Aspirations Voice Podcasts

Aspirations Voice is the home of podcasts of Aspirations Academies Trust. Our aim is to build a library of Aspirations podcasts produced by staff and pupils giving an insight into a great work going on at Aspirations Academies Trust schools. Here you will find all the Aspirations Voice podcasts.

Aspirations Voice Podcast Season 2

Episode 1

Welcome back to Aspirations Voice podcasts! We are starting season 2 with our first episode where Trust Strategic Careers Leader, Baron Miles, explains why employability is at the heart of Aspirations education and how the Aspirations Employability Diploma can shape work ready students.

Episode 2

Professional Growth and Opportunities to Lead. Head of English at Budmouth Academy and NPQ Leading Literacy trainer, Lucy England speaks about her experience leading a department and the steps she’s taken to encourage and empower other teachers to develop their practice.

Episode 3

Implementing Applied Transdisciplinary Learning. Primaries Applied Learning Lead, Emma Wilding discusses how Applied Transdisciplinary Learning can be introduced into the primary curriculum and how ongoing assessment has shaped its evolution.

Episode 4

First 100 days as a new Principal at Livingstone Academy Bournemouth. Loren Tharme reflects on his first one hundred days in post.

Episode 5

NASA trips. Simon Sterland and Annabel O’Keefe, joint leaders of Aspirations’ space education NASA trip, discuss its challenges and rewards. 

Episode 6

Apprenticeships as a route into teaching. Collette Snape teaches at Bovington Academy and qualified as a teacher following an apprenticeship in 2023. Diana Evans is currently on the Level 3 Teacher Assistant apprenticeship and will qualify in 2025. In this inspiring discussion, they share their experiences of a lesser known route to the classroom.

Episode 7

Serving children’s needs with studio school’s bespoke curriculum. Andy Morgan discusses the ways Space Studio is able to tailor its curriculum to fit the needs of its pupils and develop employability skills.

Episode 8

The Aspirations Employability Diploma Awards Finals February 2024. The team from Park Academy: Joe, Dev and Elliot with Ricky Singh, Head of Sixth Form, discuss the presentation which won them this spring’s trophy! Read an article about the AED Awards here. 

Episode 9

Challenges and rewards at military community school. Lowry Stone, Inclusion and Pastoral Lead at Bovington Academy discusses the challenges and rewards of working at a school serving a military community.

Episode 10

Student Leadership at National Level. Newly elected Member of UK Youth Parliament, Ryan Cornish from Magna Academy, discusses the campaign which saw him elected as representative for the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole constituency. He is joined by Coordinator of Student Leadership, Culture and Competition at Magna, Harry Ginger.

Episode 11

Sharing Leadership. Lesley Bishop and Melissa Heppell, Principals at Atlantic Academy, Portland, discuss their joint leadership of an all-through academy and share insights into their journey to becoming an Ofsted Good school.

Episode 12

Aspirations NASA trip. Each year Aspirations Academies Trust funds trips to NASA sites in the USA. In this episode five recent participants share their reflections on the experience.

Aspirations Voice Podcast Season 1

Episode 1

Russ Quaglia and Aspirations. Education pioneer, Dr Russ Quaglia, explains how working with student voice and aspirations shaped his educational practice and philosophy and why Aspirations Academies Trust based the education offered in its schools on his three guiding principles.

Want to know more about the work of Russ Quaglia? https://www.quagliainstitute.org

Episode 2

Applied Learning in Aspirations Academies. Kat Cavaciuti and Den Murphy teach at Livingstone Academy where they oversee the implementation of Applied Learning. Here they discuss what impact that has on outcomes for students learning in this way and the implications for teachers delivering it.

Episode 3

Student Leadership. Director of Student Leadership and Engagement, Andy David is joined by pupils of Budmouth Academy for a discussion of the role and impact of student leadership on personal development and community cohesion.

Episode 4

Director of Aspirations Learning Institute, Nick Appleby and Deputy Director, Dr Jan Hetheringon, discuss the origins of ALI, its mission to develop the Aspirations workforce, and the role of continuing education and professional development.

Episode 5

Overcoming Poor Behaviour. National Director of Education and Standards, Dr Jeffery Quaye OBE discusses the challenge of poor classroom behaviour and how the three guiding principles contribute to effective learning environments.

Episode 6

Project Based Learning. Executive Director of Atlas Scholars, Jenna Moon and Dean of Students at Energy Institute Elizabeth Harris, stopped by on a visit from the US to discuss project based learning and how it can be integrated into the curriculum to create effective real world learning opportunities for students.

Episode 7

What Makes Aspirations Academies Different? President of Successful Practices Network and former Dean of Education at the University of Southern New Hampshire, Ray McNulty was a founding trustee of Aspirations Academies Trust. He chats with Managing Director of Aspirations, Steve Kenning, and Deputy Managing Director, Paula Kenning, about the challenges facing education both in the UK and the USA and how these might be addressed by innovative thought and imaginative leadership. 

Want to know more about the work of Ray McNulty? https://rephonic.com/podcasts/k12-confidential-steadfast-leadership-in-uncertain

To listen to Aspirations Voice Podcast on Spotify, please click here. Aspirations Voice Podcast is also available on Podbean.