In this episode, Claire talks to Tom Wallace, a former teacher and founder of ‘Balance’, an assessment software tool which helps teachers to reflect on their assessment in school and adapt it to make it more efficient and meaningful for the children.
Tom’s desire to be a teacher came from hours of watching and helping his mum (who was also a teacher) make displays with great sheets of paper, rulers and big wooden stencils. He thought that this would be a great job and put aside his dream of becoming a footballer and a rock star to pursue a career in teaching. Because it was what he had always wanted to do, he found it an easy progression through college and university. He has worked in three schools, and credits his last headteacher, Andy Moore, with changing his life. 
In addition to his work in schools, Tom has also worked alongside many key names in education such as Shirley Clarke, Dylan Wiliam and Guy Claxton, to name a few. It was through working with these people that he found his passion was around assessment and how it can be transformed to improve the outcomes for pupils and the lives of teachers.
A traumatic event was the turning point for Tom, and he realised he could not continue teaching because of the impact it was having on his life. He decided his desire was greater than his fear and took the plunge to leave teaching to concentrate on his business.
In the podcast, Tom speaks openly and honestly about the heart-breaking events which led him to a very dark period in his life, as well as how he recovered from it. He discusses how schools can change their culture and vision by reflecting on themselves as staff and the impact they are having on their pupils to make feedback less onerous and more purposeful.
*If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this podcast, you can contact the Samaritans, who provide confidential, emotional support for people who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair.
Helpline: 08457 90 90 90 (24 hours a day, seven days a week)
Website: https://www.samaritans.org/ 
KEY TAKEAWAYS

If you are struggling and need to take time to recover, know that the school will survive without you.It’s easy as a teacher to get bogged down in the responsibility of the role but ultimately, you need to be in the right headspace to do your job properly. Sometimes you have to prioritise yourself and your own mental health.
Reach out to people.Everybody is battling with some kind of inner struggle; don’t be afraid to reach out to them. You never know when it might make someone’s day or change someone’s life.
Work never ends for a teacher.It is easy to say ‘no’ when someone asks you to do something in your personal life because of the amount of work you have to do. It’s important to make time for the relationships in your life because the work you need to do will never end; it’s important to have an internal discipline.
Surround yourself with people who guide and direct you.Everyone will need support and guidance at some point in their life. It is important that you surround yourself with people who can channel your emotion into positive action.
Assessment is about staff reflecting on the impact they’ve had on their children.It’s not about what the children do or do not know. If we reflect, we can help to direct our teaching better next time. Changing the culture around marking and assessment and asking the right questions could save a lot of time in schools.
Your mood and feelings have an impact on the pupils and their outcomes.It’s important to look after the teacher to improve outcomes for the pupils.
It’s important to re-evaluate what is being done in a school and find ways to do it better and more efficiently.You can’t cut down a whole forest with a broken chainsaw, so it’s important to take time out to fix the chainsaw so the job can be done better. SLT could take extra assemblies to give staff that time to work in year groups, key stages etc.
Be disciplined with your time.There are ma