In this episode, I’m joined by Simon Breakspear to explore what it means to elevate the quality of professional conversations in schools. We discuss why simply spending more time together doesn’t guarantee better collaboration and how schools can make the most of the time they already have.
Simon introduces the idea of weary talk, those moments when teams power down and connection fades and offers simple, sustainable ways to move from weary talk to conversations that energise and build culture.
In this episode:
Why every collaborative conversation either moves culture forward or stagnates it.
The signs and causes of “weary talk” and how to notice when it’s creeping in.
The role of structure and facilitation in creating trust and shared ownership.
Seven practical tools to guide professional conversations from empathy mapping to stop/start/continue.
How new leaders can use these tools to build confidence and avoid over-preparing.
Why preparation isn’t just about slides, it’s about preparing your state, presence and mindset.
The threads connecting Elevated Conversations, Teaching Sprints and The Pruning Principle.
Simon’s reflections on the creative process, self-doubt and finding the courage to share your work.
Resources:
Simon’s website
You can get 20% off Sarah’s book - Creating a Trauma-Informed Classroom until 31 December 2025 using the code 25EFLY3 at https://www.routledge.com/
Teacher and author Sarah Lathan joins me to unpack what a trauma-informed classroom looks like in practice. Drawing on 15 years across additional needs and mainstream contexts, Sarah explains how understanding child development, the brain and the nervous system translates into day-to-day decisions about routines, responses and relationships.
We get into what “trauma-informed” actually means, we tackle common misconceptions (“isn’t this just being soft?”) and make the case that staff wellbeing and school culture are the real enablers. From practical tools to system conditions, this episode is about moving beyond quick fixes and committing to the steady, relational work that supports all learners.
In this episode
Sarah’s journey through teaching to writing Creating a Trauma-Informed Classroom
What “trauma-informed” really means
Why safety is both physical and emotional, often located in people, not just places
Holding boundaries without abandoning nurture; dispelling the “softness” myth
Practical tools
Pupil voice as genuine agency (not a tick-box) and simple ways to surface it
Primary vs secondary realities: time, relationships, developmental lens and phone policies
Culture and values: trust, communication, non-exclusion approaches, working with families
Staff wellbeing as a condition for relationship-led practice
Playing the long game: prevention, patience and accepting natural “dips in the graph”
Referenced in this conversation
You can get 20% off Sarah’s book - Creating a Trauma-Informed Classroom until 31 December 2025 using the code 25EFLY3 at https://www.routledge.com/
Nurture principles
The Resilience documentary
Pixar’s Inside Out (Joy, Sadness & Bing Bong clip for emotions coaching)
LEGO “Build to Express”-style activities for pupil voice
In this episode of Changing Conversations, I am joined by Kathleen Johnston - Education Manager, doctoral student and former Quality Improvement Manager for the Northern Alliance. Together, we explore what it really means to collaborate in education and what gets in the way.
From the promise and challenges of the Regional Improvement Collaboratives to the tension between policy intention and system reality, this is a conversation that opens up the complexity of working together in meaningful ways. Kathleen reflects on what she’s learned from both practice and research and how schools, leaders and systems can better create the conditions for collaborative improvement.
In this episode:
The evolution and aims of the RICs in Scotland
What meaningful collaboration looks and feels like
The structures and relational dynamics that enable or inhibit it
The role of research and reflection in understanding what works
Why time, trust, and process matter
Leading with bravery and clarity in busy, demanding systems
What we can all learn by “unravelling collaboration” in our own contexts
Referenced in this conversation:
Viviane Robinson – theories of action and engaged vs bypass models. Listen to an earlier conversation with Viviane here.
Jenny Donohoo – collective efficacy. Jenny also joined us for a conversation on this topic back in September 2020.
What happens when you bring AI into the conversation without rushing to a quick fix? Zahra and Rick from Winning Scotland are holding space for local authorities, researchers and educators to explore the possibilities and the nuance of AI in Education. This isn’t about chasing the latest tool, it’s about understanding the best conditions for change.
What began with curiosity has grown into a two-phase initiative: first, understanding the sector’s readiness and the conditions for success; then, potentially exploring how AI tools might be used in practice.
They share the thinking behind their phased approach, the partnerships they’ve built, the surprising feedback from both education and tech sectors, and why they’re staying agnostic about outcomes. Along the way, they explore the tensions between urgency and caution, and the importance of keeping teachers, pupils, and relationships at the heart of any technological change.
In this episode:
How an initial spark led to a national, collaborative exploration of AI in education
Why “is AI ready for Scottish education?” might be the more important question
The risks of skipping straight to products
What they’ve learned from speaking to local authorities, unions and tech leaders
Designing a process that hears all voices
The role of values in guiding decisions through uncertainty
Referenced in this conversation:
Winning Scotland’s work on Growth Mindset and Planet Youth
In this episode, Sarah is joined by three insightful guests: Shirley Clarke, Angela Evans, and Kate Moss, co-authors of Understanding and Reducing Anxiety in the Primary Classroom. Together, they explore the essential link between well-being and learning, drawing from their collective expertise in formative assessment, school-wide compassion, and child and adolescent psychotherapy.
