understand. I.
Think again. This is like a personal thing,
isn't it? This is one of those personal
things where this is our personal opinion.
We're teachers. We still do intervention groups,
is the point I'm trying to make. Is still gonna do?
Yeah, of course we are. We're still gonna make them
useful. We're still gonna make sure
children in those groups make more progress like that.
Of course that's going to happen.
But it's just at what cost? And the cost is that they're,
you know, I've done an intervention group before where
it's one of the groups has had to been during their PS during
their PE slot. Yeah, yeah.
And it's like, cool. I think that's nearly more
important than anything. Yeah, they're staying active and
fit. So I might actually be taking
them out the only physical activity they'll do all week,
but that sounds horrendous to me, right?
That that's obviously I'm like that's awful.
And I also, you've got to feel that way for history.
They only get to do history for like you know, a certain amount
of time all year. Yeah.
It's much less than maths and English.
Yeah. So you know the the impact is
greater on the subject they're missing than the impact is on
the subject they're getting. So they're going to have more of
a detrimental impact on what they've missed in history than
the positive impact will be for mass.
Because guess what, they've got master tomorrow and tomorrow and
tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.
So it doesn't add up to me and I think, I think we're both quite
passionate about. I'd love it for it to be a thing
of the past and he's quality first teaching.
It's like how your children gonna make progress.
Really good teaching in the morning.
Yeah, one. Big thing I kind of want to do a
poll on this maybe the episode poll very specific though.
So it's it's to people that taught you 6 and it's about Sats
boosters because I think that's a great poll narrow down like I
actually just wanna know because I don't want to I was going to
start talking about this is every school does it.
Yeah but I don't know if they do.
I just know that schools high school circle by teachers.
Every school has done it Yeah so quite a common thing.
I hate this by the way I am so anti this.
I really really really hate it. A very common thing to do in
year six is before the SATS exams, that big test that the
school is judged on and and the kids, you know, whatever is SATS
booster. So it'll be like the weeks or
even the terms. In some schools I do it for like
2-3 terms leading up to it. There will be extra
interventions in place just to like really get kids ready for
their Sats exams. And again, they'll typically
take place in the afternoon because when else are you going
to do it? I really don't like it for the
same reasons. Intervention.
It's like interventions on steroids.
It's just all the time. But I want to know before I
before I ramble on about it. Does your school do it?
You don't have to be a year six teacher I guess, to know this
but if you work in a school do you do SATS boosters?
And if you want to tell us your opinion on it, I'd love to hear
it. Before I start rambling on it
about it, maybe in another episode on Sats or something.
You. Know the ultimate version of
that, by the way, is some children get invited back in
during half term? Ohh yeah.
Yeah, to into. School to do.
But yeah, it's just like, OK, who is that for at least?
It's not in geography time, yeah.
It's true. It's just.
In their free time, where they have to relax and let their
brain settle so they can learn more, we'll take that way, I
suppose. The last thing then about
timetables is the last thing I wanted to come on because it's a
big again, it's a big hot topic at the minute and they seem to
be a dying breed specialist teachers.
So in terms of the timetable we talked about is the timetable
fit for purpose? Well do you know what?
As a human being who did a PGCE year and two placements and that
was my training, it would be absolutely ridiculous for anyone
to assume that I am the best possible geography teacher.
I'm the best possible music. I'm pretty sure your.
PC was maths specialist, Math specialist.
You're special. I am the.
Best possible math teacher. I'm not even that.
That's the point. I've done math specialism.
I'm not even the best, It's my favourite subject.
I've probably the best subject if I'm being perfectly honest.
As a teacher, you can reflect on what you think your best subject
is to teach maths is. I understand the curriculum, I
understand the, the, the, the points we've got to get to.
I feel very, very confident teaching maths.
I think I could teach maths without any resources.
I really do. At this point I would say I'm at
that point of teaching maths now where I could walk into a room
every day. No, but here's my point.
But here's my point. That is 112th of the curriculum.
Do you feel like that? Do I feel like English?
No, I feel like I'm a good English teacher.
Do I feel that with history? No, absolutely not.
Do I feel like music? No.
