Miss Estruch Teach & Tell

Looking back on the last academic year, there were several habits, planning routines, and classroom systems that drained my energy without actually benefiting my students.  And now having seen the 2026 papers and the examiner reports, there are three big changes I am going to make this year!

In this episode, I'm sharing the teaching mistakes I made and the exact systems I'm using to fix them this school year.

Whether you're a new teacher navigating workload or an experienced educator looking to streamline your classroom management and planning, these practical changes will help yo...

What if the thing eating into your evenings isn't the marking itself, but the typing?

In this episode of Miss Estruch Teach & Tell, former Head of Biology Katie Estruch explores Wispr Flow, a game-changer in edtech that is helping teachers reclaim their personal time.

Wispr Flow isn't about generating artificial lesson plans or replacing teacher expertise.

Instead, it tackles the two most time-consuming admin bottlenecks in any educator's week: emails and written student feedback.

By capturing natural speech and automatically formatting it into polished, structured prose, it cuts drafting time in...

What does the 2026 Schools White Paper actually mean if you teach pupils with ADHD?

In this episode of Miss Estruch Teach & Tell, former Head of Biology Katie Estruch breaks down the House of Commons Library briefing on the government's SEND reforms ("Every Child Achieving and Thriving").

While the white paper doesn't explicitly mention ADHD, major structural changes are coming to how neurodivergent support is categorised, tiered, and documented in UK schools.

Here is everything classroom teachers, SENCOs, and school leaders need to know now, before proposals become policy.

🔗 Mentioned Resources & References Hou...

Two students can have the same ADHD diagnosis and end up with very different levels of legal protection. Many teachers sit through 504 and IEP meetings without anyone explaining which plan is which, or why that matters in the classroom.

In this episode, former Head of Biology Katie Estruch explains how the two US frameworks work for teachers, and how it differs to the provisions in the UK:

What if a student got an exam question wrong not because they didn't know the content, but because of an ambiguous word buried in the sentence?

In this episode of Miss Estruch Teach & Tell, former Head of Biology Katie Estruch breaks down insights straight from the AQA Summer Conference 2026 keynote by Tor Thompson (AQA Assessment Design Manager). Discover how exam boards screen for "Construct Irrelevant Variance" (CIV) to ensure assessments measure true subject knowledge rather than reading stamina or decoding speed.

📌 What We Cover: 

• What is Construct Irrelevant Variance (CIV)?

• Language screening...

What if you could personalise thirty certificates, revision posters, or exam countdown cards, each with a different student's name, target grade, or exam date, without spending ages manually copy and pasting and editing names?  

In this episode, I walks you through Canva's Bulk Create feature step by step, showing you how to turn one design into a whole class set in minutes.

This episode is one you would really benefit from watching, to see the screen recording of each step.  Here is the YouTube video version https://youtu.be/943c5h5OSPc

In t...

GCSE and A-level reform properly started moving this summer.

In this episode, I'm giving you the download from the AQA Science Conference 2026.

What's confirmed, what's still proposed, and what actually lands in your classroom- and when.

Consider this Part 1: there's more to come as the details firm up.

You'll learn:

Nobody warns you how much your first year of teaching is going to ask of you.

In this episode, I'm talking about surviving year one as an ECT.  The challenges nobody prepares you for, exactly who you should be turning to when things get hard, and the practical habits that will save you hours every single week.

I still remember my own NQT year like it was yesterday.  The exhaustion, the imposter syndrome, the feeling that everyone else had somehow been given a manual I'd never seen. If you're starting your ECT year, or you're al...

The 2026 Biology exams are over... but before we move on, there's one thing every teacher should do.

Reflect.

In this episode of Miss Estruch Teach & Tell, I share the three biggest trends I noticed across this year's AQA and OCR A Level Biology papers—and, more importantly, what I'm changing in my teaching ready for September.

Rather than waiting until next spring to react, now is the perfect time to make small adjustments that could have a huge impact on student outcomes next year.

In this episode we discuss:

September doesn't have to feel overwhelming.

In this episode of Miss Estruch Teach & Tell, I share three practical ways to start the new school year with better systems, stronger boundaries, and less stress. Rather than spending the summer creating endless new resources, I explain how tools like Claude AI can help you improve the lessons and schemes of work you already have, why planning with SEND in mind benefits every student, and how reflecting honestly on last year can help you avoid burnout before it starts.

In this episode we cover:

It's June. Year 11 are gone. Year 13 are gone. You have a list of jobs as long as your arm and a brain that is absolutely running on fumes.

