Episodes

September is upon us & the new school year has arrived (unless you're in a place that has already gone back...)Here, we lay out our top tips from 20 years of experience teaching in primary schools that will help you smash September!Sit back, relax, and let us know if we have missed anything out.Instagram: www.instagram.com/teachsleeprepeatpodcastTikTok: www.tiktok.com/teachsleeprepeatpodcast

We are back with another episode answering YOUR questions on all things education and teaching!Accents, teacher gifts, after-school clubs, teaching abroad.... The topics are endless.Get in touch with us if you have any submissions you'd like us to answer in the future.Instagram: www.instagram.com/teachsleeprepeatpodcastTiktok: www.tiktok.com/teachsleeprepeatpodcast

Join us for a dive into the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill that is currently making its way into law in the UK.We discuss school uniform, teacher pay and a stripping back of academy freedoms.Is it a good thing? A bad thing? A mix?Let's find out together!We will be covering homeschooling in the future, btw....Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/teachsleeprepeatpodcastTiktok: www.tiktok.com/teachsleeprepeatpodcast

In this episode, we answer your teacher questions - from our most controversial opinions about education, to how a TA should really be used in the classroom, our top tips for moving up with your class, and how pointless assessment can be. Expect a mix of honest takes, practical advice, and a few spicy confessions along the way.Instagram: www.instagram.com/teachsleeprepeatpodcastTikTok: www.tiktok.com/teachsleeprepeatpodcast

Starting your first year as a new teacher? It can feel exciting, overwhelming, and just a little bit terrifying. In this episode, we share our top tips for new teachers to help you survive (and actually enjoy) your first year in the classroom.Plus, we share some honest stories from our own early years in teaching: the wins, the fails, and what we wish we’d known sooner.Whether you’re about to start teaching or are in the thick of your first year, this is your practical, no-jargon guide to su...

Why Aren’t Children Reading for Pleasure Anymore? 📚Reading for fun is at an all-time low and the stats are sobering. In 2025, just one in three children said they enjoyed reading in their free time. That is a 36% drop since 2005. What is going on?In this episode, we talk about what we have seen across our teaching careers, the barriers stopping children from picking up a book, and the cultural shift that is turning reading into “work” instead of leisure. From the fact that one in seven prim...

Yes. Hayden has an auto-focus square on his head. Enjoy it!As always, like clockwork, when the summer holidays roll around, we are bombarded with opinions on how they are TOO LONG!We talk about it. Are they too long? Is the cost of childcare too much? Is there a solution? Who is to blame? Is being bored bad?We'd love to hear from you.www.instagram.com/teachsleeprepeatpodcastwww.tiktok.com/teachsleeprepeatpodcast

This week, we chat about how in so many schools, creativity is disappearing in two major ways.Firstly, the arts themselves are languishing. Huge drops in children taking subejcts at GCSE like drama and music. Why is this happening and why is it bad?Secondly, in the classroom itself. Top-down strict rules for every lesson to look the same and fidelity to boring schemes is building a recpie for misery.Get in touch with us through our socials.www.instagram.com/teachsleeprepeatpodcas...

This week, Dylan clears out his teacher cupboard and uncovers some absolute treasures: an inflatable flamingo, old class photos, and three brilliant books every classroom should have – The House with Chicken Legs, The Book with No Pictures, and One Is a Snail, Ten Is a Crab.But the big chat? That’s all about the brand new DfE Writing Framework, dropped this July. We give our honest reaction to the changes – the controversies, the good parts and our opinions on writing youngThen we’re joi...

It's our last week as teachers... and it's all starting to feel very real.In this episode, we look back on the moments that made us -the unforgettable classroom highs, the amazing people we met, and the exact point we knew we couldn’t keep going.We’re asking ourselves the question we’ve been avoiding: have we made a huge mistake?Honest, emotional, and (as always) a bit chaotic—this one's for every teacher who’s ever felt torn between staying and going.Hayden also dives into his recent ...

It’s the end of the school year, which can only mean one thing: performance appraisal season. But with targets that feel random, policies that haven’t caught up, and a system still obsessed with spreadsheets… we’re asking:Do schools even value great teaching anymore – or just good data?In this episode, Dylan and Hayden unpack:What appraisals are supposed to be vs. what they’ve becomeThe 2024 rule change that schools are quietly ignoring (hint: appraisals shouldn't affect your pay ...

The hidden crisis closing schools, cutting jobs, and reshaping teachingThis week, Dylan and Hayden dive into a topic that’s flying under the radar but changing the future of teaching forever.UK birth rates have fallen to historic lows – and now schools are feeling the impact. From empty classrooms and school closures to teacher redundancies and disappearing job ads, this episode uncovers how a quiet demographic shift is creating a very loud crisis in education.🔍 We unpack:The huge ...

