Video transcript

My Duvet Flip with Kit Brown Transcript

Hi, my name is Kit Brown. My favourite hobby is playing football. I'm currently working as a primary school teacher. Here is my duvet flip with NatWest Thrive.

Who helped you be brave? My mum helped me be brave. She was the one saying, "No, Kit, you need to get up. You need to go again." What is the big dream? No dream is too big. Ultimately, a big dream for me would be...

What's your duvet flip? What gets you out of bed in the morning to flip the duvet? Oh! Kit, welcome to my duvet flip with NatWest Thrive. How are we? I'm really well, thank you. Thank you for having me. Oh, I've been so excited for this.

I'm really excited. Me too. I've watched all your TikToks. I'm not as good as a dancer as you.

I don't know about that. You have to teach me. You have to teach me. But this show is all about how do we help other young people find their potential.

And I thought, what a better person to help us do that than you. That's what we're trying to achieve, isn't it, really? So important. It is. I want to start here.

Tell me a little bit about life, how it started for you. Tell me a little bit about your journey. Where did it start? What does young Kit do? It started in a little village in Hertfordshire. Just me and my mum at home.

My dad left young. Effectively raised by my mum and my grandad. My granddad was a huge part of my life, passed recently. Effectively, he was my dad growing up.

But it was tough. It was tough. Financially, really tough. And we struggled.

We struggled. And to think, I'm sat here in front of you in this incredible place is a full circle moment. Because in all fairness, I think the odds were stacked against me, in a sense. I played football from a very young age and I had my heart set on being a professional footballer.

I lived and breathed football. My mum dropped hours to take me to training in the morning. I'd miss a day of school. She'd spend every penny that she had on petrol, getting me up and down the country to matches.

And my life kind of flipped upside down when I was sat in a room at 16 and my manager told me I wasn't good enough and I wouldn't be getting a professional contract. I felt my world fall down around me. But I'd always loved education. I'd always loved school.

My mum instilled that within me from a very young age. She's always worked in a primary school. The school I actually went to, which had its pros and its cons. I bet it did.

But ultimately, I'd always loved learning. And I'd always have the mindset that learning never stops. So when I was thinking about alternatives and different routes to go down, she said, "Why not think about primary education?" And I remember going to my sixth form, head of sixth form at a time, and he said, "Are you sure you want to do that? You're good at sport. Why not be a PE teacher?" I thought, "No." If we look at the percentages of male primary school teachers, it's next to nothing.

If we break those percentages down even more, about young black male primary school teachers representation. All of my primary school teachers were middle-aged white women. So there was an incentive there for me to really make a difference. And then when I started primary teaching, my placements, meeting incredible children, learning from incredible teachers I still keep in contact with, I never looked back.

And I found the opportunity when social media and TikTok was on the rise to create a platform for myself where I could hopefully inspire others to think about a career in teaching, but ultimately just share how much I enjoy being in the classroom, help shaping young minds, and ultimately being the facilitator of children, being the best version of themselves, which is why we're here to talk about that. I notice when you talk about being in the classroom, there's a big smile on your face. There's just like, it's so delightful just to see it's a passion of yours. And today is all around how do we help people, young people find their potential being told that you're not good enough.

That must have been so challenging, so difficult. What do you do in that situation when you're told that you're not good enough or you might not make it professionally or it's a no? What's your advice to young people who may be in that situation, whatever it is, when they their told they're not good enough? Well, I think I can remember being told and sat in that room and you go home, you question yourself, maybe I'm not good enough. Maybe I can't achieve these things. But in hindsight, looking back now, I was good enough.

And just because that person told me I wasn't doesn't mean that in that moment, I wasn't good enough. And that's their opinion. And actually, I'm a strong believer that you need failure to achieve. You need failure to learn.

I always say to my class, fail stands for first attempt at learning. You can't learn anything unless you fail. And if you're achieving everything, you're getting green ticks in your books and you're not learning it's too easy for you. And that's that's a life lesson for me.

So I think when I was sat in that room, yeah, it hit me hard. And mentally, I was in a really tough place. It was everything I'd ever worked for, you know, and that was ultimately the best season I've ever played in football. I was scoring goals left, right and center.

I thought there's no way they turn around and say I'm not getting a contract. And then when I sat in that room and I was one of the only ones to not get one, I literally felt my world just fall down around me. I was, you know, inconsolable. I was in floods of tears.

