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Jo Beer is a Senior Lecturer in Primary English and Religious Education with over thirty years’ experience across primary education, teacher education, curriculum development, mentoring, consultancy, governance and professional learning.Her work is rooted in a passion for language, literacy and communication, supporting teachers to develop confident, reflective and research-informed practice. She teaches Primary English across undergraduate and postgraduate teacher education programmes, with particular interests in early reading, phonics, writing, storytelling and children’s literature. Alongside this, she teaches Religious Education, Professional Studies and Arts in Education, bringing an interdisciplinary perspective to learning, creativity and meaning-making in the primary classroom.Before joining higher education, Jo spent nearly twenty years teaching in primary schools, holding leadership responsibilities across Early Years and Key Stage 1, as well as English-related areas including assessment, curriculum development and subject leadership. This extensive classroom experience continues to inform her university teaching, partnership work and professional development programmes.Jo’s research and professional interests focus on primary English, literacy development, teacher presence and professional identity. She is particularly interested in how stories, language and literature support children’s learning, and how teachers develop the confidence, authenticity and subject knowledge needed to create engaging and inclusive classroom environments.Alongside her academic role, Jo contributes to governance, quality assurance and educational leadership through external examining, trusteeship and school governance. She is an active member of professional organisations including UKLA, the English Association, NATRE and AREIAC, and is committed to connecting subject expertise with thoughtful, evidence-informed classroom practice.

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I am an English Advisor and educational consultant with extensive expertise across Primary, Secondary, Alternative Provision and Further Education. Over more than twentythree years, I have developed specialist knowledge in English curriculum design, literacy strategy, reading development, SEND, and teacher training. My work centres on strengthening English provision through evidencebased practice, highquality professional development, and inclusive pedagogical approaches.My expertise in reading spans early acquisition through to advanced comprehension. I have led largescale reading improvement work across diverse educational settings, supporting multiacademy trusts and local authorities to embed coherent, researchinformed literacy strategies. I have delivered national training on inference instruction and contributed to governmentfunded literacy initiatives, applying research to practical classroom approaches that improve outcomes for all learners.In Further Education, I contribute to the DfEfunded GCSE English Resit Training Programme, supporting colleges to improve teaching, curriculum sequencing and learner engagement for students retaking English GCSE. This work draws on deep knowledge of literacy barriers, responsive pedagogy, and approaches that rebuild confidence and competence for learners who have previously struggled with English.I also have significant expertise in Alternative Provision, where I have led literacy strategy for vulnerable and marginalised learners. My work prioritises relational practice, accessible curriculum design, and the central role of reading and writing in enabling academic progress, personal development and future opportunity.My research interests focus on children’s literature, particularly radical and socially responsible texts that support critical engagement, identity formation and social awareness. I contribute to sector publications, editorial work and professional discourse through articles, commentary and conference presentations on literacy, inclusion and English pedagogy.I work closely with multiacademy trusts and local authorities, and I am a Trustee for Human Scale Education, a member of the English Association and the Chartered College of Teaching, and an active participant in regional SEND networks. Across all areas of my work, my expertise supports educators to deliver English teaching that enables every learner to read confidently, write purposefully and engage critically with the world.

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Nicola has worked in Lancashire since 1997 as a primary teacher, senior leader and consultant. She joined the English and Literacy Team in May 2004 after several years as a Leading Literacy Teacher and Leading Subject Leader.Nicola has worked extensively with the BBC and the British Film Institute (BFI) to develop literacy approaches via the use of film, and holds Lead Practitioner status with the BFI. In 2009, Nicola was awarded NPQH, and in 2010 became an accredited Local Consultant for Improvement in Stronger Management Systems and Support for Writing. In 2012, Nicola was quality assured by DfE for leading phonics in Lancashire with an outstanding accreditation. Since then, she has led the development and publication of the systematic, synthetic phonics programme Red Rose Letters and Sounds and the Red Rose Spelling Suite. During her time as a consultant, Nicola has contributed and led on the development of a wide range of publications to support schools, such as the widely used Key Learning in Reading and Writing, Learning and Progression Steps in Reading and Writing (LAPS), Key Learning Indicators of Performance in Reading and Writing (KLIPS) and Sentence Exemplification documents.Nicola is passionate about the use of spoken language to underpin the effective teaching and learning of reading and writing, and she has designed and implemented the popular Talk Programmes across Lancashire since 2018 alongside the consultant team. Nicola is currently the Lancashire Lead Moderator for KS2 Writing and trains moderator teams to ensure robust assessment processes support all schools effectively. She has a highly regarded reputation for working with an extensive range of schools across Lancashire, and beyond, via sustained packages of support in order to raise standards in EYFS, KS1 and KS2 in phonics, reading and writing. Her expertise for supporting schools to develop curriculum maps and pathways is second to none!Nicola is also Chair of the National Association of Advisers in English (NAAE) and a member of The Common English Forum, who meet regularly with the Department for Education. Nicola was appointed to the Senior Consultant role in October 2017.

