Best Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran Podcasts (2025)

1
Are we overcomplicating teaching? 44:15

Play Pause

7h ago44:15

44:15

Prompted by listener feedback, Femi and Matt explore the idea that when it comes to teaching we are making something simple more complicated than it needs to be. Get in touch by emailing us: [email protected] Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

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Class discussions...! 39:32

3d ago39:32

39:32

Matt and Femi discuss what comes to mind when one hears a teacher say "We had a great discussion today about ...". Contact us by emailing [email protected] Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
Attention, Participation, Thought 46:55

15d ago46:55

46:55

Femi and Matt discuss the utility, pros, and cons of looking at lessons through a simple 'attention, participation, thought' lens, discuss other approaches to diagnosis, ask if we are over-complicating things, and consider an alternative lens focussed on creating conditions for independent practice. Contact us at: [email protected]…

1
Getting Independent Working Happening in Lessons 47:22

18d ago47:22

47:22

Matt and Femi discuss the importance of quiet independent practice for students, and get into the challenges and preconditions for getting this happening in lessons.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

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Rachael Southern - Reading! 1:15:45

25d ago1:15:45

1:15:45

Matt and Femi catch up with Rachael Southern two years after her first appearance on the pod and she shares her knowledge around improving reading and thoughts about leading on it whole-school.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
Sarah Cottinghatt - Meaningful Learning & Coaching 52:54

2M ago52:54

52:54

Author, teacher, trainer, and expert coach Sarah Cottinghatt joins Matt and Femi to discuss her book 'Ausubel's Meaningful Learning in Action', and coaching! Follow Sarah's Coaching Cuts on Substack: https://cognitivecoaching.substack.com/ Contact the pod: [email protected] Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
Rows v Groups & Detentions v Conversations 42:10

2M ago42:10

42:10

In this double episode Matt and Femi explore the arguments for students sitting in rows facing the front vs sitting around tables in groups, and then turn their attention to the issues around the effectiveness of issuing detentions vs a prompt and stern conversation with the student. As always please send your thoughts to [email protected]…

1
Characteristics of Poor Leadership 36:07

2M ago36:07

36:07

We've all experienced it! Matt and Femi lay out some of the most important characteristics of poor leadership in schools as they see it.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

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"There's too much content to get through..." 37:49

2M ago37:49

37:49

Sometimes it really is a struggle to get through all the content. But there's also possibly room for improvement when that claim is used to justify not giving students adequate time for independent practice in lessons, or building in regular mixed revision consolidation lessons to the scheme of work. Matt and Femi discuss! [email protected]…

1
Great Teaching Unpacked - Episode 3 Review 45:28

3M ago45:28

45:28

Matt and Femi discuss episode 3 of the great Teaching: Unpacked documentary series. Watch the documentary at steplab.co/watch Get in touch: [email protected] Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
High Frequency Teaching Errors 53:23

3M ago53:23

53:23

Matt and Femi discuss some of the most common problems they've noticed over the course of many years of lesson visits and drop-ins. Contact us by email: [email protected] Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
Respect for the Learners 40:42

4M ago40:42

40:42

Matt and Femi chat about a rarely-discussed characteristic of teachers; having respect for the learners.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

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Coachability! 40:15

4M ago40:15

40:15

Femi and Matt explore the idea that some people are more coachable than others...By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

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Great Teaching, Unpacked Documentary - Episode 2 Review 53:05

4M ago53:05

53:05

Matt and Femi discuss episode 2 of the Great Teaching Unpacked Documentary - which focuses on behaviour, norms, routines and merits. Watch the documentary for free at: steplab.co/watchBy Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
First Success! 38:25

4M ago38:25

38:25

Matt and Femi discuss the idea of first success, and whether the copncept can inform thinking around teacher development and student learning.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

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Great Teaching, Unpacked Documentary - Episode 1 Review 56:31

5M ago56:31

56:31

Matt and Femi discuss Episode 1 of the Great Teaching, Unpacked documentary. Watch the documentary for free at: steplab.co/film Get in touch with Matt and Femi: [email protected] Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
"A dog with a bone" 30:33

5M ago30:33

30:33

Matt and Femi discuss the critical importance of not letting behavioural incidents go unchallenged.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

