LearnRadio.Net - A broadcasting platform that reaches anywhere that has an internet connection

LearnRadio.Net is a live Internet radio station created during the first lockdown to provide a daily interactive learning experience. We started broadcasting on 20th March 2020 with a vision to reach children, young people and families in their homes to help support and scaffold their learning. Our listeners hear well known authors read from their books. Children then follow our live writing challenges on our showpage. Uniquely, no registration or email addresses are required; our Padlets allow moderated posts to be shown publicly in realtime. It’s a fast paced format with music tracks and shoutouts playing an important part for wellbeing.

Last year over 600k listeners joined us and engaged in our shows. Online-Radio is technically light-weight and can be enjoyed using older mobile phones with the tiniest amount of bandwidth. This is perfect for tech-poor households who possibly do not have access to superfast broadband and the latest laptop.

We are now a team of educators from across the UK, the two original founders, Headteacher Ian Rockey in Wiltshire and broadcaster Russell Prue in Oxfordshire have been joined by Maria Wojciechowska-Caneda in London and Hazel Pinner in Orkney.

We have continued our work right the way through to lockdown 3 with our five regular weekly shows that include an after school book club, educator wellbeing shows with live Yoga and professional development ideas. We have shows for inspiring creative educators and a feel good Friday music show. Our Crafty Cafe shows are on Saturdays; designed to engage and inspire young creatives with live make-alongs. Pupil voice and interaction are important elements that run through all of our shows, with children able to connect and feel a part of the community. 

Children’s mental health and wellbeing have been a primary concern right from the start and our shows are tailored to support this through upbeat tracks, familiar voices and opportunities to get a mention for friends and family, who young people may not have seen for some time. This fully underpins our ethos of ‘evolution, innovation and connection’ as it highlights how our shows are ever evolving, particularly throughout lockdown. We regularly inspire young people to extend their learning. It’s all part of the validation process and getting that quick win, with the many elements of success that our shows bring, all going towards raising self esteem and confidence.

From an educational perspective, we are also evolving to support the broader curriculum through the introduction of ‘Bloom’s Taxonomy’. The seeds are sown, and the show waters those seeds and the listeners grow them, with endless possibilities for development and enjoyment.

We have recently broadened our focus to take in the Arts, STEM and Music with our programme output. All of our broadcasts and showpages are available to enjoy again from our website, building a huge resource for reference and future use, by families, educators and colleagues alike. We have a formidable, deployable solution that does not involve video imagery or pose any safeguarding risks. LearnRadio also hosts dedicated shows for specific schools and home users.

Our broadcasting platform reaches anywhere that has an internet connection. We have even put on a live show to celebrate a birthday bringing young folks together who have not been able to meet this year. We are available for commissions and specific broadcasting projects. At the moment, we’re self funded and looking for sponsors and supporters to allow us to continue our valuable work. We have a Radio Academy for budding radio presenters and podcasters.

Please visit our site LearnRadio.Net where you will find a wealth of information and every one of our previous shows as a podcast. LearnRadio.Net

From Engage issue 22.
LearnRadio.Net • September 27, 2021
By Ann Beatty April 6, 2025
This week while out and about in Hertfordshire and we visited the British Schools Museum. We discovered the first school opened by Joseph Lancaster, was known as the ‘Poor Childs Friend”, was in 1810. It was his lifelong mission that all children regardless of their circumstances, should benefit from an education. Apparently, Joseph heard a small girl say, “Oh that I could read!” and this inspired him to create a simple education system that eventually would benefit children across the world. Joseph was the tenth son of a poor man himself from South London. His aim was to offer free education for everyone. However, it would be 93 years before the U.K. government finally made education free for all. There are still many countries today where education is still not free to access and it is certainly not compulsory for primary and secondary age pupils. Joseph’s mission really resonates with that of the Foundation, to support access to education for all. We enjoyed our visit and appreciated the tour given by two of the Museum’s volunteers, Angela and Clare. They described some of the challenges faced in the early years of formal education and shared some of the rules that teachers and students had to abide by with us. 
By Ann Beatty April 4, 2025
Sparks Bristol is a collaborative community project initially envisioned by The Global Goals Centre, (GGC) more of which below. A few years ago, GGC took over an empty Marks and Spencer store and that’s how Sparks was born. Sparks is a department store with a difference, co-created by Global Goals Centre and Artspace Lifespace. On the ground floor is a huge range of shops, installations, events and more. Upstairs is a hub for local artists, it offers affordable studios as well as rehearsal and performance space. The Global Goals Centre is a Bristol-based educational charity inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals. (SDGs). GGC believe the SDG’s or Global Goals as they are sometimes known, can be reached, with imaginative solutions and widespread education and engagement. They work with partners to promote creative solutions and deliver ground breaking projects that work towards these ambitious goals. The Steve Sinnott Foundation supported the Global Goals Centre with seed funding when it first started over 5 years ago. This month we went to visit them to see how they are getting on and we were taken aback by the volume of work they have achieved since they started. It is amazing to see how though working together with other local community groups it has grown into the vibrant centre it is today. All of the creative projects they host are linked to the SDGs. They cover topics that tackle poverty, education, climate change, fashion recycling and upcycling, to name a few.
By Ann Beatty March 28, 2025
Spring is definitely here, daffodils, blossom and crocuses are all basking in the bright sunshine. There is still a chill in the air in the shade but it's happening and all the seeds that were sown over the last few months are coming to fruition. At the Foundation, we have been planning the year ahead and our Positive Periods and Prevention of Gender Based Violence programmes got underway this weekend in Haiti and Ghana. These projects will have a long-lasting effect on the lives of the women and girls who take part: tackling the root causes of gender-based violence and enabling girls to attend school every day when they have their period, to feel safe at school and know how to take action when they are faced with violence. These are the first of many projects planned for the year ahead as we continue to work towards Education for All children everywhere.