The Secret Life of Teachers

8. Teachers Behaving Badly

In the final episode of the series, Mehreen Baig hears outrageous stories of teachers having sex in classrooms, taking drugs in the staff toilets and engaging in other forms of illicit behavior in schools. What happens when a teacher’s dating profile is discovered by the students? Is it ever right for a teacher to have a relationship with a student, even when they have left the school? And what happens when a teacher’s past social media posts come back to haunt them in the classroom?

7. Parents’ Evening

Host Mehreen Baig is joined in the secret staffroom by three teachers to talk about coming face to face with sweary dads and badly behaved mums and breaking the news to them that their precious child may not be the angel they believe them to be. Would you want your parents’ evening to be conducted via Zoom? Are they still an essential part of the teaching - and parental - experience? Or are they just a waste of time?

6. School Trips

Host Mehreen Baig is joined in her virtual staffroom by three teachers to discuss field trips, residentials visits and the joys - and horrors - of school trips. What are the benefits of taking students out of the classroom? How do teachers ensure everyone stays safe and well? And will these excursions become a thing of the past in the age of Covid-19?

5. Bad Behaviour

Host Mehreen Baig is joined in the virtual staffroom by three teachers and hears their stories of bad behaviour in the classroom and how they manage it. From their worst experiences to the heartbreaking decisions they have had to make on the grounds of safety of other students. Mehreen asks: what is failing? Is it the education system or the home environment? And how can schools ensure that no child is left behind?

4. Student Mental Health

Host Mehreen Baig is joined in the virtual staffroom by three UK teachers to discuss the increase in mental health issues among students. She asks whether it's a recent development or if the problem has been present for years without much public acknowledgement. Are we likely to see an increase in cases as students process the events of the pandemic? And just what are the expectations on teachers as the lines between educator and counsellor become blurred?