I went home and, you know, they, my mom was saying, do you want to go trial at other clubs? I just didn't want to leave the house. Didn't want to do anything. And then, you know, over time I started thinking, you know, just because that person's closed that door doesn't mean that another door hasn't opened. And it may be in football, it may be.

I go on a trial at another club and they say, yeah, you are good enough, Kit. But maybe it's a different career path. Maybe it's a completely different life where another door has opened and I'll find my purpose. And I think being released was actually the best thing that ever happened to me because it allowed me to find my real purpose.

And that would be my advice to every young person out there. In the moment it's tough and so, so difficult, but you have to see beyond that. You have to see that, you know, when one door closes another one opens and actually you need to fail. There will be setbacks.

You will face adversity. And it's how you bounce back from that. And see the mistakes, you know, see the failure. You know, it's great thrive on that and look forward to and help that shape you into who you want to be and what route you want to take in life and find your purpose.

So really focus on what's your purpose? What makes you happy, right? What makes you get up in the morning and go, I'm really happy. And there'll be things in your life like the contract that you don't get. But that doesn't mean that door is closed. Your career is closed.

Your purpose is closed. You just redefine it, right? Absolutely. And your happiness, you know, I think you hit the nail on the head there. It's finding your happiness, finding what gets you out of bed, what makes you happy.

And for me, that's being in the classroom. You know, I'm very fortunate. I created the platform where I've been able to, you know, have wonderful opportunities outside of teaching. But ultimately, you know, when I got released, I was so happy just to go into a classroom every day in front of 30 children, not worrying about the financial aspects of life, you know, just being in a classroom, having that purpose of inspiring children.

I was happy with that. And that's what drives me every day. That's the reason why I haven't left teaching. That keeps me going every day.

And I can't see myself leaving teaching because of that. You know, that's what gets me up. And that is my purpose. So finding your purpose is so, so imperative, because ultimately, your happiness, your well-being is what matters.

And without that purpose, you know, it's going to be a struggle. So where do you where do you go to find your purpose? Say I'm I want to find something that I'm passionate about. Like, where would I go? What would I do? Where can I go and get inspired? I think you have to look within. I think you have to look within and think about, you know, what do you enjoy? For me, when I looked within, you know, I love sport, but ultimately, I love just being around people and helping children in particular.

I looked back at when I was in primary school, when I was at the top end of the school, and I always listened to the young children read. And when I was in sixth form, we had our partner school come in and I listened to readers from our partner school. So I always thought, you know, I love working with children. I've never had a younger sibling, but I've always wanted one.

And I looked within and I thought, you know what, that is my purpose. So you have to look within. You have to look at what makes you tick, you know, what do you enjoy about life? And what can you be happy knowing that you'll get up out of bed every single day? And that will fuel your life and be happy knowing that. And for me, going into a school, knowing I've got 30 children, waiting at the door for me smiling, knowing that I'm in the classroom for them, is, you know, it's a feeling that's incomparable.

I want to talk a little bit about being brave, because getting up every morning, going into classroom, putting your best self forward so young people can thrive. Who helps you to feel brave? And like, how does one feel brave, whether it's getting up for the first time to speak in front of an audience, whether that is looking at how you learn something, whether it's around your money, whether it's around something that you want to do in terms of your potential. How do you, who helps you be brave? And how do you find that brave? You've got to dig deep. You've got to find it within.

And I think it comes from what we touched on before in making peace with knowing that there's going to be mistakes along the way, knowing that you're ultimately going to fail at some point. You've got to be brave to try new things. You've got to go out of your comfort zone to learn new things, to speak to new people, to try new hobbies and things. You may find your passion there.

Talking from my own experience, my mum helped me be brave. When I got released, she was the one saying, "No, Kit, you need to get up. You need to go again." Whether that's in football, whether that's going back to school, getting your GCSEs under your belt and staying onto sixth one, which is what I did. It didn't matter what it was.

She would have been happy. Whatever job I chose to do, whatever route I chose to do. But finding that bravery within to look at yourself in the mirror and say, "No, I'm not going to be defined by those setbacks, that adversity, and getting up and going again." You have to dig deep within to find that, which can be one of the toughest things to do. But I think, again, just making peace, knowing that failure and mistakes are a part of life.

We all go through them. Nothing worth having. Happiness, success comes without those mistakes. Yeah, dig in deep with it.

One interesting fact about me is that I've recently written a book centered around children's mental health and wellbeing. I'm really passionate about a child being the best version of themselves and championing them to be the best in whatever they do, whether that's inside the classroom, outside the classroom. That all starts with them recognising just how incredible they can be. And what's your big dream? What's the big dream? Because looking at you online and meeting you today, I can see your passion for the classroom, for young people, from your own upbringing.