This episode is your gain time game plan.

I'm walking you through exactly how I'd use Claude Cowork to work through the planning jobs you've been saving up all year — schemes of work, lesson resources, question packs, knowledge organisers — faster, and without staring at a blank document for forty-five minutes.

I'll give you real prompts you can use straight away, the top tips that actually make...

Every four years the World Cup arrives and suddenly your students seem far more interested in football than biology. My argument? Stop fighting it.

In this episode of Miss Estruch Teach & Tell, I explore how the World Cup can become one of the most powerful teaching tools in your biology classroom. From osmoregulation and respiration to infectious disease and plant biology, the specification is playing out on the pitch in real time.

We discuss:

⚽ Hydration, sweating and osmoregulation

⚽ ADH, kidneys and negative feedback

⚽ Glycogen, respiration and energy systems

⚽ Mu...

To get access to free resources on a wide range of biology topics, learn about upcoming teacher training courses (including a course on epigenetics this October), and find out more about the work of the EMBL Science Education and Public Engagement Team, you can subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on social media using the links below:
Newsletter: https://www.embl.org/ells/newsletter/
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Epigenetics is one of the most fascinating (and challenging) topics in A Level Biology.

...

Revision lessons can be so tough to make engaging and fun, and not just answering exam questions.

In this episode of Miss Estruch Teach & Tell, I break down exactly how I structure revision lessons that build exam skills, improve revision habits, and develop the mindset needed for A and A* performance.

This is an updated version of one of my most popular episodes, now combined with ideas from my recent CPD session: The A* Blueprint.

Inside this episode:
• How to structure revision lessons with visible progression
• Why mindse...

Most teachers focus on content gaps when students miss out on top grades.

But what if the real barrier between an A and an A* is not knowledge… but mindset?

In this episode of Miss Estruch Teach & Tell, I break down the practical mindset strategies I use in my own classroom to help students move beyond fear, perfectionism, and fixed beliefs about intelligence.

We explore:
• Why some high potential students stay stuck at a B or A
• What fixed mindset actually sounds like in an A level classroom
• How to explicit...

Millie and I noticed during our teaching careers how much teacher CPD changed over time.

When I started teaching in 2009, there seemed to be far more opportunities for meaningful training, schools were more willing to fund courses, and there was a stronger culture around professional development.

But in recent years?

Budget cuts, cancelled courses, generic online training, lack of cover staff, and one size fits all CPD seem to have become the norm.

In this episode of Miss Estruch Teach & Tell, I’m joined by Millie from Steplab (https://steplab.co/uk...

I am so excited for this episode.

Today, I am joined by Ross McGill, founder of Teacher Toolkit, whose work has reached over 21 million teachers worldwide.

If you have ever felt overwhelmed by lesson planning, buried in marking, or unsure whether your feedback is actually making an impact… this episode is going to completely shift how you think about teaching.

Ross shares practical, evidence-informed strategies that help you reduce workload while improving teaching and learning. There are so many moments in this conversation where I was thinking… every teacher needs to hear this.

If you teach AQA A level Biology and want to prepare your students more strategically for the Paper 3 essay, this episode is for you.

In this episode, I break down how I analyse every essay title that has appeared since 2007 to identify the themes most likely to return in 2026. I explain the patterns I look for, including frequency, recency, repeat cycles, and long gaps between appearances, and how that helps narrow down the most likely essay topics.

I also share the 2 themes I think are worth prioritising this year, plus 2 extra curveball titles that would b...

If you are teaching OCR A level Biology and wondering where to focus revision for 2026, this episode breaks it down using nine years of past paper analysis.

In this episode, I share exactly:
• The topics that are consistently heavily assessed across Papers 1, 2 and 3
• What was significantly underassessed in 2025
• How those two datasets overlap and why that matters
• The highest priority topics for each paper
• How to approach synoptic revision effectively for Paper 3
• Why Module 2 foundations still matter, even when not explicitly tested

The key message this year is clear:
The topi...

One topic has dropped to just one mark for two years in a row. Another was
completely missing last year. Both of those patterns matter, and in this
episode, I'm breaking down exactly what they mean for your revision priorities.

This is my annual AQA A Level Biology past paper analysis for 2026, focused
on Paper 1 and Paper 2. I go through every specification point, track how
frequently topics appear, when they were last assessed, and how the mark
weighting has shifted over time. Not to predict the exam, but to help you
...

