Podcast

Exploring School Attendance Challenges: A Podcast Discussion

In this episode of our podcast series, we discuss the critical issue of school attendance, led by our hosts Esther Chesterman, CEO of the…

Navigating the Complexities of Inclusion and Protective Characteristics in Education

   Welcome back to another engaging discussion on the NEC Podcast. In this episode, Esther Chesterman, CEO of NEC and Samreen Shah discuss…

Stages and transitions in education: How to deal with them

Welcome to another podcast episode! In this episode CEO Esther Chesterman is joined by NEC’s very own Karyn Nash, who is a qualified teacher…

Exploring the NEC Podcast – Postbag: Insights and Discussion

Welcome to our fifth podcast! In this episode, Esther Chesterman, CEO of NEC and Samreen Shah take a trip down memory lane to the…

ADHD in the Classroom

In this podcast episode, which you can listen to on our Podbean page, the hosts National Extension College’s CEO Esther Chesterman and Samreen Shah…

The Importance of Mindfulness in Education

In this podcast, Esther Chesterman and Samreen Shah speak with Dr Helen Maffini, an expert in mindfulness and social-emotional learning, about the importance of…

Issues around School Refusal

The term “school refusal” has gained more awareness since COVID hit in 2019. With parents and guardians finding it difficult to navigate and adapt…

Access to education for marginalised students: Exploring access arrangements

In this blog post, we delve into a thought-provoking podcast episode that focuses on the topic of access arrangements for students with special educational…

Other articles...

You don’t have to be at school to study a GCSE, try studying online with NEC

Did you know that you don’t have to be at school to study a GCSE? NEC courses are studied online, giving you the flexibility…

How will I get my A level results?

The summer holidays are a time to kick back and relax. Until this week, that is, if you’re waiting for A level results! A…

A home-educator’s journey, part 1: selecting our course provider

This post was originally published on May 31st 2018 and updated on March 23rd 2020. Today’s post is both a guest blog and an…

NEC’s Art Techniques course

This post was originally published on Friday, 4 May 2018 and updated on Friday, 29 March 2019. This week’s blog is written by Jane…

Getting it right on exam day

You’ve spent months preparing for exam day and it’s almost here. We’ve put together some top tips on how to approach these final hours…

Writing the perfect essay

The word ‘essay’ is also a verb meaning ‘to attempt’. It still retains something of that meaning in it’s commoner sense of ‘a piece…

Who are the science and technology stars of tomorrow?

For years employers have warned that the UK faces a skills shortage in many STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) roles. For example, EngineeringUK…

Get ready for exam success

This post was originally published on Friday, 17 February 2017 and updated on Friday, 10 May 2019. It’s exam season! Maybe you have meticulously planned and…

‘Teachers shouldn’t confiscate pupils’ phones: they’re vital for learning.’

This week’s blogger is former NEC GCSE English student Naila Din. Now a freelance arts advisor and business coach, Naila turned to teaching as…

A lesson in innovation: Ángela Ruiz Robles

“Ángela Ruiz Robles with her Mechanical Encylopedia” by ITU Pictures / License: CC BY 2.0 As a distance learning provider, the NEC was founded on the…