In this rich crossover conversation, Chris Braitch and Dr James Mannion interview one another about trauma, healing, and the deep structural shifts needed in education.
Chris Braitch is a father of three whose mission is to move himself and others towards connection and compassion. He works as an emotional health coach, a leadership coach with Compassionate Leaders Global, and is the founding director of Seen & Heard, a not-for-profit supporting the wellbeing of past and present pupils of the private school system - many of whom have experienced institutional neglect, emotional harm or abuse.
After two decades in global sales and marketing, Chris realised that his life had been shaped by powerful, unexamined forces: early separation, boarding school culture, unresolved childhood experiences, and profound personal grief. Through coaching, men’s groups, the Emotional Freedom Technique, and a life-changing spiritual awakening, he discovered a new sense of purpose rooted in authenticity, service, and compassion. This journey transformed his parenting, his perspective, and the work he now offers to others.
James shares the origins of the Rethinking Education Podcast, his work with the Learner Effectiveness Programme, slice teams, implementation science, and the Education Policy Alliance, and explores why so many top-down reforms fail to shift what actually happens in classrooms.
Together, they explore:
- The “myth of privilege” and why suffering in elite institutions is so often minimised
- How early separation and boarding school cultures shape adult hypervigilance, self-protection, and leadership
- The emotional and spiritual turning points that redirected Chris’s life
- How Seen & Heard supports former pupils, works with schools, and campaigns for safer legislation
- Why spoken language (oracy) is an overlooked equity issue
- Why the system keeps “locating the problem in the child”
- How learner-effectiveness, self-regulation, and holistic education can transform outcomes
- The cultural assumptions baked into British schooling and politics
- Why compassion-centred leadership matters now more than ever
This is a deeply human, hopeful conversation about trauma, awareness, systemic change, and learning to live - and lead - with compassion.
LINKS
- Chris’s not for profit supporting the wellbeing of past pupils of boarding and independent day schools and their families – https://seenheard.org.uk
- Chris’s not for profit supporting the wellbeing of present pupils of boarding and independent day schools and their families – https://seenheardschools.org.uk
- Chris’s coaching business where I support men and women through 1-2-1’s and groups – https://growthwave.uk
The Compassionate Leader Pathway Course - designed to help people lead with purpose, perform with clarity and live with integrity. https://compassionateleadersglobal.com
CREDITS
- 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.
- Outro track: How it is and how it should be by Grit Control
SUPPORT THE PODCAST:
This podcast is a labour of love, with the emphasis on both the labour and the love.
If you’d like to support the podcast or convey your appreciation for these conversations, you can:
Become a patron: https://patreon.com/repod
Buy us a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/repod
All content for Rethinking Education is the property of Dr James Mannion and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
In this rich crossover conversation, Chris Braitch and Dr James Mannion interview one another about trauma, healing, and the deep structural shifts needed in education.
Chris Braitch is a father of three whose mission is to move himself and others towards connection and compassion. He works as an emotional health coach, a leadership coach with Compassionate Leaders Global, and is the founding director of Seen & Heard, a not-for-profit supporting the wellbeing of past and present pupils of the private school system - many of whom have experienced institutional neglect, emotional harm or abuse.
After two decades in global sales and marketing, Chris realised that his life had been shaped by powerful, unexamined forces: early separation, boarding school culture, unresolved childhood experiences, and profound personal grief. Through coaching, men’s groups, the Emotional Freedom Technique, and a life-changing spiritual awakening, he discovered a new sense of purpose rooted in authenticity, service, and compassion. This journey transformed his parenting, his perspective, and the work he now offers to others.
James shares the origins of the Rethinking Education Podcast, his work with the Learner Effectiveness Programme, slice teams, implementation science, and the Education Policy Alliance, and explores why so many top-down reforms fail to shift what actually happens in classrooms.
Together, they explore:
- The “myth of privilege” and why suffering in elite institutions is so often minimised
- How early separation and boarding school cultures shape adult hypervigilance, self-protection, and leadership
- The emotional and spiritual turning points that redirected Chris’s life
- How Seen & Heard supports former pupils, works with schools, and campaigns for safer legislation
- Why spoken language (oracy) is an overlooked equity issue
- Why the system keeps “locating the problem in the child”
- How learner-effectiveness, self-regulation, and holistic education can transform outcomes
- The cultural assumptions baked into British schooling and politics
- Why compassion-centred leadership matters now more than ever
This is a deeply human, hopeful conversation about trauma, awareness, systemic change, and learning to live - and lead - with compassion.
LINKS
- Chris’s not for profit supporting the wellbeing of past pupils of boarding and independent day schools and their families – https://seenheard.org.uk
- Chris’s not for profit supporting the wellbeing of present pupils of boarding and independent day schools and their families – https://seenheardschools.org.uk
- Chris’s coaching business where I support men and women through 1-2-1’s and groups – https://growthwave.uk
The Compassionate Leader Pathway Course - designed to help people lead with purpose, perform with clarity and live with integrity. https://compassionateleadersglobal.com
CREDITS
- 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.
- Outro track: How it is and how it should be by Grit Control
SUPPORT THE PODCAST:
This podcast is a labour of love, with the emphasis on both the labour and the love.