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Policies 34:45

5M ago34:45

34:45

Femi and Matt discuss the concept of school policies and policy documentation, and what makes them more or less effective. We're not on social media but we love to hear your thoughts, feedback, reflections and requests so please send us a message at: [email protected] Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
Micro Interactions 42:41

5M ago42:41

42:41

Matt and Femi discuss those brief interactions with students that set the tone for the lesson, or help transform the way students think about themselves.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
'Holding To Account' & 'Won't, Can't, Forgot' 36:13

6M ago36:13

36:13

Matt and Femi dive into the phrase that you so often hear amongst senior and middle management in schools: "Holding people to account".By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
Starting A School From Scratch - Michaela Khatib 49:30

6M ago49:30

49:30

Matt and Femi speak to the executive head teacher and founder of Cobham Free School, Michaela Khatib, about the remarkable journey to plan, start and grow a school from nothing to over a thousand pupils.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
Teacher Knowledge 46:21

6M ago46:21

46:21

Matt and Femi discuss the need for teachers to have a basic understanding of how learning happens, as well as barriers and solutions to the problem.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
Private vs State Schools 39:41

7M ago39:41

39:41

Matt and Femi discuss Femi's experience of working in both state and private schools, what the major differences are for teachers and what each can learn from the other.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
Accountability Culture AND Power of Video 47:00

7M ago47:00

47:00

This episode has 2 unrelated topics... In the first half of the episode Femi and Matt discuss what it means to have a culture where you can 'hold colleagues accountable' for the benefit of the whole team. In the second part of episode (starting at 20:30), Femi and Matt turn their attention to the Power of Video - particularly with regards to modell…

1
Improving is Hard! 40:19

7M ago40:19

40:19

Femi and Matt discuss why improving our teaching (or anything) can be so difficult, and how that influences their thinking around coaching and PD.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

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My team are not doing what I asked! 30:03

8M ago30:03

30:03

Femi and Matt ponder the all too common phrase "people just aren't doing it"!By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
Disagree then Commit 41:39

8M ago41:39

41:39

Femi and Matt discuss the concept of 'disagree then commit' in the context of working in a school team or SLT.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

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Peter Lee - Headteacher at Q3 Academy Langley 1:03:27

8M ago1:03:27

1:03:27

Matt and Femi talk to Peter Lee about how he has managed to found and maintain a school which not only achieves outstanding results, but also has not had any supply bought in for over 8 years! Among many other things they discuss workload, behaviour, timetabling and lesson structures.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

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Reflections on 6 months of Coaching 46:20

8M ago46:20

46:20

Femi shares his reflections and lessons learnt with Matt on the last 6 months of doing regular coaching - several times per week.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

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Drop-in Culture 43:50

9M ago43:50

43:50

Prompted by Pritesh's tweet regarding the number of observations completed and feedback given in the autumn term, Femi and Matt discuss attitudes and culture around drop-ins.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
Refusal 42:34

9M ago42:34

42:34

Femi and Matt wrestle with the concept of students who refuse instructions and what schools can do about it.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
The Lost Art of Planning 49:46

9M ago49:46

49:46

Femi and Matt's discussion is prompted by an article of the same name: https://thinkingflexibly.com/2024/10/18/the-lost-art-of-planning/ They discuss the pros and cons of planning lessons, designing lesson sequences and preparing resources from scratch vs having off-the-shelf schemes of work, resources and teaching powerpoints.…

1
Front-loading Your Explanations 37:09

9M ago37:09

37:09

Matt and Femi discuss explicit teaching (direct instruction), questioning, AfL and much more!By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
Katharine Birbalsingh 1:09:20

10M ago1:09:20

1:09:20

Matt and Femi talk to Katharine Birbalsingh, founding member and head teacher of the Michaela Community School in Wembley Park.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
Barry Smith on Classroom Teaching 1:08:00

10M ago1:08:00

1:08:00

Following on from their video analysis of his lesson, Matt and Femi talk to Barry Smith about some of his principles for classroom teaching. Starting from a lense of MFL teaching, we extract the general pedagogical principles that Barry believes lead to exceptional outcomes in the classroom.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

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Metacognition with Nathan Burns 48:41

11M ago48:41

48:41

Matt and Femi chat to metacognition enthusiast Nathan Burns about metacognition, knowledge, knowledge organisers and much much more. Check out Nathan's resources on his website: https://www.mrmetacognition.com/By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