Like what is the big dream? And how does one have a big dream? How would I showcase my big dream? I always say to the children, "No dream is too big." I really mean aim for the stars when we speak about in class, and it can become quite tokenistic. You say, "Oh yeah, you can aim high and dream for whatever, and you can achieve that." I truly believe that. You're living proof of it. When the odds are stacked against you, you can be whatever you want to be with hard work, being in the right place, right time, all of these things.

I've been very fortunate at quite a young age that I've achieved quite a lot, I would say. Writing a book was one of my biggest dreams. I saw that. Wow.

I always said as a young boy, when I retire from teaching, I want to write a children's book. To be approached and write my children's book was like, "Oh my goodness, what is happening?" A lot of those dreams have come true, and I'm a very strong believer of living in the moment, and just riding the things that come your way. I've been very fortunate to achieve a lot of things, but ultimately, a big dream for me would be to have my own school. Why not? I think why not? I watched the film when I was thinking about going into teaching called The Ron Clark Story about this inspirational teacher.

And now you see online, he started up his own school for deprived children, and it's the most inspirational thing. I just think, "Why can't I do that?" Having those big aspirations, those big dreams, you need something to work towards. You need something to fuel your energy and your drive. For me, no dream is too big.

If I want to achieve something, I believe that if I work hard enough and I do the right things and I apply myself, then I can achieve anything. That's a brilliant dream. I mean, it'd be incredible. My head's already going round.

Okay. Yeah, I think why not. Why not? I really, yeah, I do think why not. So, from hearing you so far, you're the happiest when you're in the classroom.

What helps make you happy? Being around people I love in a nutshell, whether that's my family, whether that's being in the classroom with children, knowing that I'm making a difference and impacting a life, whether that's educationally helping a child learn their times tables, or whether that's someone who's just had a rubbish day at work and you just go in to have a little chat and you've lifted their mood. I think over the past few months, I've had some of the lowest points of my life and it's been a really tricky kind of few months to navigate. And over the past year or two, actually, but what's kept me going is the people around me, that support network. That's what makes me happy and going in each day, knowing that I've got 30 children that depend on me, but actually they lift my mood beyond measure, beyond belief.

Some of my darkest days, I just walk into the classroom, they're left at the door. That's the same for my family. My mum is, she's behind everything that I do and the reason I do everything, that's what makes me happy, doing it for them, having that impact in life. And that's a word that I'm really strong on, is impact.

What is your impact? However big, however small, what is your impact? What can you bring to society? What difference? What change can you make? And that doesn't have to be on a huge scale going to Downing Street and talking to the government doesn't have to be that at all. Can it be in your field of work? Can you be a checkout in a supermarket, just brightening up the day of people that come in to do their weekly shop? That's making a difference. So it's having that impact, making a difference. That's what makes me happy.

So I'm hearing to find your potential. It's about being brave, surrounding yourself with a support network, being your happy and having a big dream. Absolutely. I think, and there's so many other things that we can touch on, but ultimately they're the pillars of what achieving that dream, what being happy looks like, all of those things, they all go into that for sure.

What's something new that you've learned this week? That I need to use my support network more. I do. I'm a bit of a control freak. I like things done my own way, but you can't do it all by yourself.

We've recently been doing our year four spring play. We did Snow White and as a year group lead, I had to organize everything. I had to buy costumes, organize, make all the purchases, put in the applications for spends. You've done a TikTok on this, haven't you? I have.

Yeah, I've seen it, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I like it. But it was great and it was incredible and it was one of the most amazing things I've ever done.

And I was tearing up watching the children on stage because weeks leading up to that, it was the most stressed I've ever been. And just seeing it all come out was unbelievable. But that wasn't all down to me. It was a joint effort.

And using that support network of the parents helping their children learn the lines, just sending out an email saying, "Can you just please help learn the lines with the children?" Using my support staff at school saying, "Oh, would you mind just going around and tallying up all the costumes that we've got and any that we might need to order?" Using my partner to teach, because I know she thrives in singing, taking a group of children to practice their songs, using that support network around you is so important in anything you do. And that's me talking personally, but that applies to any field of work. It's great to be a lone wolf and want to do things your own way and have that drive. But actually, you're going to need people to help you along the way and recognising that's really important.

