The most important educator in most children's lives is their parents, and the first five years is deemed to be critical. Sarah Montague meets Margy Whalley, the co-founder of Pen Green Children's Centre and Research Base in Corby, Northamptons

The World's Best Teachers

Dec 15th, 2015 27m 40s

Studies have shown that the most important thing in a child's education is the quality of their teacher. A child at a bad school with a good teacher can learn more than someone at a good school getting bad tuition.Doug Lemov has trained thousan

Turning Schools Around

Dec 8th, 2015 27m 39s

Schools in England have been warned that if they coast, rather than improve, they risk being closed down.Sarah Montague meets the new head teachers of a Birmingham secondary school involved in the so-called Trojan Horse scandal. Golden Hillock

What Finland Did Next

Dec 1st, 2015 27m 38s

Since the first international comparisons in 2000, Finland has been at or near the top of league tables for the abilities of its teenagers in reading, maths and science. Experts and politicians flocked to its schools to discover what was leadin

Character Lessons

Nov 24th, 2015 27m 38s

The KIPP school movement began 20 years ago in the US. It stands for Knowledge Is Power Program, and the schools focus on two things; academic achievement and building strength of character.They work in the most disadvantaged districts of New Y

Salman Khan

Oct 1st, 2014 27m 53s

Sal Khan worked as a hedge-fund analyst before he set up the Khan Academy, almost by accident, when his cousin in another city needed help with her maths homework. Since then, his online video lessons have been watched half a billion times, and

Jo Boaler

Sep 24th, 2014 28m

Is our attitude towards maths killing the subject for children? Professor Jo Boaler believes a widespread belief in the existence of a 'maths brain' is ruining pupils' chances of success in the subject.She tells Sarah Montague that anybody can

Sugata Mitra

Sep 17th, 2014 27m 58s

Professor Sugata Mitra, Professor of Educational Technology at Newcastle University, imagines a future where children teach themselves. Famous for his Hole-in-the-Wall experiment, he believes when young people are given the right tools and enco

Paul Howard-Jones

Sep 10th, 2014 27m 57s

Most parents will have witnessed the magnetic effect of computer games on children. The combination of skill, memory and risk, leading to an eventual prize, can engage people of any age for hours at a time.Paul Howard-Jones is a psychologist sp

Daisy Christodoulou

Sep 3rd, 2014 27m 58s

It's a relatively new dilemma for teachers. If the answer to almost anything is available with a search, should children be taught to remember facts, or how to find and use them?Teacher and writer Daisy Christodoulou tells Sarah Montague why sh

Tony Little

Aug 27th, 2014 27m 57s

Eton College in Berkshire is one of the world's most famous schools. With so many of its old boys having distinguished careers, an Eton education carries the expectation of success.The school's name has also become a cultural shorthand for infl

John Hattie

Aug 20th, 2014 27m 56s

What really works in schools and classrooms? How much difference can homework and class size make to a child's ability?Sarah Montague interviews John Hattie, Professor of Education at the University of Melbourne and Chair of the Australian Inst

Sir Ken Robinson

Aug 13th, 2014 27m 56s

A talk for the online lecture series TED in 2006 launched Sir Ken Robinson's ideas to a global audience. He spoke about creativity in schools for 20 minutes, and the video has been watched more than any other TED Talk, with 27 million views so

Rate