Our conversation dives into the inspiration behind their book, the lessons they've learned from collaborating, and practical strategies for creating compassionate, supportive school environments that truly foster learning and growth. Shirley and Angela also share some reflections from their professional learning programme designed to bring these practices to life in classrooms.
Understanding and Reducing Anxiety in the Primary Classroom is available now.
To connect with Shirley, Angela, or Kate, visit their websites:
Dr Naomi Fisher is an independent clinical psychologist, author and trainer. She specialises in trauma, autism and alternative approaches to education and works with children, adolescents and adults. Find out more at Naomi's website.
In this episode we focus in particular on the mental health of young people and what Naomi has been observing in her work in this area. We discuss the education system and the role it can play in nurturing and supporting learning and wellbeing, but also the harm that some approaches and practices cause to too many young people and the need for change.
Get involved in the conversation by sharing reflections with us on social media or podcast platforms.
A brief scheduling update from us!
Sarah has launched a new podcast, Space to Think, which you will find on your preferred podcast platform. We'd love for you to check it out, subscribe, like or follow. You can subscribe on Substack meaning you'll never miss an episode!
We still enjoy our Changing Conversations and plan to record and share an episode each month. A big thank-you for continuing to tune in, your comments and appreciation really do mean a lot.
Billy hopes to share more brilliant conversations so keep your eyes and ears peeled...
We will be back next month with another Changing Conversation.
A month on from the live Word Education Summit event I had the opportunity to reflect on how it went with co-founder Anne-Marie. If you're wondering where and how to work your way through the epic resources that is WES, this is a must-listen.
Anne-Marie shares her highlights, some top tips for where to start as well as the 12 key thoughts that emerged for her:
In this episode, we reconnect with James Nottingham from Challenge Learning. James has recently published his 12th book, Teach Brilliantly we consider what's changed over the years and why this book and why now. We dig into the topic of engagement, what it means and what it looks like - how do we know learning is happening?
Find out more about Teach Brilliantly here.
The final episode of our World Education Summit mini-series, in which we've been highlighting some of this year's brilliant speakers. This week we revisit our conversation with Jim Knight on instructional coaching. The World Education Summit is 18-21 March 2024 - find out more at worldedsummit.com.
As part of our World Education Summit mini-series, we're highlighting some of this year's brilliant speakers. This week we revisit our conversation with Peter Dewitt on de-implemntation. The World Education Summit is 18-21 March 2024 - find out more at worldedsummit.com.
In this episode we chat with Bex Ewart who hosts Education Scotland's Pedagogy Podcast. We take the opportunity to explore Bex's current big thinking around the role of teacher - educator - adult. We hope it sparks something for you!
As part of our World Education Summit mini-series, we're highlighting some of this year's brilliant speakers. This week we revisit our virtuous leadership conversation with Viviane Robinson. The World Education Summit is 18-21 March 2024 - find out more at worldedsummit.com.
This episode was recorded live with colleagues from across Scotland and beyond on Thursday 1st February 2024. Having chatted with both Michael and Santiago on different occasions we were keen to create an opportunity for their thinking to come together live, with you, our listeners. It was a fast hour and as always they left us with a sense of hope and possibility.
As part of our World Education Summit mini-series, we're highlighting some of this year's brilliant speakers. First up, Michael Fullan. The World Education Summit is 18-21 March 2024 - find out more at worldedsummit.com.
In this episode, we are joined by Andy Griffith and Margaret Pollock. Andy is the co-author of Teaching Backwards, Engaging Learners and the Outstanding Teaching Intervention. Margaret is DHT at St Luke's High School in Barrhead. Andy's new book is called The Working Classroom and having spent some time with the team at St Luke's it was great to have the opportunity to explore the principles and ideas within the book along with Margaret's experience and reflections.
*view transcript here.
Connect with Andy on X
Connect with St Luke's High School on X
The World Education Summit is now in its fourth year. Launching globally across 4 live days with 12 dynamic stages, 400+ speakers and 1000s of educators. It is a stimulus for improvement, a catalyst for change where together we learn, challenge and inspire not just for the 4 days but with access for the year.
In this first episode of a short series celebrating #WorldEdSummit we hear from Anne-Marie, one of its co-founders about how it came about and how its evolved into what it is now.
The World Education Summit is 18-21 March 2024 - find out more at worldedsummit.com.
Simon's conversations are among our most popular episodes and in this conversation, we chat about why the concept of sustainable improvement might have resonated so much with you.
Simon shares some candid reflections following his visit to Scotland in September. He suggests 3 areas we might useful to consider - precision, alignment and sustainability.
We then circle back to the sustainability idea and explore the pruning principle and how it might help us to create the sustainable improvement we so eagerly seek.
*transcript available here
Connect with Simon on X
Simon's website.