And how would you sum up a support network? Like, what is it and how do I kind of look for my one? Someone that you know you can go to to talk. Someone that you'd feel comfortable open up with, both the positives and the negatives of life, the adversity and the triumphs, I'd say. Someone that's an open listener, because that's so important. The strongest people in my support network are the ones that, at a stressful day at the end of a stressful day at work, they're just there to listen.

Not necessarily to give me advice or anything, but just for me to vent to. They're people that will be blunt with you. Tell you what you need to hear sometimes. Tell you that you may not be doing this the right way.

Have you thought about this? But ultimately, a support network comes from good communication and safety around that communication. And whether that's family, whether that's friends, whether that's colleagues, whether that's coaches at football, your support network can be anyone, but ultimately, it's who you can talk to. And you can create your support network, but you can also be part of one to support someone else, right? Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.

I'd say my support network is quite big. Football coaches, colleagues, my mum, family, the children I teach. Some days we just sit and have a chat, because it's so important at the end of the day. Tell me what you're doing at the weekend, kids.

It's great. But ultimately, I know that I'm an important part of a lot of people's support networks as well. We do a wonderful activity in school, where at the start of the year, the children draw around their hand, and on each finger, they put down someone in their support network. And I know that I'm on one of those fingers for every child.

And I know that I play an important role in that child's life. But I also, know that as a year group leader, I know that my colleagues need to be able to come to me and talk about any issues that they're having. I know that my mum, when she's stressing at work, she needs to come home and have those ears listening to her. So I know that I'm an important part of a lot of people's support networks, and that's powerful in itself.

And it showed me the importance of knowing that I need to find my support network and draw on them when needed as well. You know, I'm going to take that. I'm going to get a bit of paper. I'm going to draw around my-- Oh, it's a great activity.

It's really, actually, I think every-- whether you're a young person or an adult, everyone should do that. 100%. Because you can actually then really see who's there for you, who's there to support you. You talked once or twice around feeling stressed in certain situations.

If someone is feeling overwhelmed or stressed, what is your advice to them? Because we can all get stressed. Like, when you was coming here today, I was like, "OK, I need to make sure it's tidy, clean." He's got his water, everything is here, biscuits. And that's what you do, because when you care, you can get stressed, right? Absolutely. But for anyone who's feeling stressed and wants to find their full potential and they believe stress is getting in a way, what's your advice to them? Ultimately know that it's going to be OK.

You know, I think, like you say, you're worrying about the set and everything. I'm worried about talking. Like, am I going to stutter? But, ultimately, it's going to be fine. You know, it's going to be great.

We're going to have a fantastic conversation. The place is going to look great. You know, you may be stressed about that interview. You may get the job, you may not.

You know, and knowing, again, that failures are part of that. Stress is because you care a lot of the time. You know, it's because you want to do well. But again, finding ways of coping with that stress, and that's down to the person as well.

For me, I know that I leave everything at the door when I leave the classroom at the end of the day and I'll go for a run or I'll go play football. You know, I'll do something that I enjoy. I'll take myself away from that situation. And that's what I would urge other people to do.

You know, remove yourself from what's causing you stress. Have a chance to reflect. Look at what is causing that stress. What can you do to minimise that stress? What can you do to navigate it? And ultimately, what can you do to, in that moment, leave the stress at the door and find happiness in your life in that current moment? I'm into that.

Absolutely. In terms of NatWest Thrive, we're both here because of NatWest Trive. Why did you want to get involved with NatWest Thrive? And why do you believe it's such an important mission and important program to be part of? So, so important. I jumped at the chance.

And I'm not just saying that to the benefit of you as I jumped at the chance to get on board with this partnership. You know, NatWest Thrive, I think, financial literacy, talking about money, all of those, you know, allowing children and young adults to fulfill their potential. It was everything that I believed in, you know, as a teacher, as a person, you know, growing up, money for me was hard to come by for me and my family. You know, I knew what hardship was, you know, there was some days where we didn't have food on the table.

My mom would have to do everything just to get a microwave meal. You know, and I know there's a lot of people that were worse off than I was, you know, but but ultimately I knew the value of money. And, you know, I've appreciated that. And I think, you know, even down to primary school children, you can see the mindsets towards money.

You see the mindsets that children have to towards reaching their full potential. And as a teacher, whether that's primary or secondary, which is what Thrive really focuses on, it's a teacher's job to break down those barriers, to ease those conversations, to allow children to thrive, be the best that they can be. So when I spoke to the team at NatWest, this was something that I couldn't pass up on. It was everything that I stand for as a person, as an educator, on a mission to allowing young children to be the best that they can be, break down those conversations about money was something that I wanted to be a part of.