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The Enactment Gap & Developing Teachers 40:04

11M ago40:04

40:04

Femi and Matt discuss the enactment gap - teasing apart what it is exactly, diagnosing solutions to the problem and then get into the pragmatism of supporting teachers to improve elements of their practice - trying to figure out when and how to intervene if a colleague is struggling with students during unstructured time.…

1
Q3 Academy Langley & Participation Ratio 1:02:57

11M ago1:02:57

1:02:57

Femi tells Matt about his recent visit to another high performing school - this time Q3 Academy Langley in the West Midlands. This brings up the topics of participation and thinking ratio - leading to a spirited discussion about 'pair talk', 'everybody writes' and other approaches to increasing thinking and participation.…

1
Thinking about Professional Development 31:55

12M ago31:55

31:55

Femi talks to Matt about how he is now thinking about PD - from individual all the way to whole-school.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
Duties and Interactions with Students 35:52

1y ago35:52

35:52

Matt and Femi discuss duties, handling pupils, being authentic, leadership, supporting colleagues and much more!By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
Lesson Analysis: Barry Smith Teaching French 45:49

1y ago45:49

45:49

See the video podcast on youtube. Video Lesson Analysis: Barry Smith Teaching French https://youtu.be/qs0S4sYvBZ0?feature=shared Barry's Full French Lesson https://youtu.be/WtO1YWhwAGE?feature=shared Doug Lemov's Field Notes https://teachlikeachampion.org/tag/barry-smith/By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

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Miriam Hussain on Behaviour and Whole-School Systems 46:58

1y ago46:58

46:58

Matt and Femi talk to Miriam Hussain about whole-school systems for behaviour, for teaching and learning, about SLT, the vision of the head teacher and much more!By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
Reflections and Plans 45:50

1y ago45:50

45:50

Matt and Femi reflect on leading departments, the evolving process of implementing coaching and department meetings as colleagues' needs change over time, and turn their thoughts forward to leading culture change, teaching and learning and implementing coaching whole school.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

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Responsive Coaching - Josh Goodrich 1:10:08

1y ago1:10:08

1:10:08

Matt and Femi are joined by Josh Goodrich, author of 'Responsive Coaching', former teacher and senior leader and CEO of steplab. Responsive Coaching https://www.amazon.co.uk/Responsive-Coaching-Evidence-informed-instructional-coaching/dp/1036003213 Steplab www.steplab.coBy Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

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A Student Perspective - with Lily 1:01:58

1y ago1:01:58

1:01:58

Matt and Femi speak to former student Lily about school and learning from the other side of the desk. Their discussion ranges from the impact that a great teacher can have on a student's choices and life, through to accounting for students who are struggling with pastoral issues and even to the teacher recruitment crisis and questions of how to get…

1
Checking For Understanding 38:24

1y ago38:24

38:24

In this episode Matt and Femi discuss various means and considerations around checking for understanding.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
What Have You Seen Working Well? 44:59

1y ago44:59

44:59

Femi and I have been visiting a lot of schools over the last few months - some are incredible and get some of the best results in the country and others are not so good! In this episode we share things we've each seen that we thought were effective, and things that we noticed that were not.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
'Booklets' with Matt Burnage 58:53

1y ago58:53

58:53

Matt Burnage is one of the founding senior leaders of Ark Soane Academy, History teacher, and assistant principal leading on curriculum and assessment. In this episode we do a deep dive into the subject of booklets - what they are, how they encapsulate the curriculum, impact on learning, the ways they are used in lessons, implications for whole sch…

1
My Visit to Michaela! 42:07

1y ago42:07

42:07

Matt debriefs Femi on his visit to The Michaela Community School. They discuss teaching and learning, students, staff, family lunch and yard time, curriculum, routines, culture and much more.By Matt Findlay and Femi Adeniran

1
Barry Smith! Part 2 51:36

1y ago51:36

51:36

Join Matt and Femi for the second part of their interview with Barry, as they talk about his leadership style, teaching, developing teachers, SLT and much much more. Barry Smith was a founding Deputy of Michaela School, Wembley. The kids’ amazing French and his unique approach to MFL teaching created huge buzz at Michaela. He went on to become head…

Matt Findlay And Femi Adeniran Podcasts