The Cultivating Change Podcast

Join Tish and Ellie, a secondary school early career teacher, as they explore the transformative power of 'fresh starts' in the spirit of spring and a new term.

In this episode of the Cultivating Change podcast, Tish speaks with Glen, a teacher who grew up and currently teaches in London.

The pair discuss the changing landscape of modern childhood, and the challenges that this comes with.

Children are not born bad yet can sometimes bring their 'worst' self to school. What is the context of young people struggling to self-regulate? Tish takes a look at the broader picture joining up her knowledge as a psychotherapist and teacher with 14 years of working with children who struggle at school. She is a passionate advocate that behavioural changes for the better are possible.

How can we create a genuine sense of belonging within the school and within the classroom? Listen to Tish Feilden share her thoughts alongside two young people who are coming to the end of their time in secondary school.

Doubly disadvantaged? Do stricter behavioural policies adversely affect vulnerable children?

In this episode of Regenerative Education, Tish discusses the implications of strict behaviour policies with Wayne from BCP Council. Wayne works to improve outcomes for children with a social worker and children in care. Here, they delve into the consequences of stricter school policy and how this can put children and teachers up against each other. At the same time, children share that they sometimes appreciate the clear boundaries that come with a strict, no-nonsense approach.

Where do we draw the line?

In this podcast, Tish Feilden talks to writer and teacher, Clare Deal about why a sense of belonging is so critical to children's development, and how we can foster this in schools.

In a recent TES article, Clare Deal found that according to 2020 research, one in four young people feel they do not “belong” in school - a figure that is rising. This is a problem, the report finds, because a sense of belonging has been linked to increased motivation, higher attainment and reductions in absenteeism, as well as other positive social outcomes. Young people who “experience a sense of exclusion from school”, meanwhile, are more likely to “seek ‘belongingness’ elsewhere”. In this podcast Tish Feilden talks to Clare how we can foster a sense of belonging.

Are children equipped for their futures? What teachers and employers think

In November last year I wrote a blog post questioning how well our schools prepare children for their futures. In this podcast I had the pleasure of talking to ex-teacher Lloyd and current teacher Serafina about what schools are doing or could be doing to prepare young people for the working world and life’s challenges. Lloyd trained to teach English with Teach First at a large comprehensive in London before teaching in Dubai and finally becoming a consultant with Deloitte. Serafina has just completed her Teach First training as a teacher of languages at an academy in Leeds and is about to move into alternative provision. Together we explore the question whether children are being equipped for their futures. 

The digital world is powerful and are we as adults helping children sufficiently to set boundaries and develop the skills to navigate this positively? The human qualities of good social and emotional relationships can be usurped if we don’t set boundaries and create time and space for more ‘real’ interaction. In this next podcast I delve into this deeper speaking to young people about their perspective on the digital world. 

The teachers in the second podcast in this series have taught in mainstream schools and Alternative Provisions. They bring together their experience and thinking about how we could regenerate education to better meet the needs of the child and help them thrive to face more positive futures. They speak of how wellbeing and happiness are inextricably linked to academic achievement and how teachers needs time to know the context a child is growing up in. They share the importance of having time to build meaningful relationships that are asset based and how they are eager to invest in the strengths and passions of children and their families. And finally, how social, emotional, mental and physical health all need equal value to help children face a future they can engage in. These teachers know first hand what can make a difference.

I hope if you listen to the podcast you will, like me, feel a bubble of excitement that things can change for the better and teachers can be valued for the amazing work they do. There are massive challenges facing this generation but just as with agriculture we need to look to better methods of care and sustenance to sustain positive growth.

The Difference, a charity focusing on what difference is needed to meet children’s needs, is the subject of our two part mini series. As a programme, it brings together inspiring people wanting to adjust the education system to make it even better. In the first of the two podcasts, you will hear Jake Curtis from Jamie’s Farm in discussion with Kieran Gill who founded The Difference. After several years of teachering and seeing how many children were not being understood in the systems she worked in, she felt compelled to try and address some of the difficulties. You will hear Kieran’s own journey into setting up a charity and the principles on which she founded it. This provides an excellent foundation to our exploration of Regenerative Education, providing the context for the following podcast where I had the pleasure of listening and talking to some of the teachers who have participated in The Difference Leadership Programme. 

Our futures have all been under discussion with a focus more than ever on climate change. Amidst a raft of initiatives, farming practices are having to change to be more sustainable, and, borrowing from the wisdom and hope of Regenerative farming, we want to use the same challenging investigation into the education system. Is it fit for purpose, does it help children thrive? Jamie’s Farm wants to look at both Regenerative Farming and Regenerative Education. There has been a lot of doom and gloom in the world with Covid, coupled with talk of a planet that is degenerating: it feels important to stem the tide of negativity, to support the areas that need change, to celebrate successes however small and share examples of best practice that we can all benefit from.