School Solutions Talk

About School Solutions Talk

Welcome to School Solutions Talk, the podcast dedicated to the power of solution focused practice in education. Join Solution Focused practitioners, coaches and leaders Tara Gretton and Vicky Essebag as they explore daily communication that builds self-awareness and agency, while fostering positive relationships with and among students, staff, and families. Hear directly from a diverse range of guests - from students and classroom educators to administrators and solution focused leaders, who share their experience and expertise in school settings as they reshape school culture and the meaning of success. Hear from individuals who want to see differences in their schools and who want to have a conversation about it with Vicky and Tara. If you’re ready to shift the focus from 'what's wrong' to 'what works,' and build a community where wellbeing, inclusion, and connection are prioritized, this is your next essential listen. Tara Gretton (UK) is a registered social worker, international trainer, consultant and practitioner specialising in Solution Focused practice with children, young people, families and professionals at Solution Revolution. She holds postgraduate qualifications in child development and is widely recognised for creating relational, compassionate and inclusive spaces that support meaningful and sustainable change. Tara brings together her professional training in social work and child development with extensive experience of direct work in schools, mental health services and specialist projects supporting young people who have experienced harm, adversity or relational disruption. She works nationally and internationally as a trainer, supervisor and coach, supporting practitioners across education, social care, mental health and leadership contexts to embed solution focused, relationship based ways of working. Tara is particularly known for translating Solution Focused ideas into accessible, creative and practical tools that can be used in everyday conversations with children, young people and adults. Alongside her training and consultancy work, Tara is a writer, book reviewer and speaker, committed to amplifying what is already working and supporting hopeful, future focused conversations. Vicky Essebag (Toronto, Canada) is President of the Solution Focused Brief Therapy Association - www.sfbta.org. She is widely known for inspiring inclusive and compassionate spaces for living and learning as she applies and teaches Solution Focus as a communicative practice to support a relationship-based approach in schools, families and organizations. Vicky pairs her extensive background in education as a teacher, school counselor, head of counseling, curriculum consultant and school administrator, with her experience as a family therapist and certified solution-focused coach. She is Founder of Relationspaces through which she provides international public speaking, instructional leadership, coaching and consulting. Vicky is author of Relationspaces; A Solution-Focused Handbook for Parents. How to Find Us: 1. To inspire success and wellbeing in your schools, school systems and communities, Tara and Vicky work together to provide solution focused training both in person and online. For a free consultation, contact them at schoolsolutionstalk@gmail.com. 2. Vicky and Tara are co-creators of Relationspaces Power Bursts, a YouTube series offering brief reflections on relationship questions through a solution-focused lens. Subscribe at https://www.youtube.com/@Relationspaces. 3. Tara's professional practice: https://www.solutionrevolution.co.uk/ 4. Vicky's professional practrice: https://relationspaces.com/

Publisher

Vicky Essebag and Tara Gretton

Category

education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

3 Feb 2026

Latest episode

29 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

10 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   29 Sept 2026

   Tiny Interactions, Big Change

   Back by popular demand, we are reposting this amazing interview with Tara Gretton which we had published on our other podcast, A Call Across the Pond; Transforming Relatonships at School, at Home and Beyond. For this episode, we had the pleasure of inviting Naomi Whitehead who interviewed Tara with Vicky Essebag. Tara Gretton (UK) is a registered social worker, international trainer, consultant and practitioner specializing in Solution Focused practice with children, young peopl...

2. 

   28 Aug 2026

   A School Mental Health Strategy with Solution Focus; An Interview with Polly Netto

   In this new episode, we are so happy to welcome Polly Netto who has been making a huge difference at Beechen Cliff School. With over 10 years of experience, she is the Head of Religion, Philosophy and Ethics, a qualified PSHE Lead and Deputy Head of 6th Form. She is the whole school Mental Health and Solution Focused (SF) Lead - using her SF training and a team approach to plan, review and update annually, schemes of school-wide mental health. Netto delivers whole staff training, incorporates...

3. 

