John Tomsett & Mary Myatt on Alternative Provision and our splintering education system

Listen to this episode from Rethinking Education on Spotify. In today’s episode, I bring you a fascinating conversation with John Tomsett and Mary Myatt – two people who’ve done so much to shape thinking about curriculum and leadership in schools over recent years. Mary Myatt is an education adviser, writer and speaker. She started out as an RE teacher and has written extensively about curriculum, leadership and school improvement – books like High Challenge, Low Threat, The Curriculum: Gallimaufry to Coherence and of course the original Huh. John Tomsett taught in state schools for over three decades, including 18 years as a headteacher. He’s written widely about leadership and mental health in schools, including Love Over Fear, Mind Over Matter, and Putting Staff First. He’s also one of the leading figures in the evidence-informed education movement and former leader of Huntington Research School in York. This conversation centres around their latest collaboration, AP Huh, which is part of their brilliant Huh series. The idea behind the Huh books is simple but powerful: to elevate the conversation around curriculum design by listening closely to the people doing the work – subject leaders, senior leaders, teachers, and in this case, those working in alternative provision. The term Huh comes from the Egyptian god of endlessness, creativity and regeneration – and that spirit runs through everything they write. The Huh books are deeply rooted in the real world of schools, but they always look to what’s possible, what’s better – what could be. Together, John and Mary bring a huge depth of experience, a deep moral commitment to young people, and a keen eye for what actually works. This was a really enjoyable conversation – and I hope you get as much out of it as I did. LINKS Buy AP Huh - https://www.johncattbookshop.com/products/alternative-provision-huh Follow John - https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-tomsett-38ba74b3/ Follow Mary - https://www.linkedin.com/in/marymyatt/ Follow James - https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-mannion/ Outro track: ‘How it is and how it should be’ by Grit Control: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1ud69RIV1eOV9poMR7AORI DON'T BE A STRANGER The Rethinking Education podcast is brought to you by Crown House Publishing. It is hosted by Dr James Mannion and David Cameron, and produced by Sophie Dean. Drop us a line at https://www.rethinking-ed.org/contact. SUPPORT THE RETHINKING ED PODCAST: Become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/repod Buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/repod