National Association for Primary Education

Mark Taylor
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The National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. On this podcast we discuss the work and lectures of Christian Schiller, interview education specialist and explain how NAPE is working for you. Our aim is to achieve a higher priority for the education of children from birth to 13. High quality learning in the early years of life is vitally important to the creation of an educated society. Young children are not simply preparing for the future, they are living a never to be repeated time of life and the best way to learn is to live.

  1. 4 DEC

    Silent Snow - A wordless picture book making StoryTime fun

    Kirsty Heap is the author of Silent Snow, a picture book without words, designed to help you create your own stories with your children. Each page is filled with beautiful illustrations to spark your imagination, making storytime fun and personal. Whether reading has always felt tricky, or you just want to try something different, Silent Snow gives you the freedom to tell stories your own way. The idea for Silent Snow came from Kirsty’s own experiences as a dyslexic parent. She used to find reading to her children difficult, and when she stumbled over words, she felt like she was letting them down. But instead of giving up, she started making up her own stories based on their lives and the little adventures they had. Bedtime soon became one of their favourite times of the day. https://kirstyheap.com/silentsnow/ https://nape.org.uk/ Find out more about our Primary First Journal - https://national-association-for-primary-education-shop.fourthwall.com/en-gbp

    46 min

  2. 27 NOV

    Making Broadband Safer for Children with Network-Level Parental Controls

    Mashood Ahmad is the CEO and founder of Gigabit IQ, an award-winning UK broadband provider dedicated to delivering safer, smarter, and faster internet through fully managed Wi-Fi and industry-leading online safety tools. A recognised voice in digital inclusion and child online protection, Mashood is a Council Member at ISPA UK and a vocal advocate for stronger ISP accountability in protecting families online. Under Mashood’s leadership, Gigabit IQ has pioneered services like FamilyGuard+, a network-level parental control solution designed to meet the real-world needs of modern families. He has spearheaded initiatives supporting vulnerable communities, including children in care, refugees, and low-income households, through fair access broadband and safety education. Mashood is the author of the white paper “Beyond the Act: The Hidden Layer of Online Harm No One’s Regulating”, which challenges current UK online safety legislation and proposes a new national ISP Safety Rating System, akin to NCAP for cars or Ofsted for schools. A frequent speaker on digital safety, Mashood is leading an Online Safety & ISP Accountability session at the UK Internet Parliament Conference with ISPA, and continues to work with regulators, MPs, and safety groups to shape a safer digital future for all. https://www.gigabitiq.com/ https://parentline.ai/ https://nape.org.uk/ Find out more about our Primary First Journal - https://national-association-for-primary-education-shop.fourthwall.com/en-gbp

    44 min

  3. 20 NOV

    Free Music Education for All Students: Digital Resources & Live Performances

    Aurora Orchestra’s creative learning programme supports teachers to bring rich musical education and experiences to all children. The Aurora Classroom programme encompasses: digital resources for primary and secondary schoolsflexible cross-curricular resources for SEND settingstraining for teachers from our team of expertsworld-class programme of live activity for children and young people. Music at the heart of your primary school Bring Aurora Orchestra into your classroom using our free music resources, designed for music specialists and generalist teachers alike. Explore our fully planned 10-week units of work or build your own music lessons from our library of hundreds of activities and audio excerpts. Build your own unique SEND programme  Aurora’s inclusive and adaptable resources for children with additional needs enable teachers to build bespoke units of work by selecting activities from a number of learning strands: Live events for schools Aurora Orchestra is a pioneering orchestra that creates concert experiences beyond the ordinary, introducing children to music in an innovative and exciting way. https://www.auroraorchestra.com/ https://nape.org.uk/ Find out more about our Primary First Journal - https://national-association-for-primary-education-shop.fourthwall.com/en-gbp

    40 min

  4. 10 NOV

    How AI Tutors Are Scaling Quality Math Education – Third Space Learning

    The AI maths tutor that gets pupils reasoning out loud. Third Space Learning believe an AI tutor should do more than just generate questions and mark answers. What if it could provide scaffolded support according to knowledge gaps, speaking to students and encouraging them to verbalise their reasoning as they go? What if every pupil who needs it could work through maths problems in this way for one fixed low cost? Meet Skye, the low-cost AI maths tutor built by expert maths teachers Skye mimics the behaviours of a pedagogically sound subject matter expert and prompts ensures responses are effective, adaptable, and focused on improving understanding and increasing confidence. Prompts are specified in detail for each slide, and use insights from thousands of maths tutoring sessions to teach concepts effectively, address common misconceptions and ensure Skye adapts the pitch and pace of the session and personalises the instruction to suit each learner. ‘Since 2013, over 4,100 schools have chosen Third Space Learning’s cost-effective one-to-one maths tutoring – giving them more time to focus on whole-class teaching and learning.We’ve used all the online tutoring insights we’ve gained in the last decade to create Skye, an AI maths tutor like no other.’Takeaways: The primary objective of our mission is to make effective tutoring accessible to underprivileged children, thereby assisting in closing the educational attainment gap.Utilizing artificial intelligence for tutoring can provide substantial scaling benefits while maintaining the essential requirements necessary for effective tutoring.Our tutoring programs are designed to be seamlessly integrated into school timetables, enhancing the overall learning experience and reinforcing classroom instruction.We have observed that the interaction between students and AI tutors fosters a low-stakes environment, encouraging children to engage more freely without the fear of judgment.Our approach focuses on high-impact tutoring, which necessitates a proactive and structured interaction rather than reactive responses to student inquiries.The transition from human to AI tutors is grounded in extensive research and data, ensuring that we continue to meet the needs of schools and students effectively. https://thirdspacelearning.com/maths-tutoring/ai-maths-tutor/ https://thirdspacelearning.com/ National Association for Primary Education (NAPE) https://nape.org.uk/ Primary First Journal - Get the digital download at: https://national-association-for-primary-education-shop.fourthwall.com

