The School Should Be Podcast

How can schools and teachers support Working Class students to pursue Higher Education?

Professor Damien Page [https://www.linkedin.com/in/professor-damien-page-78848242/], Deputy Vice Chancellor, and soon to be Vice Chancellor, at Buckinghamshire New University, joins the School Should Be Podcast to share how schools, teachers and educators across communities can work together to support working class students pursue and sustain a career in Higher Education (HE). About a year ago, Damien shared his thoughts on LinkedIn about navigating the world of HE and executive leadership as someone who grew up in a working class household. The post attracted a wide audience and led to the launch of the Working Class Leaders in HE network, which hosts monthly webinars sharing the lived experiences of fellow execs in HE who grew up Working Class too. On the podcast Damien and I talk about so many aspects of education, from the journey from primary school, to incentivising HE to complement entrepreneurship and the ever changing landscape of Higher Education. This is such a valuable conversation and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did recording it!

Language Matters: how can we teachers and students consciously use inclusive language in the classroom?

In this episode, I am joined by the Sadia Siddiqui [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sadia-siddiqui-528b912/]to talk about how schools and teachers can use inclusive language in the classroom and sustainably nurture a classroom and school culture that is safe for all students. One of my favourite episodes to date, we talk about inclusivity across the curriculum, difficult conversations in the classroom, using compassion and knowledge to build a culture of belonging and so much more! My guest, Sadia Siddiqui has worked in advertising for 20+ years and held senior leadership positions in several London agencies. Four years ago, Sadia launched an Instagram account @_languagematters [https://www.languagematters.agency/], which has over 13 thousand followers, as a space to examine problematic language. Initially focused on race and ethnicity, it has now broadened its focus to help foster inclusive language across all underrepresented communities and groups.

Why should students consider a career in the police force?

In this episode, I speak to the brilliant, Anita Grant [https://www.linkedin.com/in/anita-grant/], Assistant Chief Officer for Trust and Legitimacy at Sussex Police all about why students should consider a career in the police force. We talk about Anita's own journey into the police force (from a background in education and Sure Start settings), her relationship and thoughts about the police growing up and why policing is an attractive, purposeful and impactful career of choice for young people today. The opportunities are immense and we need to be the change we want to see in society. ...plus, who wouldn't want to go on a ride along?! I loved talking to Anita and there is so much for students, teachers and parents to learn from her in this episode, particularly if you know young people who are looking for a little direction with their careers and next steps...

How can teachers and educators ‘close the awarding gap’ for underresourced students?

Sufian Sadiq [https://www.linkedin.com/in/sufian-sadiq-61b2b654/], Director of Talent and Teaching School at Chiltern Learning Trust joins the School Should Be podcast to talk about the importance of teaching and living in the community and how to ensure community engagement and targeted interventions are effective and successful for marginalised and underresourced students. This is such an engaging podcast and so valuable for anyone looking to engage unheard voices and groups of students who have become victims of 'stereotype threat' at your school. It is well worth a listen for teachers and community leaders looking to overcome barriers and stigmas that face marginalised groups of students. We discuss intervention, lived experiences, exams and so much more.

How are you feeling? Being Muslim and Jewish amidst a rise of islamophobia and antisemitism

This was a difficult episode to title. Effectively it is two friends, two educators, one Muslim and one Jewish, coming together in a safe space to talk about how we are feeling amidst the rise of Islamophobia, antisemitism, the war on Gaza, the awful pictures and videos we are seeing day in and day out on social media and the utter feeling of helplessness watching an entire people suffer beyond belief. I met Penny through Social Media and have so much respect and love for Penny's work in the anti-racism space. I have so much to learn from Penny as do all of us. This is the first of a short series of episodes that we will be recording navigating our understanding of antisemitism, islamophobia. Of course we've had plenty of conversations about this, but Penny was one of the first people I reached out to after the Oct. 7th attack on Israel. We checked in on one another and ever since, we've had much needed, safe and heartwarming conversations to somehow deal with the dread that fills our hearts every day. We hope this podcast provides the same for you. Please support much needed aid for Palestinian families here: https://linktr.ee/opolivebranch [https://linktr.ee/opolivebranch] About Penny: Penny Rabiger [https://www.linkedin.com/in/pennyrabiger/]is an ex-teacher who was one of the founding members of The Key for School Leaders and has worked with education start-ups, charities and social enterprises since 2007. She is a school governor and co-founder of the national race equity charity The BAMEed Network. Penny is Lead Coach on the Anti-Racist School Award at the Centre for Race, Education and Decoloniality, Leeds Beckett University, where she is also completing her PhD.