Are you spending lesson time teaching content that students could have prepared at home?  

In this episode, I'm joined by Henry Exham to talk about flipped learning. What it actually is, why it works, and how to implement it in a way that students genuinely engage with.

We get into the practical side: how to set clear, directed pre-lesson tasks, how to model the process so students know what's expected, and why this approach means less failure, more independent learning, and more time in lessons where it really matters — on the hard exam skills.  

We a...

If you are still spending hours creating PowerPoints, worksheets, and revision lessons, or if you feel uninspired by your revision lessons and are struggling to engage your students, this episode is going to change everything!

In this step by step guide, I show you exactly how to use Canva AI and Canva Code to:
• Generate full lesson PowerPoints in seconds
• Create fill in the gaps activities instantly
• Build matching and card sort tasks
• Design full revision lessons for computer rooms

This is one of the biggest teaching workload hacks right now...

Lesson observations are one of the most daunting aspects of teaching.

When done poorly, they can destroy morale, create performative lessons, and erode trust within a school.

But when done well, observations can become one of the most powerful professional development tools a school has.

In this episode of Miss Estruch Teach & Tell, I’m joined by Craig Randall from Trust Based Observations to unpack how lesson observations should actually work and why

In this episode, I’m joined by Bukky Yusuf, an experienced senior leader and coach, to talk about the real path into school leadership.

We cover what progression actually looks like in practice, how to prepare for senior leadership roles, and the mindset shifts that matter just as much as your CV.

Bukky shares her leadership journey from mainstream science teacher to senior leadership, including her time as a local authority secondary science consultant, and how those experiences accelerated her trajectory into whole school leadership.

We discuss:

Leadership pathways are rarely li...

At BETT 2026, I met Sarah Cooper and Curtis Scott from The Sixth Form Bolton, and I was blown away by what they are doing at their sixth form.

Their presentation on how they are using Canva Education was not theoretical. It was strategic, practical and entirely focused on improving teaching and learning while reducing teacher workload.

In this episode of Miss Estruch Teach & Tell, we unpack exactly how they are using Canva AI and Canva Code to transform traditional paper-based, time-heavy classroom activities into powerful, reusable digital tools.

We discuss:

• How st...

The UK government is debating whether social media should be banned for under 16s.

Australia has already introduced restrictions. Spain is considering similar moves. This is no longer theoretical; it is a real policy discussion that could directly affect students, teachers, and schools.

In this episode, I sit down with Lewis Matheson from Physics Online to unpack what a ban would actually mean in practice.

We explore:

• What the Australian restrictions really cover
• Whether YouTube should be treated differently from TikTok and Instagram
• The impact on disadvantaged students who rely o...

Struggling to set a mock exam that your students have not already seen?

In this video, I explain why I created brand new 2026 A-level Biology practice papers for AQA and OCR, and how they are built using detailed past paper analysis to mirror real exam structure.

For years, I have analysed every single AQA and OCR paper, linking every mark back to the exact specification point. I track:

• Topic frequency
• When topics last appeared
• AO1, AO2 and AO3 distribution
• Maths weighting
• Required practical assessment
• Paper 1, 2 and 3 structural patterns

I used...

If a student fidgets, forgets equipment, interrupts, or fails to start work, we often label it as poor behaviour or low motivation.

But for many students, what you are seeing is ADHD.

In this re-release episode of Miss Estruch Teach & Tell, I break down what ADHD actually is, how it really presents in classrooms, and what genuinely helps without adding to teacher workload.

This episode covers:

How much of your lesson is spent talking… and how much is students actually thinking?

In this episode of Miss Estruch Teach & Tell, I’m breaking down flipped learning in a practical, realistic way for busy secondary teachers.

This is not about reinventing your teaching or becoming a full time YouTuber. It’s about reclaiming lesson time from chalk and talk and using it where it actually makes the biggest difference.

I cover:

Why traditional lessons feel rushed and overloaded

What flipped learning actually is (without the buzzwords)

How...

Home education is growing fast in the UK, and for many families, science is the subject that causes the most anxiety.

In this episode of Miss Estruch Teach & Tell, I’m joined by Amanda Childs, founder of Sparking STEM, to explore why more families are choosing home education, the challenges of teaching science outside a traditional school setting, and how high quality practical science can still be delivered safely, rigorously, and in line with exam expectations.

We talk about what parents are seeing on the ground post pandemic, common misconceptions schools have about homeschooling families, an...

Are students’ attention spans really getting shorter, or is something else happening in the brain?