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Debbie has over 20 years’ experience as a teacher, school leader and consultant, specialising in English. This includes extensive experience of supporting a wide range of schools and settings with all aspects of teaching, leading and inspecting English and assessment. Her areas of expertise span strategic leadership of English, reading for pleasure pedagogy and practice, the design and delivery of CPD, leading strategic reviews of practice and the implementation of assessment and effective practice. Part of her week is spent as a Lecturer in Reading for Pleasure with the Open University RfP team, working to promote research informed practice across schools, through their flagship Reading Schools Programme and a national network of Teachers’ Reading Groups. Debbie also facilitates the NPQLL programme and delivers phonics and early reading audits for English Hubs and is the proud co-founder of the Spark! School Book Awards.

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Former teacher and senior leader in primary, secondary and special provision schools in the North East, with a particular track record in significantly reducing and eliminating the attainment gap in schools operating in high deprivation socio-economic contexts.Founder and Author of DfE England and DoE Western Australia Approved McKie Mastery Power Phonics. Implementing Adaptive Power Teaching in schools nationally, Claire has worked alongside leaders and staff to radically change whole school approaches to pedagogy across the curriculum as well as implementing an Adaptive Power Teaching Infrastructure in English and in Maths. Research published in 2023 found "Exceptional progress across all schools" (Nobari et al 2023). Created a in high deprivation and high SEND classrooms in the North East, the Adaptive Power Toolkits were designed to scaffold learning, behaviour, engagement, oracy reading, writing, spelling and maths mastery for ALL pupils including those who struggle most.SEND Training Partner at SEND Station, Claire delivers online training to teachers and leaders nationally and internationally on Adaptive Teaching Tools designed to best support ALL pupils.Whole School Improvement Partner, Claire has worked nationally with Multi Academy Trusts, mainstream primary, secondary and special provision schools to implement innovative Adaptive Teaching based pedagogy, infrastructure and processes across the curriculum as well as subject-specific changes in English and Maths teaching and learning

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I have over 10 years of teaching experience in the Primary Classroom, followed by sharing my teaching experiences through film and animation to inspire both reading and writing. This led to the development of The Literacy Shed, a resource now used in most primary schools in the UK and beyond. I have contributed to several academic publications and developed curricula for Spelling, Reading and Writing, which are now used in thousands of primary schools around the world.

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With over 25 years in education, Susie is an experienced teacher, leader and English consultant, working with schools and organisations both nationally and internationally. Drawing on her comprehensive understanding of curriculum, assessment, and effective teaching methodologies, she guides school leaders, teachers support staff and governors in developing their strategy and practice to improve pupil outcomes. Having served in a variety of educational roles, including as a Local Authority School Improvement Consultant for both Oxfordshire and West Berkshire, Susie specialises in designing and delivering tailored training programmes and projects to address educational priorities, working with individual schools, academies, trusts and partnerships, as well as collaborating with institutions such as Oxford University Press, Hachette Education, BlueSky Learning and Edge Hill University. Susie is passionate about inspiring teachers and engaging learners. Her face-to-face and online training is of high quality: rooted in the curriculum and providing evidence-based practice coupled with creative teaching and learning approaches. She believes in a bespoke approach to school support, working alongside school leaders, class teachers and support staff to develop practice through a range of leadership and classroom-based strategies, always precisely tailored to the identified needs of the school.

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Leah had 15 years experience as a Local Authority English Inspector/Adviser, working across the primary and secondary phases before becoming an independent consultant. In her school career, she held pastoral and subject leader roles. She now leads Thinktalk consultancy, is a Tutor for the King’s College Let’s Think in English Cognitive Acceleration programme and is a consultant and writer for Bob Cox’s Opening Doors publications and consultancy. She has completed a Masters in Education Degree on teacher learning and development and has supported a European Erasmus project on the Assessment of Thinking Skills. Leah has led extended professional learning courses through Teaching Schools and MATS on Mastery of Reading at primary, Writing Design and Process, Grammar for Purpose and Viewpoint, and Word Study – combining the teaching of spelling and vocabulary. She is delivering the new NPQ in Leading Literacy through the University of Winchester.

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