I totally agree. When I spoke to the NatWest Thrive team, I was just like, this is incredibly blown away. I neeed to get involved. Kit I want to talk a little bit about role models.

Like how important are role models? What is a role model? How do you find a role model? I know there's three questions as one there. I'm so passionate about role models. Tell me a little bit about your experience with role models and what's your take on it. Role models are so important.

I think if you'd asked me that question when I was in school, I would have said Thierry Henry, I would have said Michael Jordan, all of these celebrities that have achieved amazing things in sport. But actually, my role models were my mum, my granddad. And I think the beauty of role models is that it can be anyone. It can be those sportsmen.

It can be celebrities, it can be singers, it can be whatever. But actually, it can be someone in your own home. It can be people that you look up to in your school. Your teacher can be your role model.

And effectively, they're the people in your life that you look up to. They're the people that you aspire to be like, but also you take things from them that they lead their way and lead their life in this way. And actually, I'm going to take that. And that's the type of person I want to be.

And ultimately, you can have people in your life that show you the other side to it as well. Maybe the negatives will shape your mind as, you know, I've seen that in my life and maybe I don't want to be like that. So role models are hugely important. And I think I was so blessed that I had an incredible, or got an incredible mum that is so self-sufficient, so strong, independent that, you know, I could learn from.

And my granddad being that male role model in my life just taught me so many life lessons that now I pass on to the children I teach, to the young boys that I teach. So for me, role models can be anyone, you know, they can be within your family, it can be bigger. But ultimately, it's so important to have those role models. How do you define what's a good role model and what's not so good role model? Tricky.

It's tricky, it's difficult. For me, you know, your positive role models are the ones that, you know, you would like to lead your life in that way as well. So if I'm thinking about positive role models for me, it's people that are kind, you know, people that are well-rounded people, not just people who earn a lot of money and is successful and have accolades and fame, things like that. I think it's really important to remember that we're all human beings and actually a role model is someone that's well-rounded, is a nice, good person with good morals, core values, that live their life in, you know, a positive way.

For me, that's how you find your positive role models, you know, it's more than just the glitz and the glamour and what you see on TV. It's deeper than that because ultimately, they're humans as well. Look for the kindness, right? Absolutely. And how does it feel that like you're a role model to so many? It's, you know, it's a responsibility that I can't overlook or, you know, ignore because it's such a huge responsibility, particularly a male role model, you know, from the children I've taught over the past five years, you know, that's a role model that a lot of children are lacking in their lives nowadays.

And particularly in primary education, you don't come across a lot of male teachers. So I know that, you know, for some of those children in my class, I'm the only male in their life, maybe. So I know that that comes with a lot of importance and it's one that, you know, I can't overlook. But it's one that fills me with great pride.

You know, it's one that hopefully I can be that person for those children in a few years. When they look back on their educational life, their time in school, and they think, yeah, I remember Mr Brown. His lessons were all right. They weren't bad.

And I'm trying to be that teacher and that role model. So yeah, it's something that fills me with great pride. So when a young person says, "Oh, his lesson is not bad. That's a good thing." Oh, I'll take that.

If they say, yeah, do you know what? Yeah, he's an obsessive. They were all right. I'll take that. Take that as a win, right? For sure.

Have you ever had any moments in your life where things have gone wrong, like stories? I want to hear it. Oh my gosh, have I? How many can I say on camera? You can say as many as you want. As a teacher, you know, it is one of the best jobs purely because each day is different. You know, you go into class each day and a child does something.

They say something that makes you laugh. You have incredible, funny stories, hilarious stories that you sit back at the end of the day, at the weekend. You look back and you're like, "Oh my gosh, did that really happen?" I think one of the funniest, most embarrassing things that's ever happened to me personally in school was when we were teaching through lockdown. And I don't know what happened, but we were teaching through lockdown.

I had a call from a parent that I missed. So, you know, I called back just to talk about the online learning and how their child had been doing. And it went to voicemail, you know. And for whatever reason, I was sat in my classroom and I started talking.

I was like, "Hi, it's Mr Brown. I'm just calling from this school." Just a quick call just to say how so and so was getting on with their learning. But what happened, as I was talking, I was really stuttering on my words. And for some reason in my mind, I thought, "Oh, that's fine.

