Hope you’ve finally made it to the holidays! I’m not going to tell you about resources, that can wait at least four weeks while you have a break.

What is a podcast? I know that not everyone knows what a podcast is, so if you're not sure, a podcast is a bit like a radio programme but on demand. So it's a series of audio clips. You access a podcast via a podcast app (we've linked to ours on the major platforms) and they are free to listen to.

So why am I doing a podcast?

We wanted to give something back and a podcast is a great way to do it. We’re sourcing some great guests and asking them the questions YOU want us to ask them for your CPD, interest and entertainment. You should listen to my introductory episode to hear the details of why I’m doing it.

We launched my podcast this week and so far we've uploaded 4 interviews for you to listen to. We'll be uploading another one on Tuesday and then we'll fall into a weekly pattern, releasing one every Sunday morning.

At the moment, we estimate that 35% of our teaching community listen to podcasts based on some research we did. Podcasts are at the stage where Netflix was 5 years ago (before everyone had it!). They are such easy listens and I personally love listening to podcasts. They are ideal for the commute to work, you learn a lot in your 'passive' time and best of all, they're free! I'd also recommend listening to podcasts on holiday, even if it's not mine - there are some great ones out there! It's been great to see that some of the staff members at the Classroom Secrets office have converted to podcasts after listening to ours and we've had customers comment that they’ve done the same so I'm happy to be part of the movement.

We've got some really great guests lined up and hopefully I'll be able to reveal who they are soon. This week I’m interviewing James Holmes, founder of MarkMate (you may remember him from Dragon’s Den) and Allison Philipson, a Literacy consultant from Bradford. These episodes will be released in a few weeks. What questions would you like me to ask them?

So what’s already available to listen to and what's coming this week?

Mitch Hudson (Grammarsaurus) - Talking about Grammar and progressing through the ranks into leadership early in his career
Lee Peckover (Classroom Secrets) - Talking about EYFS and having to leave teaching due to having epilepsy
Heather McAvan (Mrs Mactivity) - Talking about resources and LIFE/work balance
Mungo Sheppard (Headteacher at Ash Green Community Primary School) - Talking about school budgets

Tuesday - Laura Lodge (One Education) - Talking about reading
Sunday - Becky Lambton (Itchy Robot) - Talking about school websites

I hope you have a really restful week and if you haven't yet finished, hang in there - only a few days left. It'd be great if you could have a listen to my podcast and let me know what you think.

Love Claire and the team at Classroom Secrets.