If you’d like to support the podcast or convey your appreciation for these conversations, you can:
Become a patron: https://patreon.com/repod
Buy us a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/repod
“Talking Floats On A Sea Of Write”: Clare Sealy on Oracy and Literacy
Rethinking Education
1 hour 52 minutes 29 seconds
12 months ago
“Talking Floats On A Sea Of Write”: Clare Sealy on Oracy and Literacy
Clare Sealy currently works as the Head of Education Improvement for the states of Guernsey. Prior to this, she was the Headteacher of St Matthias Primary School in Tower Hamlets for 22 years. In 2018, the Times Education Supplement named her as one of the 10 most influential people in the world of education. In 2022, Clare was awarded an OBE for services to education.
Oracy – in case you’re unfamiliar with the term – was coined in 1965 to put spoken language firmly on the map, giving it equal status to written literacy and numeracy. Fast forward nearly 60 years, and we’re still having this conversation. Just last month, the Oracy Education Commission published a report suggesting that oracy should be recognised as the ‘fourth R’ – alongside reading, writing, and arithmetic. It’s a sentiment I wholeheartedly support.
These days, oracy is often thought of as having three dimensions: learning to talk, learning through talk, and learning about talk. If that idea intrigues you, the Oracy Cambridge website is full of thought-provoking blogs. Recently, the Oracy Cambridge team published a collective response to the Oracy Education Commission’s report, offering this updated definition: ‘Oracy is the ability to use the skills of speaking, listening, and non-verbal communication for a wide range of purposes.’
Oracy is very much in the spotlight at the moment, especially here in the UK. The Labour government has repeatedly signalled a renewed emphasis on spoken language and communication skills, and we’re already seeing this shift in schools and classrooms. I think it’s an incredibly welcome change – though, as with any policy, not everyone agrees. Clare and I get into some of these differing perspectives in this episode.
Clare and I also discuss a fascinating blog she wrote, titled ‘Talking floats on a sea of write’ – a clever inversion of James Britton’s famous statement that ‘writing floats on a sea of talk’. I found her ideas so compelling that I asked her to join me for this conversation – and, well, here we are!
LINKS
Clare’s article that prompted this discussion: https://hwrkmagazine.co.uk/talking-floats-on-a-sea-of-write/
Clare’s blog: https://primarytimery.com/
Clare on X: https://x.com/claresealy
Oracy Cambridge: https://oracycambridge.org/
Oracy Education COmmission report, We Need To Talk: https://oracyeducationcommission.co.uk/oec-report/
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 hosted by Dr James Mannion and produced by Sophie Dean. You can contact James at https://www.rethinking-ed.org/contact.
SUPPORT THE RETHINKING ED PODCAST:
Become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/repod
Buy James a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/repod
Rethinking Education
In this rich crossover conversation, Chris Braitch and Dr James Mannion interview one another about trauma, healing, and the deep structural shifts needed in education.
Chris Braitch is a father of three whose mission is to move himself and others towards connection and compassion. He works as an emotional health coach, a leadership coach with Compassionate Leaders Global, and is the founding director of Seen & Heard, a not-for-profit supporting the wellbeing of past and present pupils of the private school system - many of whom have experienced institutional neglect, emotional harm or abuse.
After two decades in global sales and marketing, Chris realised that his life had been shaped by powerful, unexamined forces: early separation, boarding school culture, unresolved childhood experiences, and profound personal grief. Through coaching, men’s groups, the Emotional Freedom Technique, and a life-changing spiritual awakening, he discovered a new sense of purpose rooted in authenticity, service, and compassion. This journey transformed his parenting, his perspective, and the work he now offers to others.
James shares the origins of the Rethinking Education Podcast, his work with the Learner Effectiveness Programme, slice teams, implementation science, and the Education Policy Alliance, and explores why so many top-down reforms fail to shift what actually happens in classrooms.
Together, they explore:
- The “myth of privilege” and why suffering in elite institutions is so often minimised
- How early separation and boarding school cultures shape adult hypervigilance, self-protection, and leadership
- The emotional and spiritual turning points that redirected Chris’s life
- How Seen & Heard supports former pupils, works with schools, and campaigns for safer legislation
- Why spoken language (oracy) is an overlooked equity issue
- Why the system keeps “locating the problem in the child”
- How learner-effectiveness, self-regulation, and holistic education can transform outcomes
- The cultural assumptions baked into British schooling and politics
- Why compassion-centred leadership matters now more than ever
This is a deeply human, hopeful conversation about trauma, awareness, systemic change, and learning to live - and lead - with compassion.
LINKS
- Chris’s not for profit supporting the wellbeing of past pupils of boarding and independent day schools and their families – https://seenheard.org.uk
- Chris’s not for profit supporting the wellbeing of present pupils of boarding and independent day schools and their families – https://seenheardschools.org.uk
- Chris’s coaching business where I support men and women through 1-2-1’s and groups – https://growthwave.uk
The Compassionate Leader Pathway Course - designed to help people lead with purpose, perform with clarity and live with integrity. https://compassionateleadersglobal.com
CREDITS
- 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.
- Outro track: How it is and how it should be by Grit Control
SUPPORT THE PODCAST:
This podcast is a labour of love, with the emphasis on both the labour and the love.
If you’d like to support the podcast or convey your appreciation for these conversations, you can:
Become a patron: https://patreon.com/repod
Buy us a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/repod