Do I feel like that with PE? No, no, no, No other subject do
I feel that close to. However, my timetable is I've
got to teach everything and I've got to teach at a really high
level. And as a culture in school we
have this idea of specialist teachers, right?
But very, very much so. And I'd be interested to hear
other people think. I think specialist teaching is
limited to three subjects. PE, music, modern foreign
languages. If you are a specialist teacher
in a primary school, I reckon it's 99%.
You're one of those 3. OK Why then is it that we
pretend that children need a specialist in music in PE, in
modern foreign languages but not history?
No, no, that can be the teacher, of course.
Not. Geography.
ICGT might be another specialist teacher, but in a lot of schools
the teachers teach the ICT. That is such a niche that you
can't possibly be an expert. And why the coding Exactly?
So I guess the point is, why don't we have more specialist
teachers? Why don't we as teaching staff
if we're looking at the timetable as a teacher's point
of view? Hmm.
Why isn't my timetable maths all morning?
Why? Why don't I teach maths to more
than one class? I'm better at teaching maths
than other subjects. Why aren't I then in a primary
school? It's happened in secondary
school. You have specialist teachers?
One in a primary school? Then do I not have?
Why don't I have four math classes instead of one?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Why doesn't someone else have 4
history classes instead of the closest?
Example I guess would be I'm a year six teacher so I have to
teach every single subject year six level.
But in one year's time every single one of those subjects
will be taught by a specialist teacher and it would be
ludicrous for the idea of a year seven teacher teaching all
teaching every single one wouldn't.
So Can you imagine a secondary school teacher?
It was mainly based in year seven and they're like right
this week you've got to do maths and English, sorry, you've got
to do both. I know you're the other maths
teacher, but would you mind covering this?
All right. You've also got to do geography,
history, PE and RE and they are doing French at the moment and
planet. And planet and planet, please,
and understand the curriculum. What?
I'm one year away from that. Like what?
What are we talking is mental. This is mad.
I mean we've we've talked about in the previous episode when we
talked about Ofsted, we did talk about maybe why it's become so
pressurised now, like you've got to be so specialised in every
single subject, whereas before it was a little bit like maybe
it was a bit more accepting of the reality.
If you're not actually going to be though, are you.
So let's just do like a foundation in these subjects.
But your question. So what was your question?
What we can do about it? Well.
My my point that I was making with specialist teachers is we
we pretend that we need them for these subjects.
Yeah. Or.
Or We do need them for these subjects.
Even. I don't even think.
I think I'm not pretending. They're much better at doing it.
So why? Why?
Therefore, why don't we have specialist teachers won't have
that mindset with all of the curriculum.
Why does it stop at modern foreign languages?
Do you know it's? The same reason.
It's the same reason that if you if you walk into a school,
there's an 80% chance you'll trip over a carpet that was put
down in 1995. There's no money.
There's no there's no money, is there?
Yeah, well, that's. How They save money, right?
Yeah. They say, OK, we're gonna get
rid of the specialist teacher. So the point of being at this
point, we're not moving towards more specialist teachers, we're
moving towards no specialist teachers.
So we're gonna save money. So you have to pay the
specialist to come anymore. But you have to teach PE.
Stressful. What are the consequences of
that stress? It is so.
Stressful and I know you're going to make a point a minute
about what you can do about it, but it is horribly stressful.
You just if you take that seriously, if you take your role
really, really seriously, then you're going to burnout.
Yeah, because you just can't be. You need to get over it.
You can't be. You genuinely can't be a
specialist, like an actual specialist.
You can be good. You can be a good geography
teacher. I've taught this quickly, five
Times Now. I've been the same year.
I'm really good at teaching this unit now, but you're not.
You're not going to be a specialist in geography and
history teaching. It for six hours every time.
Yeah, it's. Just not going to happen and you
just kind of need to not let that impact you in the way that
it would if you really took that seriously.
Well, because. The point being, if you get rid
of a teacher, a specialist teacher, and you pass it on to a
classroom teacher, yeah, I'm not dissing as classroom teachers
whatsoever. We've got unbelievable skills.
But the children won't be getting as good a curriculum.
They won't be getting as good in the cosmos.
So we have a specialist teacher, music in our school, Yeah,
fantastic. If that stopped.
