Deanery Digests

Oxford University

The University of Oxford Education Deanery’s mission is to empower educators worldwide to understand, use, and co-produce high-quality research evidence in education. In this podcast series, we explore the latest research from the Department of Education at the University of Oxford and discuss the real-world implications for teachers, parents and policy makers. Each podcast is accompanied by a Deanery Digest, a short, plain language summary of the research, which can be downloaded from our website.

  1. 6H AGO

    Bullying or Counter Connecting – Two inclusive definitions for schools

    In conversation with Dr Julia Badger and assistant headteacher Simon Fox about new research that explores definitions of bullying and coins a new, complimentary, term: counter connecting. About 40% of children and young people are exposed to bullying, but this rate has been reported to be as high as 69% for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Sadly, bullying involvement (either as a perpetrator and/or as a victim) can lead to detrimental effects on mental health in the short- and/or long-term and can be heightened for children with SEND who often experience bullying involvement more intensely or who cannot fully comprehend the situation or emotion. Although reducing bullying in schools has been a public health priority for years, there is still no standardised or universally accepted definition of bullying and the definitions used, are often not inclusive of the experiences of children with SEND. Our conversation explores research that aimed to develop a usable definition of bullying for researchers and school staff that can be applied not only to mainstream school and typically developing children but also to those with SEND, neurodivergence or attending special schools. The episode is accompanied by a Deanery Digest, which can be downloaded from the Oxford Education Deanery website: https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/oxford-education-deanery/digest/bullying-or-counter-connecting/ Learn more about the Oxford Education Deanery: https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/about-us/oxford-education-deanery/ Join our mailing list: https://education.us21.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=2b84fd25801a8e6f131fdf744&id=1a0dba83bc

    24 min
  2. 11/21/2025

    Raised by Relatives – Kinship Carers from Black and Asian Communities

    Priya Tah from the Rees Centre discusses a study that focuses on the experiences of Black and Asian kinship carers. Priya explains the challenges that racially minoritised kinship carers face and the implications of the study for policy and practice. More than one in five of the 120,000 kinship children in England live with minority ethnic kinship carers. However, little is known about their experiences. In this episode, Priya Tah speaks with Laura Molway about a study commissioned by Kinship and funded by the KPMG Foundation to better understand the experiences, needs, and challenges of Black and Asian kinship carers in England. Evidence suggests that while Black and Asian kinship carers face similar barriers to other kinship families such as a lack of financial support, they also deal with specific challenges, including cultural stigma, systemic racism and limited access to support and tailored services. Priya identifies several areas where improvements in kinship care support could be made, including in awareness, statutory rights, housing, support for special educational needs and disabilities, and the cultural competence of services. The episode is accompanied by a Deanery Digest, which can be downloaded from the Oxford Education Deanery website: https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/oxford-education-deanery/digest/raised-by-relatives-kinship-carers-from-black-and-asian-communities/ Learn more about the study discussed in this episode by reading the Raised by Relatives report Learn more about the Kinship charity here: https://kinship.org.uk/ Priya also mentions Families in Harmony, which is a UK-based organisation founded to serve Black African, Caribbean and dual heritage kinship carers. You can find out more here: https://familiesinharmony.org.uk/ Learn more about the Oxford Education Deanery: https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/about-us/oxford-education-deanery/ Join our mailing list: https://education.us21.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=2b84fd25801a8e6f131fdf744&id=1a0dba83bc

    23 min
  3. 09/19/2025

    The Confident Questioner’s Guide - Assessing Claims in Education

    David Schley from the charity Sense About Science discusses a series of guides to help teachers become confident questioners in the face of claims about new educational initiatives. Schools, teachers and parents are regularly introduced to new measures designed to improve education. However, education is a zero-sum game. The introduction of a new initiative inevitably comes at the expense of something else, be that time, effort, another part of the curriculum, or money. It is important to understand whether adopting a new educational initiative is worth it. In this episode, David Schley of the charity Sense About Science talks with Hamish Chalmers about an initiative to provide educators with key questions to ask when faced with decision about whether to adopt a new educational initiative. The episode is accompanied by a Questioning Guide for teachers, which can be downloaded from the Oxford Education Deanery website. Download a copy of the questioner’s guide: https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/oxford-education-deanery/resources/ Learn more about Sense About Science: https://senseaboutscience.org Learn more about the confident questioners initiative and see guides from other areas: https://senseaboutscience.org/ask-for-evidence/questioning-guides/ Learn more about the Oxford Education Deanery: https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/about-us/oxford-education-deanery/ Join our mailing list: https://education.us21.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=2b84fd25801a8e6f131fdf744&id=1a0dba83bc

    22 min
  4. 08/15/2025

    The benefits of coaching as part of Early Years Continued Professional Development

