
Continuous Provision Done Right with Jude Arkwright, Mind the Gap, Ep.111 (S6,E9)
From Mind the Gap: Making Education Work Across the Globe by Tom Sherrington & Emma Turner
December 12, 2025 · 57 min · Season 6 · Episode 9
About this episode
Jude Arkwright discusses the impact of professional trust and continuous provision on teaching and learning at St Michael's CE Aldbourne.
On this episode of Mind the Gap , Tom Sherrington and Emma Turner are joined by Jude Arkwright, headteacher of St Michael’s CE, Aldbourne, to explore how a strong culture of professional trust, research-informed practice, and professional development can transform teaching and learning. Jude shares how long-term staff stability and coaching triplets have created a school where teachers openly examine the smallest instructional details in real time, and where feedback is immediate, supportive and precise. The conversation then turns to St Michael’s much-admired approach to continuous provision through to the end of Year 2, unpacking what high-quality, well-planned play looks like in practice, how it builds knowledge and self-regulation, and why it is anything but low-rigour. Packed with concrete examples - from tutor tables and small-group teaching to deliberately designed environments and routines - this episode offers a compelling picture of how alignment between curriculum, pedagogy and culture can create calm, purposeful classrooms where children and adults thrive. Jude Arkwright is Headteacher of St Michael's CE Aldbourne. She leads the school's successful Year One and Year…
People in this episode
Hosts: Tom Sherrington, Emma Turner
Guest: Jude Arkwright
Topics covered
- continuous provision
- professional trust
- research-informed practice
- professional development
- teaching and learning
- play-based learning
Keywords
- instructional details
- feedback
- self-regulation
- curriculum alignment
- pedagogy
- calm classrooms
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Continuous Provision Done Right
Places: Aldbourne, UK
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