School Shorts

About School Shorts

School Shorts is the podcast for busy parents who want to help their children succeed in school. Hosted by Melissa Chan-Green, a journalist and mum of two, this show covers practical tips on reading, writing, spelling, and maths for preschool and early school years. Learn about structured literacy, phonics, and foundational maths skills like counting, patterns, and sequences, plus how to support your child’s learning at home. Quick, easy, and packed with helpful advice—School Shorts is here to help your child thrive! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Publisher

Melissa Chan-Green

Category

education · kids & family · kids & family

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

27 Feb 2025

Latest episode

30 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

79 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   30 Aug 2026

   Junior Journalists investigate the future of education

   Junior Journalists interview school leaders and their peers about the challenges and opportunities in schools right now. When I was 12 years old, I wrote my first letter to the local paper, the Howick and Pakuranga Times, and interviewed my principal for one of my very first published articles. Now, things have come full circle as I sit down with the paper's current Junior Journalists to uncover the biggest challenges and opportunities inside classrooms today. In this episode, the students and I discuss the real pressures facing school leaders and how education is shifting to prepare young people for a rapidly changing, tech-driven career landscape. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

2. 

   19 Jul 2026

   Play based learning meets Structured Literacy with Liz Lupton and Theresa Kinloch

   People often split camps between those who believe in play based learning and those who believe in structured literacy ..but what if they are not mutually exclusive and you can actually teach with both? We talk with an early childhood centre leader (Liz Lupton) and a primary school leader (Theresa Kinloch) about how they collaborate with each other to make sure students are ready when they arrive at school ..and that the transition from different styles of learning is smooth and meets the child where they are at. We also talk about the benefits of greater co-operation and contact between ECE and schools and what you can do as a parent to help pass on information that is really useful when your child starts school. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

3. 

   12 Jul 2026

   Using the playground to teach reading! with Marianne Brown

   Marianne Brown, a literacy expert with 30 years of experience, talks about a lightbulb moment when a struggling reader helped her discover the playground tip that helps with reading. Using the analogy of a slide, Marianne helped the little girl go from not being able to read a single word, to fully reading within just 10 weeks. She discusses the science behind why some children struggle and how oral language, conversation, and the alphabetic code are key to supporting students. With lots of practical strategies for parents to use ..and an explanation of why patience and repetition are important in building literacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.

Who has been a guest on School Shorts

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Gill Connell
• Renata Wiles
• Anna O'Connor
• Michael Johnston
• Catherine Huxford

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

60,765

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Spotify

4.9 / 5

20 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 41 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

52

Social presence

0

YouTube

76

Engagement

0

Contact School Shorts

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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Questions about School Shorts