And I then had to teach. In fact, no, I do teach the
music. Never mind.
No, no. But they have.
They have groups where they teach it, they take assembly,
singer, assembly. They have different year groups
where they teach, if they do teach.
And so everyone in year three and four, yeah, gets music
intervention and the. Specialist gives me all the
planning things like that, so I might do something but let's
think more one way. Actually I don't teach any of
it. So something like modern foreign
do do more. So we have, we have a teacher
who do that, right. If that suddenly fell on me, it
just wouldn't be as good. No.
And that's not because I can't be bothered.
I just, I'm not. I'm not a specialist in it.
It would be insulting to the specialist teachers out there
for me to say, yeah, I'd probably be as good.
Yeah, all of them. All of these, of course.
And then the. Specialist knows every Tuesday.
I've got Spanish with year three and I can plan that curriculum
out. That's really cognitive load is
less, they've got more to do. But it's all within Spanish.
It's all within French. It's all within, you know, it's
it's all within a certain subject which they know really
well. But back to your.
Question. I do think it's budget.
I honestly, I I genuinely think if if there was just the money
there, yeah, I don't think I had, teacher would think twice
about it. But yeah, of course we got the
money. Let's get it.
Let's get in these. OK, but why?
Don't we? Why do we stop there?
And that's my point. There will be nothing against me
teaching maths all morning and someone else teaching English,
or more so like a. Secondary school setup almost.
In terms of English and maths, like you know, if you have
teachers who are more specialist and it would take less of a
cognitive load, are we descaling them or is it simply just not
practical? Or is it just against the
culture? It's a big.
Question isn't it? Because it's probably a lot.
You know we probably do a whole episode on there.
Should we teach like secondary schools?
Because I reckon we could really go dive down into maybe it's
because there's more nurturing in primary school and actually
building those relationships with your class and having them
more often rather than like a a form group that go off all day
but if you. Set.
You already did that, yeah? True heart like half the time.
Usually if you set the afternoons, you still have your.
Afternoon. You still have your class.
I mean mornings staff are spitting half half of them,
yeah. For example, one teacher will
teach year 3 English and year 4 English, yeah.
And then I would teach year three-year 4 maths and year 3
maths. So we.
I I've posted this before and I've seen it.
I have seen it happen in schools very rarely and I always find it
weird the counter argument that the only counter argument I've
ever heard to this is ohh no ID skills teachers.
Does it? How de skilled is apology year
10 teacher? Yeah.
Yeah, I think finally. Skilled because they don't know
how to teach physics. And no, yeah, of course they're
they're incredibly skilled at what they do.
Look at what they're doing. The point?
That those people are making is that kind of wide proof it's
future if like realistically most schools don't do that.
So if we were gonna be the one edgy school that you only teach
maths and someone else only teaches English, if you need a
new job in three years time, that's what they mean by
deskilled. It's like you're going to get
employed now and. That's that's a really good
point. It's.
Realistic, isn't it? But again, I think.
It would have to come down to that point, the choice of the
teacher. I'd be making that choice to go
step into that role, knowing that fact.
Yeah. Whereas if the school use that,
that's their score. It's irrelevant.
Other schools are doing, yeah, but you know, you would have to.
It might be harder to recruit people for that reason, but as
as a teacher, I think I'd really consider that actually it's.
Good. You made a really good point
there. There's other situations where
it is acceptable and the outcomes are the same.
For example, our literal jobs were part time job shared.
So someone could say the things you don't do on Thursday and
Friday, you're being deskilled and it's like no one's ever.
Said that to me. But it could be, yeah, no.
But that's what I'm saying to you.
I agree, and it's harder. To get we walked into this
knowing that it would be extremely hard now and it is for
us to go and get another job We wouldn't be able to now just go
on on on look for job advertisement.
Ohh, yeah, I'll go and do that other one that's a job share
Monday to Wednesday, but specifically this thing that I
have now do and because we. Don't teach Fridays, I'm really
bad at non uniform days now. I'm so good at Bank Holiday
Monday, honestly. I'm so sorry.
Job shares, Sorry we get all the bank holidays, but yeah, I think
you know, OK. In general that's a great chat.