Last week, we shared the biggest news of our careers: we’re leaving teaching.In this episode, we dive into what comes next. We're joined by Sophie Hayes, a former teacher and founder of StoryZoo - a brilliant initiative helping schools spark a love of reading. Sophie opens up about her own leap out of the classroom and how she turned her passion into a thriving business.We also reflect on the emotional toll that teaching took on us - the constant pressure, the mental exhaustion, and the ...

BIG NEWS - We are stepping away from teaching.This has been a long-time coming & is a huge, difficult decision.You can't do a weekly education podcast without being passionate about it, but as you've seen form previous episodes... There's a lot wrong with the system.We dive into why we have taken the decision to step away from teaching & how we plan on staying in education and still getting into the classroom to do the bits we love.Oh and... the podcast isn't just staying - it's ...

Hello Teach Sleep Repeaters!This episode is an eclectic mix of laughs, rants and putting the world of education to rights.We talk about why term-time holidays are so appealing for so many reasons, discuss some toxic story write-ins with a twist, and finish off by addressing some of the crazy teacher trolling we have seen on TikTok this week.It's a goodun!Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/teachsleeprepeatpodcastFollow us on TikTok: www.tiktok.com/teachsleeprepeatpodcast

In this episode, we dive into two hot topics every primary teacher is thinking about right now:✏️ Writing ModerationIs it fair? Is it consistent? Or is it the biggest postcode lottery in primary education? We share our own experiences of moderation, discuss how useful (or not) it really is, and ask the big question nobody likes to say out loud: how many people are bending the rules when it comes to writing levels?🤖 Using AI to Write ReportsEnd-of-year reports are here — but can AI actually...

This week, we’re joined by teacher, education writer and Learning by Questions legend Sophie Bartlett for a full-on SATs debrief! We take a deep dive into the 2025 Year 6 SATs papers – English, GPS, and Maths – and break down what really stood out.We chat about:Recurring question strands and skills being testedSome wildly harsh mark scheme momentsQuestions we thought were genuinely clever and well-designedWhat this year’s papers might tell us about where primary assessment is heading...

In this episode of Teach Sleep Repeat, we dive headfirst into the absolute state of spelling in schools right now – and why teaching it (and English in general) feels harder than ever. We chat about the importance of reading, the pressure to teach perfectly, and how it’s all become a bit of a mess.Then, it’s time for some hilarious listener stories – including a few accidental classroom swears that had us howling (and hiding from SLT). Finally, we wrap things up with a chaotic Q&A where we tac...

It’s SATs week – and we’ve got thoughts. In this episode, Dylan and Hayden share their top tips for teachers to survive the chaos, keep kids calm, and not lose their minds during one of the busiest weeks of the primary calendar. We also talk about cheating......Then, we switch gears for a big question: Should we still have faith schools in the UK?We unpack the arguments for and against – from community cohesion and parental choice to inclusion, funding, and what a “neutral” education really m...

In this episode of Teach Sleep Repeat, Dylan and Hayden delve into the pressing issues facing the UK education system. They explore six critical areas where the system is faltering:​Autonomy and Agency: Examining the diminishing independence of educators in their teaching methods.Teacher Qualifications and Expertise: Discussing concerns over the adequacy of teacher training and professional development.Agency Workers: Highlighting the challenges faced by supply teachers and the exploitatio...

The summer term is here — but are you surviving or thriving? In this episode of Teach Sleep Repeat, Dylan and Hayden share 10 practical tips to help teachers and school staff smash the summer term with less stress and more success. From managing end-of-year chaos to keeping pupils engaged when the sun’s out, we’ve got strategies every teacher needs to hear.But first... we dive into a hot topic:Should teachers be making TikToks during lesson time? 🎥We debate the pros, cons, and classroom real...

Welcome back valued education customer teacher school staff friends!We asked online for your best behaviour hacks and you didn't disappoint, so we go through our favourites that you can implement right away.Before that, we got a little bit carried away with a chat about reading and teaching test style techniques for the SATs... We actually had a bit of a disagreement for once!💬 Let’s stay connected!Follow us on Instagram for behind-the-scenes bits, teaching memes & more:📸 @teachsleeprepe...

Flash back to episode 5 of this teacher podcast and the first episode that really struck a chord with many was our toxic schools podcast.We asked listeners for their most TOXIC school stories ever and we received nearly 1000.We trawled through them all and picked out the most shocking and have put them together for you.Let us know what you think & if you have your own story, get in touch!Follow us on Instagram: www.instagram.com/teachsleeprepeatpodcastFollow us on TikTok: www.tiktok.co...

This week, we go back to our straight-talking roots in helping teachers gain back time. After talking about parents' evening and our experiences with it, we move onto our 6 actionable immediate ways teachers can claim back some time. We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it! Instagram: www.instagram.com/teachsleeprepeatpodcast TikTik: www.tiktok.com/teachsleeprepeatpodcast