    Professor Kathy Sylva OBE speaks to Engagement and Partnerships Lead Joe Bullough about research which she was co-investigator for, which points to the benefits of coaching as part of Early Years' Continuing Professional Development (CPD). The 'Expert and Mentors' programme, which was funded by the Department for Education's £180 million Early Years' Recovery initiative, provided on-site coaching for up to six hours per term to Early Years' settings, with a focus on improving the way the setting supported personal, social, and emotional development (PSED) and communication and language skills. The evaluation, involving 400 settings, showed significant positive impacts on practitioners' confidence and skill in both PSED and (to a lesser degree, though still significant gains) in communication and language. However, it did not find any effect on retention of staff, which was a secondary focus of the investigation. Qualitative findings also highlighted the transformative impact of coaching for practitioners and managers—but, interestingly, also pointed to the most significant benefits for coaches and experts involved. The research finds on-site coaching as a tried and tested, low-cost method to "lift" practice, as part of an effective CPD programme. However, it also makes the case for further longitudinal work, linked to learning outcomes, to make more comprehensive assessments of the longer-term impact of such programmes on children's actual development. A Digest (plain language summary) of this research can be viewed and downloaded here:https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/oxford-education-deanery/digest/the-benefits-of-coaching-as-part-of-early-years-continuing-professional-development-cpd/ Subscribe to the Oxford Education Deanery's mailing list: https://eepurl.com/iAtDik Subscribe to the Oxford Education Deanery's podcast: https://podfollow.com/deanery-digests/view Read the full report, which this episdode and digest are based on: Ecorys UK and Sylva, K., (2025) Evaluation of the Early Years Experts and Mentors programme, UK Government: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e42d3ad052ace7e89776c1/Evaluation_of_the_Early_Years_Experts_and_Mentors_programme.pdf Speaker Bios Professor Kathy Sylva OBE Professor Kathy Sylva is Honorary Research Fellow and Professor Emeritus of Educational Psychology at the Department of Education, University of Oxford. She has conducted large-scale studies on the effects of early education and care on children’s development and has led several RCTs to evaluate parenting interventions. She has been specialist adviser to Parliamentary Select Committees and currently advises Ofsted, and the Education Endowment Foundation. Kathy is a Fellow of the British Academy, the Academy of Social Sciences, the British Psychological Society, and recipient of the British Educational Research Association’s Nisbett Award in 2014. She received an OBE for services to children and families in 2008 and has honorary doctorates from the Open University, Oxford Brookes, the University of Gothenburg and the University of Jvyaskyla. https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/person/kathy-sylva/ Joe Bullough Joe Bullough is the Engagement and Partnerships Lead at the Department of Education, University of Oxford. He leads school partnerships under the Oxford Internship Scheme (PGCE), and, with the co-directors, drives the development of the Oxford Education Deanery —a platform for exchange between school teachers in practice and researchers at Oxford. He also provides advisory support to the directors on wider partnership matters. Prior to his role at the Department of Education, Joe managed partnerships and engagement for the Research on Improving Systems of Education (RISE) Programme—a £40 million, UK Aid-funded progamme focused on improving learning outcomes and education systems around the world. Prior to that, he worked for UNESCO’s Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO). https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/person/joseph-bullough/

    22 min
  5. 03/26/2025

    Who Influences the Career Choices of Young People in Care?

    Dr Mariela Neagu discusses her research exploring the experiences young people who grew up in care when it comes to making education and career choices. Young people who grow up in care constitute one of the most vulnerable groups in society. Many of them enter care during adolescence, a critical time for development, when they form their identities, set their future aspirations and make education and career choices, usually with support from their family. In the absence of family support and influence, the risk of young people leaving care to end up not being not in education, employment or training (NEET) is much higher than in general population and only a small proportion of them go into higher education. In this episode, Dr Neagu discusses findings from interviews with 12 young people (over 18) who spent their teenage years in foster or residential care, and three professionals who work with young people to support them with education and employment. The research focussed on how the young people had decided what to do in the future, and who or what influenced and supported them. The Deanery Digest (a plain language summary) of this research can be viewed and downloaded here: https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/oxford-education-deanery/digest/who-influences-the-career-choices-of-young-people-in-care-vocational-identity-formation-in-the-absence-of-family-support/ Mariela’s Socials: https://marielaneagu.com/ X @MarielaNeagu, LinkedIn Mariela Neagu Learn more about the Oxford Education Deanery: https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/about-us/oxford-education-deanery/ Join our mailing list: https://education.us21.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=2b84fd25801a8e6f131fdf744&id=1a0dba83bc

    16 min
  6. 01/23/2025

    What we can learn from England, Northern Ireland, and Wales' Performance in PISA 2022

