The Headteacher Update Podcast offers practical and useful advise, ideas and insights to support the work of primary school senior and middle leaders. Out on the first Wednesday of every month, each episode features a panel of school leaders discussing best practice relevant to the primary phase.
Listen to our latest episodes via your streaming service or by clicking below.
This episode looks at how primary schools can boost pupil attendance, including tackling persistent absenteeism and supporting families, with lots of practical ideas, tips and insights from three school leaders
This episode considers what effective middle leadership looks like in the primary school, including subject leadership, handling Ofsted's subject deep dives, and strategic middle leadership.
This episode considers how primary schools can balance their budgets, raise funds, and make the most of limited financial resources, offering a range of ideas and tips for income generation and reducing expenditure.
This episode discusses effective appraisal and performance management practice in primary schools. Three experienced school leaders discuss the principles of effective appraisal systems, including elements of a successful appraisal, and tips for setting objectives.
This episode tackles Ofsted school inspections, offering practical advice, tips and anecdotes for primary schools – including on subject deep dives – to help you thrive when the inspectors come calling.
This episode considers the consequences that poverty has for children and their education and offers a range of practical ideas – large and small – for how primary schools can address these.
This episode considers effective parent/carer engagement and asks how we can create parent-friendly schools, with lots of tips for engaging parents in school life, their children's learning, and for building positive relationships.
This episode looks at how we can support pupils as they make the transition from primary to secondary school. The discussion features two secondary schools and two of their feeder primaries. We consider common transition challenges and solutions with lots of tried and tested ideas for transition interventions and activities
This episode takes a practical look at how primary schools can support our most vulnerable pupils, including looked after children and those living with trauma and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).
This episode looks at how primary schools can teach reading well and considers the components of effective whole-school reading (and literacy) strategies, looking at how to ensure that every child leaves primary school a fluent reader.
This episode considers what outstanding governance looks like in the primary school and offers tips and ideas for how headteachers can build professional relationships and work effectively with their governors – and vice-versa!
In the second part of this episode, we speak to three colleagues in primary schools about their safeguarding work, examples of best practice, and useful ideas. We ask how schools can ensure that a culture of “it could happen here” permeates all of their safeguarding work
This two-part episode offers advice and tips for good safeguarding practice and how we can work to keep children safe. Part one features Headteacher Update’s resident safeguarding expert Elizabeth Rose, including advice on latest trends, best practice, online safety and making referrals
This episode considers what great school improvement practice and processes look like and how we can ensure school self-evaluation work is effective.
This episode looks at how digital learning in schools is evolving in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and what it will look like in the months and years to come – with lots of ideas, examples and suggestions for effective practice.