    45 min

  5. 3 NOV

    Tapestry - Childhood Education Platform

    Ben Case is part of the Tapestry education team and a former primary and early years teacher. He works closely with settings to support their use of Tapestry and believes tech is only successful if you bring staff with you. As a teacher Ben regularly presented at TeachMeet Sussex and he now helps to host the Tapestry podcast, writes for education publications, and features in many of the Tapestry training videos to support users. He is keen to share actionable insights and foster a positive, confident approach to using technology effectively in early years settings across the UK. Tapestry’s annual survey had some interesting findings around the use of AI in the early years; engaging with families; and supporting families with ideas for play at home. More info about the survey: https://tapestry.info/tapestry-early-years-education-survey-2025-what-we-learnt/ Tapestry has teamed up with award-winning Playworker Amber – aka Amber Ogunsanya-William – to collaborate on a project championing children’s freedom to play. The animation shares Amber’s story, and highlights provocations for play at home. https://tapestry.info/ https://tapestry.info/let-play-lead-the-day/ National Association for Primary Education (NAPE) https://nape.org.uk/

    37 min

  6. 9 MAY

    Prof Dr Ger Graus OBE - Professional Autobiography

    Ger’s professional autobiography, Through a Different Lens – Lessons from a Life in Education, published by Routledge in April 2025. Professor Dr Ger Graus OBE is a renowned figure in the field of education – once described as “Jean-Jacques Rousseau meets Willy Wonka”. He was the first Global Director of Education at KidZania and the founding CEO of the Children’s University. In 2019, Ger became a Visiting Professor at the National Research University in Moscow, Russia. He is also a Professor of Practice at the University of Cumbria, United Kingdom, and a Member of the PhD Advisory Council at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy. Ger is a frequent keynote speaker at some of the world’s leading education conferences. Driven by his famous mantra that “Children can only aspire to what they know exists”, Ger champions the cause of equity, progress, purpose, creativity, and innovation in children’s learning. Born in the Netherlands, Ger moved to the United Kingdom in 1983 where he began his teaching career, later becoming a Senior Inspector, and Education Director. Ger is a member of Bett’s Global Education Council; DIDAC India’s Advisory Board; and Junior Achievement’s Worldwide Global Council. He chairs the Beaconhouse School System’s Advisory Board, Pakistan; advises the Fondazione Reggio Children, Italy; supports a range of education start-ups globally; and was invited to help shape the future of education in Dubai as a member of the Dubai Future Councils. In 2023, he joined the Global Teacher Prize Judging and the World’s Best School Prize Academies as a judge. In 2024, Ger was invited onto the Board of Trustees of the Sharjah Education Academy by Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qassimi, Ruler of Sharjah. In the 2014 Queen’s Birthday Honours List Ger was made an Honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to children, and in 2018 he received the Global Education Leadership Award at the World Education Congress, India. In 2022, he was granted the award of Iconic Leader Creating A Better World For All by the Women Economic Forum (WEF) and the following year, Ger was made a Companion of the Harry Volker Genootschap in The Netherlands. https://www.gergraus.com/ Find out how National Association for Primary Education can support you at https://nape.org.uk/

    53 min

  7. 29 APR

    Making Change Stick with Dr. James Mannion

    Dr. Mannion shares insights from his recent publication, “Making Change Stick,” where he emphasizes the necessity of engaging educators at all levels in the change process, thereby fostering a collaborative environment that enhances student outcomes. We explore the transformative impact of project-based learning and self-regulated learning on students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, demonstrating how innovative educational practices can yield significant improvements. www.drjamesmannion.com www.makingchangestick.co Full details about National Association for Primary Education https://nape.org.uk/

    58 min

  8. 15 APR

    How do you teach left-handed children?

    How do we support left-handed children in a predominantly right-handed world? Mark Stewart, founder of Left n Write Ltd, shares his journey and insights on the unique challenges faced by left-handed individuals, particularly in educational settings. With over 1 million left-handed children in schools across England, Mark emphasizes the lack of awareness and training for educators on how to assist these students effectively. Mark started his small business about 30 years ago as a result of trying to find left-handed scissors for his youngest son when he was 4. Mark’s wife Heather had no training in helping left-handed children during her Teacher Training so they started to campaign with their left-handed MP, Peter Luff, to change the Education system to be proactive rather than passive. They had meetings with Ministers, questions and a 30 minute adjournment debate in the House of Commons, produced a training video in 1999 (now downloadable/interactive and was updated last year) as well as writing an information/activity book titled “So You Think They’re Left Handed?” and 3 books titled “Left Hand Writing Skills”. We have also produced other resources specifically for left-handed children in education. Over the years I have run over 200 training workshops. In 2021 Mark co founded and is co-chair of a global group called “LEFT-IN” Left-Handers Education Forum and Training International Network (left-in.org) with the aim to improve the information and education available to the educators of left-handed children around the world. www.leftshoponline.co.uk For full details of what National Association for Primary Education can support you with please visit: https://nape.org.uk/

    46 min
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About

The National Association for Primary Education speaks for young children and all who live and work with them. On this podcast we discuss the work and lectures of Christian Schiller, interview education specialist and explain how NAPE is working for you. Our aim is to achieve a higher priority for the education of children from birth to 13. High quality learning in the early years of life is vitally important to the creation of an educated society. Young children are not simply preparing for the future, they are living a never to be repeated time of life and the best way to learn is to live.

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