Among the usual rollcall of academy chief executives, union bosses and headteachers in the King’s birthday honours last week was a primary teacher from Manchester.
While his name may be unfamiliar to senior leaders, Lee Parkinson – AKA Mr P – is something of a minor celebrity among primary teachers, with a Teacher Tapp poll last month naming him the UK’s top “education influencer”.
Mr P, awarded an MBE for services to education, has built a huge online following by posting videos on the frustrations and hilarity of classroom life.
He has nearly half a million Facebook followers, but is also a hit on Instagram (272,000 followers) and Tiktok (214,000). A podcast he runs with his teaching assistant brother (the other Mr P), has amassed 7,000,000 listens.
The content is a mix of observational humour and teaching in-jokes. In one post, titled “What you see in every primary singing assembly”, Parkinson does impressions of the children and teachers who take part in productions.
But his popularity also stems from his outspoken views on education policy, where he fiercely fights the corner of teachers and support staff.
From triplets to tech
Parkinson found it difficult to keep his MBE secret. “When I finally shared the news it was amazing, I had a lump in my throat reading all the support,” he says.
Born and bred in Manchester, would-be actor Parkinson ended up training as a primary school teacher, before moving to his first (and only) job at Davyhulme Primary.
He started training other teachers in 2010 when he found out his wife was having triplets and he realised he might need to move into a leadership role.
At his head’s suggestion he began covering PPA and teaching ICT. He persuaded the school to get iPads for pupils and started a school blog on how to use tech tools across the curriculum.
Some of the posts resonated with other teachers, who Parkinson says began asking him for step-to-step guides.
He then launched his teaching blog and it “all went from there really”.
Parkinson, who recently turned 40, also runs his own training company providing courses to help schools improve their use of tech. He is also the co-founder of teaching AI tool Teachmate.
‘Polarising’ social media
Much of his content focuses on the joy and absurdity of being a teacher. His podcast soared in popularity during the pandemic, with episodes devoted to the impossibility of trying to get primary children prone to licking walls, and each other, to socially distance.
With between 100,000 to 1,000,000 followers Parkinson could be classed as a “macro-tier influencer”.
But he says the “influencer” label allows people to “put you on a pedestal only to knock you off”, and feels there is “more substance” to his work.
He does make some money from his social media accounts, but says he turns down most brands and only does ads for tools he would use himself. He now teaches part-time.
“Whatever I post or share online, I always ask if it is adding value to teachers, whether giving them a laugh or helping them out.”
Yet he admits he struggles with the “polarising effect” of social media, citing it as a reason he would never make content aimed at schoolchildren.
“I’m aware of the detrimental impact it can have. The emotion that keeps you on social media longest is anger.”
Champion for teachers
He is an outspoken critic of Ofsted, which he recently called a “cult”, and regularly posts videos dissecting education news. During the pandemic, he made national headlines for his “sweary rant” about Boris Johnson.
“Sometimes people ask me how I get away with it,” he admits. But he is determined to speak out about the impacts of “years of underfunding”.
He is hopeful that Labour will improve the system, and hopes to have education secretary Bridget Phillipson back on his podcast for a second time soon.
Asked which aspect of his work he is most proud of, he says it is his serving as a “real advocate for teachers” in a system inn which they are consistently undervalued.
“I think it’s maybe down to being a champion for teachers. It’s not just teachers, it’s all staff in schools, who are constantly going above and beyond in, let’s be fair, a bit of a broken system.”
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