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. May 25

    Fondazione Reggio Children

    Today we bring together Prof Dr Ger Graus OBE and Cristian Fabbi, Director of the Fondazione Reggio Children, for a deeply human and intellectually rich conversation about the future of early years education. Ger and Cristian share personal stories and the work of their friend and colleague Carla Rinaldi — one of the world’s most influential educational thinkers. They explore what it truly means to place children at the heart of learning. From the rubble of post-war Italy to classrooms in Soweto, Nairobi, and Napoli, the Reggio Emilia approach has quietly transformed how educators around the world understand childhood, creativity, community, and the very purpose of school. This is a conversation full of warmth, courage, and genuine hope — a reminder that when we believe in children’s potential, extraordinary things happen. https://www.frchildren.org/en https://www.reggiochildren.it/reggio-emilia-approach/ https://www.gergraus.com Get the book – Through a Different Lens: Lessons from a Life in Education https://www.educationonfire.com/

    1h 2m

  2. Apr 13

    Enhancing Primary Education: Insights from NAPE's Summer Term 2026

    Today we have a brief summary of events happening during the summer of 2026. The National Association for Primary Education has transitioned its professional journal, Primary First, to a digital format, enhancing accessibility.Mark Taylor, the Vice Chair, expresses gratitude to listeners globally, emphasizing the podcast's wide reach beyond the UK.A noteworthy event is the launch of the book 'John Coe : An Enlightened Voice For Primary Education,' celebrating the life of a founding member of NAPE.Upcoming events include the Christian Schiller Lecture, focusing on curriculum curiosity, featuring guest speaker Claire Maloney-Banks.The NAPE conference on Reading coincides with the national year of reading, offering workshops and keynotes related to literacy.Listeners are encouraged to engage with the podcast and participate in upcoming educational events and initiatives. https://nape.org.uk/ https://www.nape.org.uk/the-schiller-lecture-2026 Digital Copies of Primary First Journal and John Coe - An Enlightened Voice for Primary Education https://national-association-for-primary-education-shop.fourthwall.com/en-gbp 27th May - LIVE book launch on YouTube watch at https://www.youtube.com/live/FGy-uPDR8ew?si=HwTYqih5DOhNrxpI Conference for Reading - 8th May https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/105006

    4 min

  3. Apr 2

    Navigating the AI Landscape in Education with BBC Bitesize

    Cerys Griffiths is the Head of BBC Bitesize, the BBC's free, online learning resource for students aged 5 to 16, their teachers and parents. Bitesize also aims to support educating the whole child through it's Careers, Study Support and media literacy offer, Other Side of the Story, as well as special educational initiatives like the Bitesize Guide to AI. Takeaways: The BBC Bitesize initiative provides comprehensive educational resources tailored for students aged five to sixteen.The integration of AI into educational frameworks necessitates a strong emphasis on critical thinking skills for students.Research indicates a significant number of teenagers lack awareness regarding effective AI resource utilization and its implications.The Bitesize platform aims to empower students by promoting media literacy and informing them about the risks of misinformation.Teachers play a crucial role in navigating the complexities of AI and misinformation in educational settings.The BBC emphasizes trust and quality in educational content, ensuring all materials are developed with input from educational professionals. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize Instagram: @bbcbitesize Chapters: 00:03 - Introduction to BBC BiteSize05:55 - Navigating the Future: AI and Education09:35 - Navigating AI in Education: Challenges and Opportunities17:46 - Navigating the New Digital Landscape21:22 - Engaging Young Learners Through Innovative Education29:00 - Empowering Young People Through Education National Association for Primary Education (NAPE) Primary First Journal: https://national-association-for-primary-education-shop.fourthwall.com/en-gbp 2026 Conference Keynote : Reading for Pleasure – Dr Roger McDonald Workshops focusing on National Year of Reading : Writing, TESOL, Oracy, Drama and Story Telling, Poetry https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/105006 https://www.educationonfire.com

    31 min

  4. 12/04/2025

    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

  5. 11/27/2025

    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

  6. 11/20/2025

    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

  7. 11/10/2025

    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

  8. 11/03/2025

    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
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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.

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