I have had a diverse career across primary, secondary and tertiary education. While I have focused on English and literacy predominantly, I have also worked in roles focused on student wellbeing, disability funding and supports, and school engagement and attainment. I’ve also worked in child and adolescent psychiatry and as a lecturer and researcher. Working across roles and sectors has caused me to think critically, creatively and reflectively about how we design and deliver educational experiences in our schools, particularly the systems, structures and processes that may allow us to have the most impact.
I recently left my Head of English role at a public school. It was one of the most rewarding, stimulating, demanding and difficult roles I’ve had. I now work with systems, schools, leaders, and teachers to develop ambitious and rigorous practices in English and literacy. I’ve met so many incredible English and literacy leaders over the last couple of decades. I think it’s one of the toughest, most complex portfolios to hold, and I wanted to provide a platform for great leaders to share their work. This is a podcast about the nitty gritty of leadership in English and literacy. I will interview a range of guests with diverse perspectives, experiences and roles.
Principal Skye Staude discusses trauma-informed literacy strategies and inclusive leadership in specialist education, emphasizing literacy's role in equity and student well-being; this is an interview.
14 Oct 2025
Episode 9: Dr Briony Schroor
Dr. Briony Schroor, Domain Leader for English, explores the value of discussing texts within her school community and her extensive teaching experience in Australia and England in an interview with Jonathan Raz.
7 Oct 2025
Episode 8: Xanthi Rice & Terri Hibbert
Xanthi Rice and Terri Hibbert share their extensive experiences in literacy instruction, school leadership, and instructional coaching, highlighting effective strategies for improving student outcomes in this interview.
23 Sept 2025
Episode 7: Stephanie Le Lievre
Stephanie Le Lievre, Principal, discusses closing the research-to-practice gap and advocating for curriculum reform, assessment, and teaching reforms, as well as teacher workload reductions in this interview.
9 Sept 2025
Episode 6: Michelle Winch & Ingrid Sjolund
Host Jonathan Rav interviews educators Michelle Winch and Ingrid Sjolund about their insights on curriculum design and the power of narrative in improving student learning.
29 Jul 2025
Episode 5: Emma Castelow
Assistant Principal Emma Castelow discusses school improvement strategies and ensuring high-quality education for every student, drawing from her experience across various primary school contexts in an interview.
10 Jul 2025
Episode 4: Jen Ashton & Jodee Wilson
Jen Ashton and Jodee Wilson discuss Tasmania's Lifting Literacy policy implementation, including resourcing, training, and technical guidance to positively impact children and young people in this interview.
1 Jul 2025
Episode 3: Rachael Buck
Rachael Buck, an experienced principal, discusses her passion for improving educational systems and practices, especially in structured literacy and evidence-based reading instruction, in this interview.
21 May 2025
Episode 2: Alice Jury
Alice Jury is a Learning Specialist at Canadian Lead Primary school in Ballarat. Alice has been teaching for 12 years, all of this time spent at Canadian Lead. Alice began her leadership journey in 2016 through the Primary Maths and Science Specialist initiative. Alice moved into the Learning Specialist role in 2019. Alice has taught across many year levels and has spent time out of the classroom running a rigorous Tutoring program. This year Alice shares a Year 1/ 2 classroom. She teaches for fourteen hours a week. In the other time Alice coordinates the Tutoring program and takes some Tier 3 groups. Alice leads whole school curriculum development and supports teachers through a coaching model to improve their pedagogy, curriculum knowledge and teaching practice. Alice’s passion is teaching and learning, the nitty gritty of curriculum and making the most of every school minute.
Show notes
8 Apr 2025
Episode 1: Chloe Painter
Chloe Painter is an experienced educator, school leader, and literacy specialist passionate about transforming teaching and learning through evidence-informed practice. She is currently Acting Deputy Principal at St Robert’s in Newtown and leads Chloe Painter Edu Services.
Chloe Painter: https://au.linkedin.com/in/chloe-painter-46950b23a
Alison Clarke: https://www.spelfabet.com.au/
Bron Ryrie Jones: https://bronwynryriejones.com/
Middle Leadership Mastery: A Toolkit for Subject and Pastoral Leaders (Adam Robbins)
The researchED Guide to Leadership: An Evidence-Informed Guide for Teachers (Stuart Lock – Editor)
Curriculum: Theory, Culture, and the Subject Specialisms: Principles and Practice (Ruth Ashbee)
Leadership Rules: What Leaders Need to Know and Do to Run Great Schools (Jo Facer)
Leverage Leadership: A Practical Guide to Building Exceptional Schools (Paul Bambrick-Santoyo)
Motivated Teaching (Peps Mccrea)
Phonics Plus: https://arc.educationapps.vic.gov.au/learning/sites/lesson-plans-guidance/1805/Phonics-Plus-scope-and-sequence
Building Culture: A Handbook to Harnessing Human Nature to Create Strong School Teams (Lekha Sharma)
Not Just Lucky (Jamila Rizvi)
EEF A School's Guide to Implementation: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/implementation
AERO Insights into Implementation: https://www.edresearch.edu.au/research/discussion-papers/insights-implementation
The Writing Revolution: https://www.thewritingrevolution.org/
The Parable of the River: https://landiscenter.lafayette.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/69/2015/01/SaveBabies.pdf
Serpentine Primary School and Stephanie Le Lievre (Principal): https://www.serpentineps.wa.edu.au/
Bentleigh West Primary School: https://www.bentleighwestps.vic.edu.au/
Mary Myatt on Differentiation: https://www.marymyatt.com/blog/death-by-differentiation
Think Forward Educators: https://thinkforwardeducators.org/
Teach Like a Champion 3.0: 63 Techniques that Put Students on the Path to College (Doug Lemov)
This episode was produced by Jonathan Rav.
Who has been a guest on Heavy is the English Head
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Skye Staude
Dr Briony Schroor
Xanthi Rice
Terri Hibbert
Stephanie Le Lievre
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Spotify
5.0 / 5
6 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 3 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
5
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
0
Contact Heavy is the English Head
Guest appearances
Does not typically book guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Heavy is the English Head?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