   31 Jul 2026

   Solution Focused Schools: An Interview with Cynthia Franklin

   In this episode, we are joined by Dr. Cynthia Franklin, an internationally recognized leader and one of the 100 Most Influential Contemporary Social Work Faculty worldwide. Highly regarded as a premier authority on Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Cynthia has spent over three decades shaping evidence-based mental health practice, authoring 16+ books and 200+ publications, and serving as Editor-in-Chief of Oxford University Press’s Encyclopedia of Social Work. She currently serves as the...

4. 

   6 Jul 2026

   Building a Culture of Empathy & Connection; An Interview with Julie Magadance

   Leaders shape culture by what they choose to value out loud. 'Kindness' doesn't always get center stage, but what if it is one of the most reliable indicators that a school community is healthy? We have a moving conversation with Julie Magadance, assistant director for counselling and guidance services in a large urban school district in San Antonio, Texas, and start with a moment from a graduation ceremony that stayed with her - where school leaders highlighted kindness as being the most red...

5. 

   14 Jun 2026

   'Less of You' Leadership; An Interview with Jason Pascoe

   A school can have the right plans and still feel exhausted in practice. Productive change can best be measured by the quality of our conversations, what we listen for, and how much space we give other people to think. In our inspiring interview with Jason Pascoe, he explains why solution focus is simple but not easy, and how it helps leaders to stop defaulting to “fixing” and to start listening for strengths, resources, and the exceptions that already work. We explored the “more of you” versu...

6. 

   23 May 2026

   Solutions in Schools: The Solis Study; An Interview with Rose McCabe, Fiona Robinson & Ben Starkey

   In this episode, we interview an amazing group of individuals who have been facilitating and researching a whole-school approach to improving communication, behaviour, & school culture. The study is called SOLIS – Solutions in Schools. Professor Rose McCabe (City St. George's, University of London, UK) is a psychologist specialising in professional-patient communication in mental health care. She has expertise in developing and implementing solution focused interventions to improve wellbe...

7. 

   6 Apr 2026

   Sharon Casey & The Janis Joplin Biography that Became English Class

   Tara and Vicky have a wonderful conversation with Sharon Casey from Quebec, Canada - a solution-focused trainer with a background in education, crisis intervention, drug rehabilitation, and suicide prevention. What do small changes really mean when the stakes are high for students? Sharing many engaging experiences, Sharon takes us through why solution-focused coaching always works in education, and especially when students are experiencing particular challenges in their lives. She speaks to ...

8. 

   23 Mar 2026

   An Interview with Erin Cusanno - A Hopeful Trail of Breadcrumbs

   In this episode, Tara and Vicky have the pleasure of interiewing Erin Cusanno. Erin has worked as a middle school counselor for 26 years. About eight years ago, she became fascinated with the Solution Focused approach and started to incorporate it into her work at school. Two years ago she shifted into a program to help students who struggle with chronic absenteeism. She utilizes Solution Focused Principles in every aspect of the program, working with students, caregivers an...

9. 

   6 Mar 2026

   How A Solution-Focused Game Builds Trust And Voice For Students; An Interview with Gesa Doringer

   In this Episode of School Solutions Talk, Tara and Vicky have the pleasure of interviewing Gesa Doringer, an experienced Solution Focused practitioner, occupational therapist and trainer from the Netherlands. For the past 18 years she has been working as a Job Coach at the department for Adolescents with Early Onset Psychosis at the Amsterdam University Medical Center. Gesa respectfully witnesses the resilience and solutions of these young people. She admires how they dust themselves off afte...

10. 

    3 Feb 2026

    Introducing Our New Podcast; School Solutions Talk

    Tara Gretton and Vicky Essebag, solution focused practitioners, coaches and leaders, welcome you to their first episode of the School Solutions Talk Podcast, dedicated to the power of solution focused practice in education. They share their thoughts, ideas and hopes for the podcast. They inspire listeners with some insights on shifting and building communication in schools to inspire self-awareness and agency, while fostering positive relationships with and among students, staff, and families...

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