In a recent poll I saw of online what teachers feel they cannot live without, teacher besties was right up there at the top. While I see why, another part of me couldn't help but think about all those teachers who haven't found their teacher BFF and how they must be feeling seeing this feedback. In today's episode, I aim to balance out the cosmos and offer you some huge perks to NOT having a teacher bestie at school! #controversial 

Ending the school year on a positive note is a tricky art form. Many teachers go nuts with the games and sweet treats but that gets students all riled up and hyper! Many teachers love a countdown but that can get students feeling anxious or in a hurry to leave and get out of this "hell hole". So how do you end the school year on a positive note? How do you encourage your students to be reflective and bond as a class? Listen to this episode to learn how!

As I wrap up my 13th year of teaching, I wanted to share 13 lessons I have learned so far! Make sure you share your own top tips in the comments section below:

A lot of us teachers can relate to the internal struggle of taking sick days. Many of us have big issues around knowing that there is so much we are responsible for and not wanting to let our classes down or have colleagues have to cover our lessons. It’s during times like these when we realise just how important we are and how much lies on our shoulders! Sometimes though, it’s not healthy to push yourself to go in and this episode will give you the pep talk that you, and I, need to do what is best.

Behaviour management is a tricky business. It's not something anyone truly prepares us for when we're training, and there is no guaranteed strategy or formula that will work every time. However, in my 13 years of experience including working in an extremely challenging London school for the first half of my career, I have determined some fundamental codes of conduct that I stick to regarding behaviour management that I really believe make a difference. Listen in to today's episode to learn more!

Admittedly we probably don’t spend much time at our desks during the school day, but once the kids leave, we still have a lot of work to do. Somehow we need to find the motivation to knuckle down and get productive, be that in lesson planning, grading / marking, going through emails etc.

In order to get that stuff done, be it at school or once we get home, it’s important to have a motivational and inspiring work space - it makes all the difference! So listen to today's episode to learn 6 ways that you can make your teacher desk or work space more motivational and inspiring.

One of the wonderful things about teaching, is that effectively we are our own CEOs of our classroom or lessons. We’re the boss. We decide how to run it. And like all CEOs, we develop and improve when we reflect on our practice.

So I have developed a 4 step process that I try to do on a regular basis, that will challenge you to ask specific questions in order to help you improve your practice in order to help you become an even better teacher!

Since doing these meetings, I have got my lunchtimes back, had more patience, tackled projects I have been putting on and am working towards my goals every day. Listen to today's episode to learn how you too can hold these effective CEO dates with yourself!

Staying organised as a teacher can be exceptionally hard. We have so many responsibilities and hats to wear, unpredictable events happen and so many deadlines to keep on top of! In this episode, you will learn a range of different ways you can organise your teacher life in just 10 minutes!

Job hunting is a two way street. Sure, you want to make sure you're impressing the school and are showing them you're perfect for the role, but you also want to know you're applying for a school that is right for you to be working in. After gaining more experience in my career, I soon learned what kind of culture I'd like to work in and staff morale plays a significant role in this. Listen to today's episode to learn my top signs to look for to determine staff morale when applying for jobs.

Have you noticed the rise of the teacherlebrity (teacher "celebrity"), particularly on Instagram over the past few years? There is so much amazing content being shared online that is so inspirational, but I've also noticed that it's having a detrimental effect on some new teachers in particular. In this episode I share with you my thoughts on this new phenomenon and tips on mindset to keep ourselves grounded.

Differentiation: it's a crucial element of teaching to ensure all your students are able to access your lessons. However, it can be incredibly time consuming to adjust your lesson in multiple ways buy creating a range of resources, printing on rainbow paper, a variety of fonts... You just don't have that kind of time but you also don't want to let your students down; herein lies the catch 22 situation!

In this episode, you will learn some ways that you can differentiate for your students "off the cuff" while teaching and how you can rethink ways to plan your lessons that automatically differentiate for the varying needs in your classroom, saving you time and #teacherguilt!

We all have those days as teachers when we're just not feeling it. We know we have so much to do but just can't get motivated! In today's episode you will learn some secret tricks to help you eliminate as much resistance as possible to help you get done what you need to get done, and keep going!

So Spring is here and that means it's a perfect time to start some Spring cleaning! This is a great time for fresh starts and brightening up your surroundings so today's episode is all about decluttering - the teacher edition!

A cluttered space is a cluttered mind. Your brain is always trying to make sense of the world around it. The more clutter you see, the harder your brain is having to work to decipher what is important. That is going to mentally exhaust you.

You're also likely to be wasting so much precious time if you're surrounded by clutter as you’re going have to make your brain work twice as hard to rummage through all the unnecessary things around you to find what you’re looking for! 

Listen to this episode to learn how you can take practical steps to start decluttering your space, whether that's a classroom, a desk, a cupboard, a trolley or just a bag - start getting rid of your clutter today and save yourself time and mental exhaustion.

Recently I’ve been tackling a lot of the commonly asked questions on from a survey I sent out to my email subscribers a few weeks ago - this one was the highest requested with over 70% of you relating to the problem of dealing with an overflowing workload.

I hear you, I’m there with you and an overflowing workload is something all of us have to deal with. There are many factors that can affect workload including what stage of your career you are in, what kind of school you’re in, how long you’ve been there etc.

But something that can help is to consider that perhaps it's not all about the load but how you carry it? I know that quote can cause feelings of discomfort as it forces us to take some responsibility instead of just moaning about how things are, but I‘ve found there is some truth to it and in this episode you will learn some secret skills I use to help manage an overflowing workload!

One of the biggest complaints us teachers have, is feeling like we don't have enough time to get our job done. I get it, I’m there too. It is phenomenal how much we are expected to do in one day, not including teaching the kids…!? In this episode you will learn some practical ideas for how you can make small changes that will help you feel like you can find the time to fit more in your day!