Round it all off. Is the primary school term
timetable fit for purpose? Again, yes.
No. It.
It's never going to be fit for purpose because it's never going
to be able to actually deliver on what it's designed to
deliver, yeah. However, depending on what your
school's purpose is, it can be fit for purpose.
We do what the? Government's resolution to this
20 years ago. Yeah.
Remember when they talk to us and was like, oh please, no,
they're gonna extend the school day.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, No.
No, no, no, no, no, no, please don't listen that.
Is. We can't get into that.
Another time, we're gonna talk about why more isn't always
better. More lessons does not equal
more. Money.
Not always. Better don't need it.
Backwards, right. So we pay.
Jingle and then finish off with a little game very quick.
Yeah. OK, quick game.
Hayden, want to make this thing. I want to play games every week.
However, we did really like last game so it's going to stay the
same with each prepared A category.
OK, so for example anyone listening at home didn't listen
last week. This game is called Lies.
You may have seen on Sky Sports they do this all the time.
Yeah, this is where I've got it from.
I've watched it before. It's a very simple game where
there's a category, it might be colours.
Hayden and I go backwards and forwards bidding how many we
think we can answer in 30 seconds.
So we need a timer up. Yeah.
So how many we can name in 30 seconds?
The key part here is that it's only 30 seconds because last
time Hayden's first bid, it's a bidding process.
By the way, there's no need to go in high because we can just
bid against each other. I asked him how many things in
the classroom can you name? And his first bid was 25.
Now could you name 25 things in the classroom?
Yes, of course you could, But can you do 30 seconds?
Probably not. So I think we've learned a
lesson because we went really low, really high last time.
What happens? When we keep bidding, how does
it end? So, whoever.
If for example, if you say you can name 14 if I think you can,
I've got a bit of something I reckon did 14, I'll go 15.
Hayden goes, haha, I was waiting for him to say 15, No you can't.
You call me a liar. Yeah.
So as soon as you think someone is strategic, basically if you
name them all, you get a point, Yeah.
If you don't, the other person gets a point.
So whatever point you want to call a bluff, you say OK, no,
backwards and forwards and then that's it basically.
So Hayden, you've got the 1st. One, yeah, I've got a category.
Are you ready? So when do I start?
I don't want to say no. We did.
We did it. You gonna start the timer now?
I'm ready to start. OK.
So the category is animals with four legs.
Four legs. OK, OK.
OK. OK, definitely, definitely 7
OHH. It's good, yeah.
Yeah, just coughing 9/9. I can do 1000 percent 100%. 11.
Now do I make you do it? No.
I can do 12 easy. Tough liar.
No, I really wanted to but I was really trying to push him up.
Was thinking the. Closer.
We get to 15. That's OK How many 11121212 Did
I say I'm ready? 30 seconds.
Animals with four legs? Go cat.
Dog. Mouse.
Hedgehog. Chameleon.
Elephant, Tiger, Lion, Platypus, Anteater.
You got 18? Seconds.
Baboon ape, yeah. That's 12 ohh.
I got 12 seconds left. Ohh.
I was walking around the zoo. My hearing.
My head then I thought, no, I. I honestly thought I couldn't
find the zoo. What do I see?
One we did last week, I put myself in my doorway of my
classroom and walked around trying to name the things like.
Yeah, yeah. OK, My girlfriend.
One now. OK, My one.
Yeah, I see. I think this is a bit harder,
but maybe we'll still bid to that kind of level.
I don't know. OK, so my one is different kinds
of New Year's resolution. So classic New Year's
resolutions. OK, how many New Year's
resolutions can you name? 1 2 New Year's resolution Yeah,
different. Things people might say for any
resolution you can think of. Loads of 3/4. 5. 6 easy. 7.
Yeah, go later. I knew.
I knew you didn't want to strike at me.
Higher. OK, ready. 7 New Year's
resolutions. Go.
God. OK.
To. Become healthier?
Yes. Yeah, that's too vague to go to
the gym. OK.
Is that one or two you keeping the first time OK to?
Start running that. No you can't.
You can't have gym healthier and running.
OK, to start a new hobby? Yes, that's the thing.