In this episode of Miss Estruch Teach & Tell, I unpack the neuroscience behind student attention, executive function, and focus. 

I look at what research actually says about attention spans, the role of the prefrontal cortex, dopamine, and digital distraction, and why staying focused feels harder for young people than ever before.

More importantly, we tackle the question teachers are asking everywhere right now: should we be adapting lessons to shorter attention spans, or actively training students to focus for...

Leaving teaching is often framed as a dramatic overnight decision.

That was never my reality.

In this episode, I share the honest, six year journey of how I built a business alongside full time teaching and why I stayed in the classroom long after I could have left financially.

I talk through my career from classroom teacher to Head of Science, how a flipped learning CPD accidentally led to a YouTube channel, how tutoring and small income streams added up over time, and why timing mattered more than money when it came to...

We all agree that A-level students need to be independent learners.

But what does independent learning actually look like in practice?

In this episode of Teach and Tell, I’m joined by Maria Bateson to unpack a question many teachers wrestle with daily: Is it really independent learning if we tell students exactly what to do?

And can students ever become truly independent if we do not explicitly model the process first?

We explore the tension between scaffolding and autonomy, why students do not magically arrive at sixth form knowing how to...

Loneliness is often framed as an issue affecting older adults.

But the evidence tells a very different story. In this episode of Teach and Tell, I’m joined by Farhana Mann ( https://www.youtube.com/@DocFMann) to explore what research from the past 10–15 years shows about social isolation in teenagers, why 13–17 year olds are one of the most lonely age groups, and how this links to mental health, neurodivergence, and school experience.

We discuss: 

If you’ve ever wondered how to actually use AI safely and effectively in your teaching, this episode is for you.

Today I’m joined by Matthew Wemyss, international school leader and bestselling author on AI in education, to dig into the realities of AI in schools: the opportunities, the risks, and the mistakes teachers need to avoid.

We talk about:
• The GDPR traps teachers fall into without realising
• What you must not upload into AI tools
• How to reduce AI bias in your resources
• Which AI tools are safest for schools (Mic...

If you’ve ever wished your planning, marking, or resource creation could take minutes instead of hours, this episode is for you.

I sat down with AI educator John Dolman to explore Notebook LM, Google’s grounded AI tool that lets you upload your teaching materials and instantly generate:

• lesson notes

• revision summaries

• infographics

• slide decks

• audio explanations

• and more

We break down exactly how teachers can use Notebook LM to streamline workload without losing professional judgement, and we share the features most peo...

AI is transforming teaching... planning, marking, differentiation, feedback.

But what if the tools we rely on are reinforcing hidden biases?

In this episode, I sit down with Victoria Hedlund, physicist, former science teacher, and AI bias researcher, to explore the uncomfortable truth about gender, race, age, and neurodiversity bias inside the AI models used across schools.

We discuss:

• Real examples of AI bias in images, explanations, and feedback

• How AI tools shape student identity and self-perception

• Why different models (ChatGPT, Gemini, Canva, Copilot) show different biases

• Th...

Gen Z get labelled as snowflakes, entitled, lacking resilience and overly sensitive… but is any of that actually true?

In this episode of Teach & Tell, I’m joined by Alex Atherton, former head teacher, keynote speaker and author, to break down the stereotypes and share the real story behind Gen Z’s behaviour, challenges, and resilience.

We explore:

• Why the media’s narrative about Gen Z is so misleading

• The economic and social pressures uniquely shaping this generation

• How social media and constant comparison affect their confidence and decision-making

• The ro...

So many autistic and neurodivergent students are misunderstood, masked, or completely missed in today’s classrooms, and teachers are left without the training or tools to support them.

In this episode, I’m joined by psychologists Dr Christine and Dr Sam from Neurodiversity Docs to break down the realities of autism, ASC, executive function, and how teachers can support students who are struggling but not showing it.

We discuss:

• Why autistic girls and AFAB students are chronically under-identified

• How masking hides needs until students burn out

• What teachers should look for w...

In this episode, I’m joined by Jocelyn Mayo, specialist teacher and education consultant from Zestar Education, to unpack what executive function (EF) really means and why it’s the missing link in helping both neurodivergent and neurotypical students thrive.

We discuss:

✅ The key executive function skills students rely on every day

✅ How teachers can plan lessons that support all learners (including ADHD, and ASC students)

✅ Practical classroom strategies that make learning easier for everyone

✅ Why understanding EF helps reduce anxiety and boost self-regulation

This conversation...