In this talk I’ll give a broad overview of the field of educational neuroscience, and how insights into neural mechanisms of learning can inform classroom practices. Educational neuroscience proceeds either by informing theories of learning (that is, via psychology) or by viewing the brain as an organ whose physiological state needs to be optimised for learning in the classroom (that is, via brain health). For the former, I’ll give examples of projects within the University of London Centre for Educational Neuroscience on science and maths learning in primary school, and on adult literacy programmes in low-income countries. For the latter I’ll discuss recent work on the role of sleep and aerobic fitness in improving learning outcomes.