I'll just redo it." So I was like, "Hi, it's Mr Brown. I'm just calling about this and... And I just had a brain freeze." And then I pressed the button and it said, "Your voicemail has been sent." And I thought, "Oh my gosh, what have I just done?" And this was like in my first year of teaching. I was like, "This parent is going to think I'm so unprofessional.

I've just absolutely slurred my words, talked gibberish on the phone." So I had to call her back and she picked up. I was like, "your going to receive a voicemail from me" Just ignore that. I'm not sure what quite happened." I just had a moment, you know, lockdown gets a bit fuzzy in the brain. So, yeah, I mean, every day is a funny story in the classroom.

It's those moments, isn't it? You go, "Why did I do that? I did that." I know. And, you know, calling children the wrong names and, you know, you're having children call you dad. That happened to me the other day. I'm like, "I'm not your dad.

I'm Mr. Brown." Mum. I had mum a few weeks ago. They're like, "Mummy?" I was like, "No, no, not mummy.

It's Mr. Brown." But, I know, it's the beauty of, you know, life, really. You do. I was with the NatWest Thrive team two weeks ago.

I was sitting down over a cup of tea and a lady came up and said, "You all right, madam?" "Ma'am, wasn't it?" I was like, "And in that moment, you just got to own it." Yeah. Oh, you have to own it. I know I've been eating Maltesers for breakfast. But now you look back at it, you can laugh about it.

You do, don't you? But in the moment, you want the ground to swallow you up. You do. I always think back to that voice note story because, oh my gosh, when it happened, I was like, "What have I just done?" And in that moment, it was like the worst thing in the world. But in hindsight, it's not that bad.

And to really find you full potential, you just have to own it, right? Oh, you do. You do. And I think that's, you know, part and parcel of life, you know, seeing the humour in things as well. It's hugely important to be able to laugh at yourself, you know, laugh at the mistakes and just see the humour in everything you do.

So you've been called dad, mum. Yeah, mum. You know, a great question at the start of the year is when you ask, "How old do you think I am?" And you're thinking, "Oh, this could be bad. This could be bad." And I've had answers range from 16, which is weird because I've still been to secondary school, to anything from 40 plus, which, you know, I mean, you go home and they say 40 plus and go, "Wow, yeah, it's been a rough day." Yeah, yeah, not that 40's old.

But oh my gosh, yeah, when I was walking to a classroom at 21, and I don't know whether that was a concept of age or, you know, the teaching is just giving me some bags under my eyes or things like that. But, you know, the purity of children, the innocence, and the things they come out with is just hilarious. And like I say, they just, they brighten your day. And even on those darkest of days, you know, they give you a bit of light.

Bring your own sunshine, right? Absolutely. Confidence. I'm a big believer courage comes before confidence in everything you do. How do you build your confidence? And how do you then use your confidence in the right way? I think confidence comes from within.

I think, like you say, confidence is so important. I think it starts small. You know, some people are naturally more confident. You know, you may be confident speaking in front of people.

I've had children in my class that have not been confident speakers. You know, they haven't found their voice yet. And what I say to them is, you know, build it up slowly. It may be, you know, in this lesson, I'm going to challenge myself to put my hand up and answer a question.

Then at the end of the week, I'm going to challenge myself and put my hand up across the week. And I'm going to answer 10 questions in class. Then by the end of half term, I'm going to ask for a small reading part in our class assembly. Then in the end of the year, in our summer production, I'm going to ask for a speaking part in the play.

You know, building it up small by small, finding that confidence, because when you set yourself small targets and you achieve them, it feels good. You know, you feel that warmth. You feel, you know, I did that. I feel great about myself.

You know, I'm building up my confidence slowly, but surely. And then before you know it, you know, it becomes a snowball effect and you build on it and you build on it, you build on it. And you start feeling that confidence all around you. And it is, you know, so empowering.

And where did your confidence come from? Like your first ever TikTok? Like, how did you build? Because it's hard, isn't it? Whether you're, you're doing something for the first time, you're so passionate about a project and you want to do something. It's hard to actually press record or apply for the football team. I think getting started is the hardest part sometimes. I think with TikTok in particular, it was, let's just go with it.

You know, this may start something. It may create a platform. It may amount to nothing, you know, and exploring different avenues, being confident enough to again, say that I may fail in this. And that's okay.

But what learnings can I take from that to channel my energy somewhere else? But it all comes from just starting, you know, whether it's taking up a new hobby, whether it's, you know, trying a new class in school, whether it's going to university, whether it's trying a new job, trying different friendships, meeting new people, you know, confidence comes from taking yourself out of your comfort zone as well. You know, really learning about yourself, finding what you enjoy about life. And just building it up small by small, bit by bit to really thrive and be the best version of yourself. Have you ever uploaded a TikTok video and looked it back after a time and go, "What was I thinking?" They're still on there.

