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Artwork for School Shorts

School Shorts

Melissa Chan-Green
Education
Structured Literacy
Dyslexia
Reading
ADHD
Child Development
New Zealand
Mental Health
Neurodiversity
Parenting
Writing
Twice Exceptional
Working Memory
Emotional Regulation
Child Psychology
Early Childhood Education
Bruce Cunningham
Executive Functions
High Poverty Schools
Handwriting

School Shorts is the podcast for busy parents who want to help their children succeed in school.

Hosted by Melissa Chan-Green, a journalist and mum of two, this show covers practical tips on reading, writing, spelling, and maths for preschool and early school years.

Learn about structured literacy, phonics, and foundational maths skills like counting, patterns, and sequences, plus how to support... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes72Foundeda year ago
Number of ListenersCategories
Kids & FamilyEducationEducation for Kids

Listen to this Podcast

Artwork for School Shorts

Latest Episodes

Harry Scott believes a cornerstone of childhood fun and experience is at risk. He is the founder of Barefooted and teaches outdoor education by giving school students and hosting community events so that kids get to experience all the things they mig... more

YouTube

Hear from the Principal of Lemonwood Grove, among the biggest primary schools by roll in New Zealand. The area has had its fair share of major local traumas like the Christchurch earthquakes and mosque attacks as well as covid. These experiences remi... more

YouTube

Children starting school without the skills needed for learning, are more likely to start on the back foot when it comes to the reading, writing and other skills that are assessed in the curriculum. Andrea Ford and Carolynne Masson work with families... more

YouTube

Tami Harris is the CEO of Acorn Neurodiversity and a passionate advocate of better support for children and young people who are neurodivergent. This episode is especially useful if you are a parent overwhelmed or unsure of the diagnosis process, a t... more

YouTube

Key Facts

Accepts Guests
Accepts Sponsors
Contact Information
Podcast Host
Number of Listeners
Find out how many people listen to this podcast per episode and each month.

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Recent Guests

Blair Dravitski
Principal of Lemonwood Grove School
Lemonwood Grove School
Episode: What Happened When This Principal Prioritised School-Parent Communication, with Blair Dravitski
Ande Ford
Co-founder of Ready 4 Learning, education advocate
Ready 4 Learning
Episode: Early Learning Skills for Maximum Success: Ande Ford and Carolynne Masson
Carolynne Masson
Co-founder of Ready 4 Learning, education advocate
Ready 4 Learning
Episode: Early Learning Skills for Maximum Success: Ande Ford and Carolynne Masson
Tammi Harris
Neurodiversity expert leading Acorn Neurodiversity
Acorn Neurodiversity
Episode: Understanding Neurodiversity and When to Seek Support with Tami Harris
Mohan Nair
Author and computer scientist; Sir Edmund Hillary Fellow
Author, Unreachable
Episode: Harnessing AI: The Brain Hacks to Teach Kids with Author Mohan Nair
Nancy Young
Creator of the Ladder of Reading and Writing
Ladder of Reading and Writing
Episode: The Ladder of Reading and Writing with Nancy Young
Steve McCracken
Principal of Whangaparāoa College
Whangaparāoa College
Episode: Large School Resource v Small School Connection: Principal Steve McCracken
Kathryn Berkett
Neuroscience expert and author
Author of What's Going On In There?
Episode: Listen to this and the Teen Brain Will All Make Sense! with Kathryn Berkett
Andy Jackson
Head of policy and analysis, Ministry of Education, New Zealand
Ministry of Education (New Zealand)
Episode: Ministry of Education: School Enrolment Policy

Host

Melissa Chan-Green
Journalist and mum of two; Host of School Shorts

Reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars from 35 ratings
  • Right wing lovefest

    Ugh

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    sidhitch
    New Zealanda year ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Several listeners appreciate practical tips but a minority feel the show sometimes tones toward a particular viewpoint.
A few reviews suggest the show delivers accessible, family-friendly education discussions.
Overall, feedback indicates usefulness for parenting and education audiences, with room for balancing perspectives.
Listener reactions vary, with some expressing strong views about perceived bias in the content.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Spotify
#177
New Zealand/Trending
Apple Podcasts
#48
New Zealand/Education
Apple Podcasts
#206
Indonesia/Education

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

What Happened When This Principal Prioritised School-Parent Communication, with Blair Dravitski
Q: How do you manage communication when your school grows rapidly and faces community trauma?
By staying transparent, prioritizing relational trust, and embedding regular, low-friction updates that reassure families and staff while clarifying expectations.
Large School Resource v Small School Connection: Principal Steve McCracken
Q: What challenges do you face with teacher shortages and resource constraints, and how do you plan to balance them with student needs?
Teacher shortages are evident, with aging staff and hundreds of vacancies; the school is balancing limited resources by upskilling staff, hiring intermediate specialists, and prioritizing strong teacher-student relationships to maintain engagement and outcomes while exploring flexible curriculum delivery and technology supports.
Large School Resource v Small School Connection: Principal Steve McCracken
Q: Can you describe how Whangaparāoa College is handling rapid school growth and what the homeroom model entails?
The school is adopting a year 7–13 structure with reduced transitions and a central homeroom for year 8s, where students spend most of the day with one teacher for core subjects, improving belonging and behavior while allowing continued specialist instruction in other subjects.
Ministry of Education: School Enrolment Policy
Q: Why does New Zealand maintain a rolling enrolment system and what are the advantages or trade-offs compared to cohort entry?
Andy outlines that rolling enrolment allows start flexibility tied to a child's fifth birthday, discusses equity and administrative considerations, and notes why cohort entry is not nationally mandated despite some perceived benefits.
Ministry of Education: School Enrolment Policy
Q: Can you explain what your role entails and how it guides policy across early childhood to tertiary education?
The host asks for a broad description of the policy leader's remit; Andy explains that the role focuses on system-level settings and determining when a child should start school, applying this across early childhood, school, and tertiary sectors.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
Household Income
Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About School Shorts

What is School Shorts about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This show targets busy parents looking to help their kids succeed in early schooling, with practical tips on reading, writing, spelling, and maths. Episodes feature educators, researchers, and parenting experts who share actionable home practices, structured literacy methods, and ways to balance screen time with literacy and hands-on learning. Expect conversations about curating age-appropriate learning activities, supporting executive function, and navigating education systems, often with real-world examples for families juggling work and parenting. A standout theme is empowering parents with evidence-based strategies they can apply immediately, plus guests who bring diverse perspectives from education, child development, and family life.

Where can I find podcast stats for School Shorts?

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How many listeners does School Shorts get?

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What are the audience demographics for School Shorts?

Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for School Shorts, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.

How many subscribers and views does School Shorts have?

To see how many followers or subscribers School Shorts has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to School Shorts?

These podcasts share a similar audience with School Shorts:

1. Making Cents
2. Kiwi Yarns
3. Grey Areas with Petra Bagust
4. Let Her Finish
5. The Curve

How many episodes of School Shorts are there?

School Shorts launched a year ago and published 72 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact School Shorts?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for School Shorts?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for School Shorts from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.

How do I access podcast episode transcripts for School Shorts?

Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of School Shorts. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.

What guests have appeared on School Shorts?

Recent guests on School Shorts include:

1. Blair Dravitski
2. Ande Ford
3. Carolynne Masson
4. Tammi Harris
5. Mohan Nair
6. Nancy Young
7. Steve McCracken
8. Kathryn Berkett

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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