The Frank and Stan Chat with Lisa Lea Weston

Summary 38 Minutes

The gents are delighted to welcome back as a guest Emma Ainsworth. Emma is currently a Chair of Governors at a Primary School in Bradford, a former senior manager at The Coop and currently working on strategic architecture at Biffa.

Stan draws attention to a rugby medal he found in his attic which led to him researching the relative who played Rugby Union in the 1880s.

Summary 35 Minutes

This week Frank and Stan chat with Jill Gray, former Principal at Blackpool 6th Form College and now a leading figure in the creation of The Coastal Collaborative Trust, a new multi academy trust that includes her former College.

The chat opens with Stan having mixed emotions around the news that the new Government intend to undertake a Curriculum Review to ensure there are wider opportunities for pupils and students. He worries whether having such a clear stance on improving the time devoted to the arts and physical activity is a good starting point for an independent review.

Jill then reflects on her recent visit to Australia and how members of her family out there are showing amazing resilience. Frank completed that chat by drawing attention to the publication of The Alternative Big Listen and how the authors have been able to draw on support from a colleague and friend steeped in experience in the media and public relations.

Time to start trusting the experts a bit more is the general theme. A very enjoyable and relaxed chat. Amazing where the 35 minutes disappears.

Enjoy.

Summary 34 Minutes

Sometimes major news stories have relevance for education and the way they show poor leadership and/or judgement. This week's faux pas was not directly about education but it demonstrated poor judgement and a lack of awareness.

Summary 50 Minutes

When Frank and Stan held their first chat in May 2020, they never imagined others would be interested in them and certainly didn't envisage that eminent thinkers, practitioners and respected colleagues would join us as guests.

Summary 45 Minutes

It was a privilege for Frank and Stan to be joined by Jan Rowe from John Moores University for a chat about ITE and the latest education news. It didn't take long for us all to reflect on the teacher trainer market review and the impact it has had.

It is fair to say we found it hard to identify many strengths, if at all. Teacher recruitment numbers remain low and existing providers have had to devote valuable time to the process when all available resources should have been focused on increasing recruitment figures.

Stan considers the decision by a MAT to lose all Teaching Assistants from their Primary Schools replacing them with fewer positions with a different title and focus. He considers whether it was a good look for there to be a big increase in the number of senior colleagues earning over £100k while introducing the change. He also considers the different layers of leadership some trusts have adopted. Jan then explains why there was such an outcry when the government stopped funding the Now Teach charity. Jan explains that this charity does not train the teachers, they just identify potential candidates and pass them on to a training provider.

Jan connects the charity's links with media outlets and celebrities as the possible reason for such an outcry over the loss of the £1.7m project. Frank ends by drawing attention www.thealternative big listen.co.uk and the success it has had in attracting much better than expected responses. Great chat. The best bit of professional development Frank and Stan get each week. We will always be grateful for the time our great gusts give us. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Summary 33 Minutes

The two gents are back this week with an amazing guest.

Dr Vic Carr is a Primary headteacher on The Wirral, Reserve Army Officer; Chartered Manager; CollectivEd Senior Fellow; Chartered College of Teaching Fellow; Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Army Leadership; author and TEDx speaker who focuses on leadership and the power of language. She has lectured part time at Master’s degree level, has 3 MAs in Equality and Diversity; Leadership; and Modern War Studies/Contemporary Military History; and a doctorate in leadership and politics.

Following the normal introductions Frank focuses on Vic's military training and the leadership development she has experienced through this work. This is just up Stan's street so the insight and examples provided by them both provide a powerful example of why honesty, integrity, consistency and consideration and love are at the heart of effective leadership.

The clarity of thinking and the way Vic draws in examples from her varied career make the chat compelling. There is just enough time to consider the rather bizarre idea the government has come up with recently which is to encourage scouts to become teachers.

It is a belting chat and we recommend colleagues sit back and listen to Vic explain her leadership philosophy. We are amazed that such wonderful guests are willing to give us their time. Frank and Stan, we hope, our watchers, listeners and followers are the real beneficiaries.

Summary 46 Minutes

This week the gents chat with two colleagues who appeared on the show in October 2022.
Big advocates of the physically active learning movement, Alun Davies and Bryn Llewellyn bring us up to speed with their recent work. The chat also includes a consideration of the leadership approach adopted by James Timpson, of the shoe repair business, which gives significant flexibility to local store managers.

The chat then considers the importance of wellbeing and happiness for staff and pupils before moving on to the hot topic of school holidays and parents/carers being fined. The chat ends with Frank considering the lack of openness and transparency in the appointment of the government's attendance ambassador.

Summary 37 Minutes

This week Stan gets the chance to chat with a colleague with a vast range of experience in offering supervision support for education staff including senior leaders.

Lisa Lea Weston is the founder of Talking Heads Supervision which has provided support to over 1000 schools across the country.