Scroll through, they're still on there. And I love it. I've seen a few of them. Yeah, yeah, they're bad What's that, you dressed up as Charlie? Oh, Willy Wonka.

Willy Wonka. Yeah, and oh my gosh, I loved it. I enjoyed it so much. I'm sure in two years, I'll look back and I'll think, "What was I thinking?" But that's great, but I'll keep it on there.

Because I know for me, that's proof in the pudding that we can look back and we can get better. And now when I look back at those old TikToks and at the time, I thought they were amazing. I thought they were really good. I thought it was good practice.

But now I've learned so much more about myself, about me as a teacher, about me as a professional, but I look back on those and I think, "Oh, I could have done that better." "Oh, I'm not sure. I like the way I delivered that." You know, when I do that again in the future and I'm teaching about the Romans, I'll try something else. And I think that's so important to be reflective. So are we going to get a take two of Willy Wonka? Maybe.

Yeah, yeah. I think maybe we'll switch up the outfit a bit. I went for the Johnny Depp Willy Wonka, but we may go Gene Wilder next time. I like it.

I like it. But yeah, it's thinking about, you know, actually, we can reflect on what we've done and what we did in the past and think that, you know what, at the time it was great. But actually look back on what you've done, what could be better? And that's probably a typical teacher thing to say, you know, what went well, even better if. But actually it's so important in life, you know, because life's a journey.

Learning never stops. And then there's learnings in everything you do. So learn to kind of reflect back on how you can improve things. How do you find that reflection time? Like, how do you...

Because it could be really exciting, right? You're doing one thing and then you do another thing. And then how do you actually just stop and think, "Okay, let me reflect." Yeah, you have to actually factor in the time. I found myself at the moment with so many things penciled in that my schedule is so busy that actually I haven't allowed myself enough time to really enjoy my achievements, celebrate the successes, reflect on what didn't go so well, reflect on the mistakes as well, because they're equally as important as celebrating that success. But I think actually dedicating that time, whether it's at the end of a day, you know, I had a really rubbish day today.

Why was it rubbish? You know, what could I have done better? Is there anything I could have done better? Or was that me trying my hardest? And you know what? That's okay. It was a rubbish day. I'll write it off. I'll go again tomorrow.

Having that five minutes, and that's all it can be sometimes, just five minutes to sit back and just reflect, think, "Yeah, I've done that. I achieved that. That was me." You know, I own that. Or do you know what? Oh that really didn't go well.

What could I do better next time? That's so important. And you have to really factor in that time. That can be a conversation with someone sitting down over a glass of water or a drink and talking about... Well, I've got a cup of tea.

Well, I've got water. I'm being a bit boring today. But it may be a coffee. It's hot, isn't it? Exactly.

Exactly. But it may be that conversation where you just talk about what's happened, or just sitting in bed reflecting to yourself about how far you've come, where you've got to get to next, what you want to achieve, those big dreams, you know, because they can be achieved, but you have to reflect on how far you've come and where you need to get to next. And how do you take time to actually champion the successes? Because nature just tells you to look at all the bad things. "I didn't score that football goal." Or "They didn't invite me over to play." Like, how do you actually build that kind of champion, that success? It's a mindset.

I think, like, saying nature will tell you that, "Oh, my gosh, focus on the failures. Focus on what went wrong. Focus on how to be perfect and what you weren't doing." But actually, we really need to sit back and just look at what we've achieved and what we've done well. And actually, I think back to children in my class, and for some of them, if it was enough to walk through the classroom door, because they struggled to get into school in the morning, that's a win.

And when that child that has been struggling to get into class in the morning, they've walked through the door, go and have 10 minutes free time. You've done that. You have some reward time, because that was a big moment for you, whether it's learning the times tables, whether it's a job interview that you really had to get yourself motivated to go and actually get up out of bed and go to. Recognise the success.

Recognise the achievement in that and how big that is and how far you've come. Because like you say, it's so natural to think of what we're not doing and think of the failures and think of everything we could be doing better. But it's so important to just stop, celebrate the success, and remind yourself that you're doing all right. You're doing just fine, right? And you help young people learn their times tables through songs, right? How do you like choose the song? Is it what's trending? Is it what the class wants? You know what? It's a mixture of everything.

