Welcome to Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, the podcast that gives you a peek inside the minds of some truly inspirational primary teachers. Whether you're new to the profession or a school leader with tons of experience this podcast is a must listen. For references, links and extended cut video episodes head over to www.thinkingdeeply.info
Learn more about The Story of Maths and ACEL Pro (https://www.acel.pro/)- www.alta-education.com/tsom-overview and https://www.acel.pro (https://www.acel.pro/)
For maths curriculum questions contact us here (https://alta-education.com/contact/) or via support@alta-education.com (mailto:support@alta-education.com)
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Maths PD Dublin, Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow (https://alta-education.com/cpd-tour-26-27/) - https://alta-education.com/cpd-tour-26-27/ (https://alta-education.com/cpd-tour-26-27/)
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Episode 313: Marwa Alsaraf does not want pupils simply to know what to do. She wants them to see how the thinking works.
In this episode, Marwa joins Kieran to talk about the classroom practices she has built over more than a decade in teaching, from clear routines and live modelling to the kind of dialogue that asks pupils to explain, challenge and build on one another's ideas.
Her own journey into teaching began differently from most. Marwa arrived in the UK at 18 with limited English, later worked as a teaching assistant, completed her degree while raising a family and eventually qualified as a teacher. After beginning her career in Birmingham, she moved to the UAE, where she now teaches and leads mathematics.
That experience shapes much of the conversation. Marwa explains why she models using the same books and equipment pupils use, why she deliberately makes and corrects mistakes in front of them, and why strong routines should never be confused with silence or rigidity. For her, a well-run classroom is one in which pupils know what is expected well enough to concentrate on the learning and talk about it.
3 Oct 2026
High Expectations, Full Participation and the Power of Success
Learn more about The Story of Maths (www.alta-education.com/tsom-overview ) and ACEL Pro (https://www.acel.pro)- www.alta-education.com/tsom-overview (www.alta-education.com/tsom-overview ) and https://www.acel.pro (https://www.acel.pro)
For maths curriculum questions contact us here (https://alta-education.com/contact/) or via support@alta-education.com
Get your tickets for the TDaPE Conference Edinburgh (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/thinking-deeply-about-primary-education-conference-edinburgh-tickets-1994538692922?aff=erelpanelorg)
Maths PD Dublin, Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow (https://alta-education.com/cpd-tour-26-27/) - https://alta-education.com/cpd-tour-26-27/
For show notes, links, and a summary episode, sign up for the Hey! What You Reading For (https://tdape.beehiiv.com/subscribe)newsletter. Mondays at 7am BST - https://tdape.beehiiv.com/subscribe
AI For Teachers (https://forschools.ai/) newsletter
Episode 312: Kylie Hoey has a simple rule in her classroom: no one opts out. But that comes with a responsibility. If she expects every pupil to participate, she has to give every pupil a genuine chance of succeeding.
In this episode, Kylie joins Kieran to talk about the small decisions that make that possible. She explains why she deliberately engineers early success for pupils who have learned to expect failure, how she creates a classroom where getting something wrong is safe, and why maintaining high expectations is very different from simply demanding more.
Kylie’s own route into evidence-informed teaching began when she found herself teaching older pupils who could not read and realised she did not know how to help them. What followed was a deep dive into reading, explicit instruction and the classroom practices she now uses and shares with other teachers.
The conversation moves from full participation and maths fluency to modelling, coaching and teacher development. Kylie describes seeing teachers transform when they are shown what is possible with their own class, including one who had been ready to leave the profession.
There is also a challenge for schools. Kylie argues that we can be too quick to reach for intervention before asking whether pupils are receiving strong enough whole-class teaching in the first place. In her analogy, there is little point worrying about the supplement if the main meal is not good enough.
This is a conversation about high expectations, but also about what teachers have to do to make those expectations achievable.
26 Sept 2026
School Improvement Without Losing Sight of What Matters
Learn more about The Story of Maths (www.alta-education.com/tsom-overview ) and ACEL Pro (https://www.acel.pro)- www.alta-education.com/tsom-overview (www.alta-education.com/tsom-overview ) and https://www.acel.pro (https://www.acel.pro)
For maths curriculum questions contact us here (https://alta-education.com/contact/) or via support@alta-education.com
Get your tickets for the TDaPE Conference Edinburgh (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/thinking-deeply-about-primary-education-conference-edinburgh-tickets-1994538692922?aff=erelpanelorg)
Maths PD Dublin, Belfast, Cardiff, Glasgow (https://alta-education.com/cpd-tour-26-27/) - https://alta-education.com/cpd-tour-26-27/
For show notes, links, and a summary episode, sign up for the Hey! What You Reading For (https://tdape.beehiiv.com/subscribe)newsletter. Mondays at 7am BST - https://tdape.beehiiv.com/subscribe
AI For Teachers (https://forschools.ai/) newsletter
Episode 311: What does meaningful school improvement look like when the pressures of accountability are constantly competing for attention?
In this episode of Thinking Deeply about Primary Education, Kieran is joined by teacher, vice principal, mathematics specialist and NPQ facilitator Cheryl Ballance for a conversation shaped by 23 years in education and the experience of helping lead a school through a sustained period of improvement.
They explore the foundations of strong teaching, why Cheryl increasingly sees the early years as so important, the role of routines and mathematical representations, and why belonging, relationships and high expectations need to exist alongside one another.
The conversation then moves from the classroom to the school as a whole. Cheryl reflects on what she has seen successful schools do particularly well: creating consistency, knowing their children and families, establishing high expectations and ensuring pupils feel that they belong. She also discusses the slower, less visible work of improvement: building trust with teachers, giving change time to embed, developing middle leaders and moving from observation as judgement towards instructional coaching and professional development.
Along the way, Kieran and Cheryl discuss SATs, Ofsted and the difficult choices schools face when external measures begin to compete with what leaders believe is best for the children in front of them.
A thoughtful conversation about teaching, leadership and what it takes to improve a school without losing sight of why the school exists in the first place.
Who has been a guest on Thinking Deeply about Primary Education
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Peps Mccrea
Jen Barker
Sir Nick Gibb
Fin Wilson
Jane Miller
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
53,705
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
5 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
54 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 72 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
77
Social presence
0
YouTube
76
Engagement
92
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