The final chat of 2024 sees Eric Craven 'The Scouse Poet' return for his fourth appearance as a guest on the chat. He reads some of his whimsical poems and Stan offers one to him! We also reflect on five chats drawn from the year that made an impression long after they were broadcast. We have been fortunate to have so many colleagues willing to join our chats each week and as we always say these are the real stars. We have noticed that some very high profile guests often receive correspondingly high viewing and listening figures. We have tried here to highlight guests with a lesser profile but who offer fascinating insights. The chats that are specifically covered in this edition are:

Aelwyn Pugh Edition 187

Emma Ainsworth Edition 195

Dr Vic Carr Edition 207

Neil Sheldon Edition 184

Lisa Lea Weston Edition 176

Have a happy Christmas and a great New Year. We are back on 10th January with guests already lined up into the second half of 2025.

Best wishes

Frank and Stan

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Dr Vic Carr was a popular and insightful guest back on our chat in April so we decided to invite her back again. She is a mum to two young adults, the school dog, primary school Headteacher, Reserve Officer in the British Army Intelligence Corps, Chartered Manager, 'CollectivED' Fellow at Carnegie School of Education, Leeds Beckett University, Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Army Leadership, author and TEDx speaker who focuses on leadership, the power of language and how we all have the power to change lives.

This chat opens with Stan again reflecting on how the lack of a clear national education strategy is preventing many who want to drive change and improvement from engaging in a meaningful way. Vic explains how she is managing this period of uncertainty and is trying to hold back from a feeling of disappointment, through having a belief that things will improve eventually. She considers the points made by Sam Freedman in his recent book 'Failed State' that explain the inner workings of the previous government wanting a catchy news item for the weekend newspapers. Frank then gets around his 'no Ofsted pledge' by reading a recent Linkedin article from Adrian Gray on the 'non-event' that was the annual Ofsted report. https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-gray-23642442/

Another amazing chat with a committed school leader. We are the lucky colleagues who have the privilege to chat with so many brilliant people involved in education. Enjoy.

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This week the gents are joined by Emma Knights, the former CEO of the National Governors Association (NGA) and someone who was last on the chat as a guest in May 2021 (our 55th edition of the chat). Emma led the NGA for 15 years and transformed it into a more robust, open-facing member organisation. She stood down from the CEO this summer and has begun to carve out a different role that includes writing insightful pieces for Schools Week on Report Cards as well as enjoying more cultural experiences in the Midlands and further afield.

The chat starts by discussing how Emma has felt moving away from a high-profile role and how the NGA successfully managed the transition to the new CEO. We discuss the changes and developments in governance structures and how they need to continue to move with the times and the demands on the sector.

Stan raises concerns about the Australian government's plans to ban Under 16s from using some (not all) social media platforms. he has concerns on how this will be policed. Emma then reflects on the recent COP in Baku and how it didn't really consider the education angle. This was in stark contrast to the Glasgow COP event. We then consider whether sustainability ought to be a Report Card indicator.

Frank completes the chat by reflecting on a recent meeting he had with two former colleagues who have stepped away from their trust roles. He considers their honesty, sensitivity, professionalism and kindness. Major qualities, he believes in a sector concerned with children and young people's development.

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It dawned on us as we were planning for this week's chat that we had never really covered the area of Youth Work in any depth. Well, we managed to put that straight this week through chatting with Owen Sedgwick-Jell, the Head of Membership and Programmes at the Woodcraft Folk. Woodcraft Folk is a charity that works with young people across the country offering a place where children can grow in confidence, learn about the world and start to understand how to value our planet and each other. It is celebrating its Centenary in 2025 and is keen to increase awareness of its work. Owen explains its connection with the cooperative movement and why it's different to other youth organisations. Woodcraft Folk is run entirely by voluntary donations so if you feel able to support they'd welcome the help. https://woodcraft.org.uk/donate/friends/

Stan considers the lack of an education strategy at the moment and its impact on a range of issues. Owen then reflects on the increase in suspensions and exclusions and the possible reasons for this. Frank then points to a recent evaluation of the Behaviour Hub initiative that suggested pupils felt that standards of behaviour had deteriorated slightly whereas staff thought it had improved slightly.

It's a great chat and ventures into new territory for the Frank and Stan Chat.

Before we reach the closing credits Frank promotes the work of Russell Harvey, the Resilience Coach, who has been a guest on the chat many times. Russell has taken a short break but is now back and available for work. His details are russell@theresiliencecoach.co.uk.

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A regular guest to the chat returns this week as we welcome Carolyn Eyre to discuss developments, insights and future changes to safeguarding arrangements. Carolyn worked in the Local Authority safeguarding arena for many years, first in Education Welfare services before becoming Child Protection coordinator for a large local authority. More recently, she was Head of Health, Safety & Wellbeing for the authority - combining also the roles of Senior Allegations Manager and Safer Recruitment lead officer. Carolyn is well known for her work with FE colleges and is regularly invited to speak at national conferences on topics ranging from 'partnership working' through 'creating a safe school culture' to the 'preventive curriculum'. Carolyn has a particular interest in the protection of children and young adults with disabilities; her knowledge and understanding of the complexities of safeguarding vulnerable groups has won her many friends in the special school sector nationally. She has been the safeguarding adviser to NASS and its members for more than 12 years. As a member of the Safer Recruitment Consortium task group, Carolyn was heavily involved in re-writing the national Safer Recruitment training materials launched in September 2014 and delivers T4T events nationally. So, she knows her stuff!

The chat starts with Stan considering the reliability of Ofsted subject reviews which have been heavily criticised this week for the way research evidence appears to have been manipulated to offer a preferred view on pedagogy., Carolyn then explains the significant changes to the VAT arrangements for Independent Special Schools, many of which are not-for-profit organisations and support some of the most vulnerable young people. She then considers the many changes to safeguarding arrangements that are going to be introduced for Early Years settings next year. Frank then reflects on a chat he had with a prominent CEO of a charity where it became clear that more needed to be done to support the literacy and numeracy skills of adults.

It's an enjoyable chat. We have already booked Carolyn for this time next year for another chat.

Enjoy!

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