There are some wonderful, wonderful times table songs out there that we use in the classroom. What's your favourite? The Espresso, Sabrina Carpetour. I love that. That went viral recently and the children adore that song.

So I thought, you know what? Let's use that in the classroom. It was great. And it really helped them learn their eight times table, which is a really tricky one. But anything that brings learning to life for me, you know, we recently did about the Anglo-Saxons.

So I thought, you know what? I'm getting bored of standing up in front of the class, talking at you about key dates and facts. Let's write a song together. So we used "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys. We came up with an Anglo-Saxon song.

I gave each table a focus keyword to include in their verse. And by the end of it, they knew a song. They could tell me what the Anglo-Saxons and the Vikings did and that's their learning. You know, it doesn't always have to be in the book.

You know, I want to kind of break that mould and just bring learning to life. What are the small wins that you do daily to make you feel good? So for me, it's set myself small, achievable, measurable targets, you know? I know that as a teacher, I've got so much to do on a day-to-day basis, but I'm of the full understand that that can't all be achieved, you know, from nine to five. You know, some days it has to go on to the end of the week. But for me, taking that step back at the end of a day and saying, okay, what do I need to do tomorrow? What's top of my priority list? Do I need to mark those English books? Do I need to speak to that child's parent? What do I need to do? Do I need to dedicate half an hour to myself to go outside and exercise, you know? Because once I've ticked those things off, and they can be as small as you want, you know, as small and as achievable as you want, but the most important thing is making them achievable, you know, making sure that you can get it done, because that sense of achievement, that sense of happiness that you feel when you take something off that list that you've made is, you know, it's brilliant, it's fantastic.

It fuels you to say, oh, I've done that, you know, I can get up and I can go again the next day. So for me, finding that happiness and that drive each day comes from setting myself a to-do list and ticking it off as I go. I need you to help me with mine. The hand, draw around, high five, please.

But it doesn't always get done, and that's what's important to recognise. Actually, I think in my first year of teaching, I really put so much pressure on myself to get everything done, but ultimately, you know, that can't come at a cost of your mental health, your mental wellbeing, and ultimately your happiness, you know, that takes priority over everything. So set yourself small, achievable tasks that are going to prioritise your health, your mental wellbeing, and ultimately your happiness. And what's one message you've got for young people out there to thrive? For me to understand that setbacks are a part of life, failure is so imperative in life, in that it creates learning opportunities.

You know, I say to the children I teach, again, failure stands for first attempt in learning. You're going to face setbacks. You're going to have hurdles, barriers in life. You know, you're going to face adversity.

And ultimately, it's all about how you navigate that, you know, you get knocked down seven times, you stand up eight, you know, it's so important that actually you see that it's part of life, and it's all about how you bounce back from that, whether that's, you know, you don't quite get the grades that you want in school, whether that's you got turned down from that job interview. I was talking to my friends yesterday, we were talking about when we were 16, 17, going for job interviews. You still are, aren't ya? According to the year fours I teach, but we were going around, you know, all the different shops in our town, just passing around our CVs, getting bounced back. No, we don't want you, don't want you, until ultimately you land that job.

So mistakes are going to happen, setbacks are going to happen, but see the beauty of that, you know, see the learning opportunities in that and see that, you know, it's an ongoing journey. Learning doesn't stop when you leave school, you know, there's learning opportunities in every corner of life, in every age. Long life learning, right? Absolutely. And are you ready for my final question? Oh, 100%.

What's your duvet flip? What gets you out of bed in the morning to flip the duvet? Oh, the chance to be better, the chance to go out every day and be 1% better, you know, and if you've had a rubbish day the previous day, that doesn't mean the next day can't be that little bit better. The chance to go out and inspire others, the chance to go out and make a difference, and as we briefly touched on before, you know, anyone can make a difference, doesn't matter how big, how small, you make a difference to one person, a group of people, 30 children in a class, a whole country, you know, making a difference, gets me out of the bed, that's my do they flip, you know, having impact in other people's lives. And I just want to say thank you so much. We've had prime ministers on, billionaires, but you're the real deal, apart from who you support, but we'll leave that to one side.

I just want to say thank you for everything you do, for showing your full potential and what you're doing, and I think we can all learn from you, and I'm learning, I might not quite get into a Willy Wonka outfit yet. Oh we'll get you in for a times table song though. There you go. We'll do that.

I just want to say thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me. For everything you do, and for sharing your wisdom, your knowledge, and helping us today with NatWest Thrive, find our full potential. Thank you.