To get a new job. Yes for to resolutions to people
have to. Give you running 5 three seconds
5 so to. Make to make it.
Get a new girlfriend? Boyfriend.
I don't know. One news resolution is that.
The same 1 to get a girlfriend and boyfriend.
Yeah, that's. 2-3 Kings I quit. Smoking.
Quit drinking. Oh my God.
Quit stuff, yeah. Stop stuff my brain.
Get to work on. Time.
Obviously don't be on TV. Lots of times Chris shows and
occasionally would be like, oh we could do this one.
He finds the one where it's like this low stakes listen, I'm
being. I'm being polite, OK?
I've. Got I've.
I've got James on the other line.
Ready. Like James.
It's you, mate. I'll pretend I just freeze.
Up when I'm under pressure. And you don't know anything.
And I don't know. Anything.
Anyway, let's. Finish off.
It's been a longest episode. It's been a proper enjoyable
one. I've loved this one bit longer.
Perfect we're now gonna go through.
I asked last question was if you made it this far through all of
our questions and potentially Instagram, what your top tips
for this year? How can we make this year
really, really cool? Hayden, I want you to rate them
out of 10. How good is this?
Advice out of 10, OK, because you're not gonna know who sent
them because some of these are friends as well.
OK, so ready. Firstly, planning your PPA,
anything that takes longer is just too much work 10.
Solid advice. That was my one.
Next one smile every day. Six.
Ohh. I liked that one.
Nice, simple. Go for it.
Breakdown everything you've got to do into simple segments.
Tick them off as you go. Solid eight, really nice bit of
advice there. I think the best.
Thing we ever got bought, by the way.
Well, I always remember it's one of our head of years.
Yeah. In second or third year of
teaching brought us all To Do List.
Yeah, Do you know? What the advice was from testing
where the health visitor around for the baby and her advice to
deal with post Natal stress and just having so many things to do
was get her To Do List, write it down and that way you don't have
to think about it. So clear for me, and I am much
more both efficient and I forget listings, fewer things when I
write things down. On To Do List.
It actually changed my teaching genuinely little things.
But really important, be antisocial after work.
That is a really good one. I loved that one.
Work is work. They'd replace you within a
month if you left. So just prioritise your home
life. 11 Yeah, I love that one. That is one of the people who
worked with us. That is the.
Man, that is mantra right? Absolutely.
This is really interesting one and I agree, stay calm.
I've been teaching for over 25 years and I love it.
I get chased up, I haven't done anything.
It's fine. That's like.
That advice given from our deputy a long time ago, another
10. These are all such good bits of
advice, say. No to anything that drains you
or that you are not getting paid for.
No2 you should do loads of things that you.
Should if you're a. Teacher, you should be working
for free. I can.
Sense a 10 out of 10 sarcasm. It's all really good.
Prioritise. Keep the children's progress and
needs as the priority. Other menial things can always
wait. 9. Make actual good content instead
of all of this rubbish that you can put on Instagram.
That who sent this? One You wrote that, you wrote
that one. Yeah, it wasn't.
Anonymous. How good is that Ted trying to
prank you too? This one.
Really made me laugh. We used to work with quit.
I I saw this comfort. It really cracked me up.
Good. It's the four laughing emojis
after for me. Yeah, really good.
So yeah, there's resolution. Was the quick, quick best thing
she did. By the way, you listen amazing
teacher. We miss you.
But you did you. Well done.
You do you. You do you.
Make sure you have something
else outside of work that makes you happy.
Gives you some me time. That is a solid 10, I agree.
It's just these are all really important things.
Really, really important. And this one, one of our
favourite people who has been on the podcast before.
You know who it is when I say, OK, not having a baby, So we've
all failed at that. He said that Sophie.
Ohh. I thought it might be.
Yeah, so. I was like, yeah, that that
would be a way to get time because it's just another
spanner in the works, you know? I was just.
Thinking we better wrap up this podcast.
You know why? What can we hear screaming
babies in the background screaming?
Babies. We are gonna have babies.
So stressful. Get no free time.
Whatever. Hour, podcast.
Yeah. OK, cool.
Let's go right. Bye, guys.
See you next week. Bye.