    In this episode, Professor Jenni Ingram and Dr Stuart Cadwallader discuss their analysis, undertaken with Pearson for the OECD, of England, Northern Ireland and Wales' performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022. In doing so, they discuss some of the key findings and headline takeaways of their analysis for parents, teachers, and for policy. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a worldwide study of 15-year-old students. Primarily, it assesses students' knowledge and skills in mathematics, reading and science, but, in 2022, it also gathered valuable information about student experiences, attitudes and beliefs through a questionnaire. PISA facilitates (cautious) comparisons of performance between education systems (usually different countries) and over time, between PISA cycles. For this reason, PISA results often have a strong influence on education policymaking. Among some of the key findings from their analysis, Jenni and Stuart highlight that the three nations perform above, or close to the OECD average in mathematics, reading, and science. Encouragingly, their analysis also points towards narrower socio-economic gaps in performance compared to many other countries, and they discuss findings on the balance of the three nations' performance in different areas of mathematics. They also address new questionnaire data which sheds light on safety and belonging in school, and the need for responsible interpretation of PISA data. Deanery Digests (plain language summaries) of the research can be viewed and downloaded here: 1. PISA performance in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2022: https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/oxford-education-deanery/digest/15472/ 2. PISA 2: What do students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland tell us about their experiences of learning mathematics? Analysing student questionnaire and performance data from PISA 2022: https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/oxford-education-deanery/digest/pisa-2-what-do-students-in-england-wales-and-northern-ireland-tell-us-about-their-experiences-of-learning-mathematics-analysing-student-questionnaire-and-performance-data-from-pisa-2022/ 3. PISA 3: What do students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland tell us about their wellbeing? Analysing student questionnaire data from PISA 2022: https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/oxford-education-deanery/digest/pisa-3-what-do-students-in-england-wales-and-northern-ireland-tell-us-about-their-wellbeing-analysing-student-questionnaire-data-from-pisa-2022/ This podcast and the digests are based on the following open access reports: * Ingram, J.; Stiff, J., Cadwallader S., Lee, G. & Kayton, H (2023) PISA 2022: National Report for England. Department for Education. Available from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pisa-2022-national-report-for-england * Ingram, J.; Stiff, J., Cadwallader S., Lee, G. & Kayton, H (2023) PISA 2022: National Report for Northern Ireland. Department for Education. Available from https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/articles/programme-international-student-assessment-pisa * Ingram, J.; Stiff, J., Cadwallader S., Lee, G. & Kayton, H (2023) PISA 2022: National Report for Wales. Welsh Government. Available from https://www.gov.wales/achievement-15-year-olds-program-international-student-assessment-pisa-national-report-2022 Learn more about the Oxford Education Deanery: https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/oxford-education-deanery Join our mailing list: https://bit.ly/deanery-subscribe Biographies Professor Jenni Ingram Prof Jenni Ingram is Professor of Mathematics Education at the Department of Education, University of Oxford. She is Deputy Chair of the Joint Mathematical Council, Executive Trustee and Treasurer for the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education, and Chair of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education Interaction, communication and Language in Mathematics Education thematic working group. She is a member of the Royal Society Advisor Committee on Mathematics Education 11-16 Expert Group and the Mathematical Observatory Research Expert Panel. She is also an Editor of Research in Mathematics Education, Guest Editor for The Mathematics Enthusiast, and member of the Editorial Boards for the Journal of Mathematical Behavior and the Journal for Mathematics Teacher Education. Dr Stuart Cadwallader Dr Stuart Cadwallader is a Departmental Lecturer in Educational Assessment at the Department of Education, University of Oxford. Stuart has a PhD in Education from the University of Warwick. His research interests cover many aspects of educational assessment, including examination standards, the assessment of practical skills, the use of assistive technology for assessment, and the digitisation of assessment. Prior to January 2022, Stuart was Associate Director for Research at Ofqual, where he helped lead a research programme to support the regulation of examinations and qualifications in England. He has held senior research roles both at Ofqual and at an examination board. Joe Bullough Joe Bullough is Engagement and Partnerships Lead at the Department of Education, University of Oxford. He leads school partnerships under the Oxford Internship Scheme (PGCE), and, with the co-directors, drives the development of the Oxford Education Deanery. He also provides advisory support to the directors on wider partnership matters. Prior to his role at the Department of Education, Joe managed partnerships and engagement for the RISE Programme-a £40 million, UK Aid-funded programme focused on improving learning outcomes and education systems around the world. Prior to that, he worked for UNESCO's Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau for Education, and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO).

    20 min

About

The University of Oxford Education Deanery’s mission is to empower educators worldwide to understand, use, and co-produce high-quality research evidence in education. In this podcast series, we explore the latest research from the Department of Education at the University of Oxford and discuss the real-world implications for teachers, parents and policy makers. Each podcast is accompanied by a Deanery Digest, a short, plain language summary of the research, which can be downloaded from our website.