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I have over 25 years’ experience of teaching in secondary and primary schools, with a particular focus on English and assessment. I have helped to raise standards in schools by providing specialist English training, targeted support and coaching for teachers and senior leaders. I am currently the Moderation Manager for Brent, overseeing moderation processes for KS2 writing and providing statutory assessment/moderation training. I have delivered highly-evaluated training courses for a number of London local authorities and bespoke in-service training for schools. My training offers practical and effective ideas for immediate use and impact in the classroom.

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I'm passionate about all things English; oracy, reading and writing. I've been working as an independent consultant since September 2018, having previously been an English Subject Leader, local authority adviser (in two different LAs) and a primary Head. I provide support and training for senior leaders, subject leaders and class teachers in individual schools, clusters of schools and multi-academy trusts. I am also a KS2 Moderation Manager for two London LAs and have worked with the Standards and Testing Agency as an Operation External Moderator and Deputy Standardisation Team Leader.

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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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I am an Education Advisor at Pobble Education, where I support schools, Multi-Academy Trusts, local authorities, and education departments across the UK and internationally to strengthen the accuracy, consistency, and impact of their writing assessment and moderation practice.My work is rooted in a belief that assessment is most powerful when it is purposeful, professionally led, and deeply connected to curriculum intent. I am particularly passionate about making moderation a positive and meaningful activity — one that teachers actively want to engage in, rather than experience as a compliance burden. My goal is to help settings build writing moderation systems that deepen professional dialogue, build teacher confidence, and drive genuine improvement in teaching and learning.Drawing on a career spanning classroom teaching, school leadership, and national statutory assessment delivery, I have worked with schools, MATs, and local authorities to:- Review and strengthen assessment policies and processes across multiple settings- Build teacher confidence in making accurate and consistent judgements about children's writing- Align assessment with curriculum design and implementation- Develop moderation frameworks that reduce workload while raising standards- Foster cross-school collaboration to share expertise and embed best practiceMy work at Pobble Education places writing at its heart, and I lead CPD and strategic support that helps teachers and leaders evaluate the effectiveness of their writing curriculum and embed approaches that are both rigorous and supportive of high-quality outcomes for every child.I am seeking NAAE membership to connect with a wider community of English and literacy professionals, to contribute to and learn from national conversations about assessment and writing education, and to ensure my practice is informed by the latest research, policy, and collective expertise in the field.

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I work with SLT, English subject leaders and staff in developing all aspects of primary English. Bespoke support could include: developing the reading and writing curriculum, progression and development of literacy skills; planning units of work with teachers; or specific subject leader support. I also offer a variety of training around aspects of literacy such as phonics and spelling; teaching grammar in context; reading for meaning; and developing writers.

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I work extensively with teachers and schools across the UK. Currently this focuses on reading comprehension across the curriculum, creative approaches to grammar teaching and effective classroom talk. I have written extensively about pedagogy and practice in primary literacy teaching. My most recent publications are Teaching Primary English: Subject Knowledge and Classroom Practice (2nd ed.2024 Routledge) with Eve Bearne, Teaching Grammar Effectively in the Primary Classroom ( 2nd Edition, 2020 UKLA) and Talk For Teaching and Learning: the dialogic classroom (2021 UKLA) with Eve Bearne, Guiding Readers: A handbook for teaching reading comprehension to 7-11 year olds (2016 UCL IoE Press) with Wayne Tennent, Nikki Gamble and Angela Hobsbaum and contributions to Teaching English Creatively (2nd Edition, 2015, ed Teresa Cremin). Other publications include, Teaching Grammar Effectively in Key Stage 1 ( 2016 UKLA), with Eve Bearne and Rebecca Kennedy, Guiding Reading - A Handbook for Teaching Guided Reading in KS2 (Institute of Education, with Angela Hobsbaum and Nikki Gamble) and Developing Writing For Different Purposes-Teaching About Genre In The Early Years (Paul Chapman, with Jeni Riley).I am former General Secretary and Past President of the United Kingdom Literacy Association (UKLA) and was a Co-Director of the Cambridge Primary Review Trust (CPRT) from 2013 – 17. Until 2014 I was Principal Adviser for primary schools in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.

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I have been working as an English adviser for Achieving for Children for the past three years. I have recently taken on the role of moderation manager. My experience is within primary education. I have taught in the majority of year groups (years 1-6) for the past 17 years and have recent classroom experience. In my current role, I provide training for teachers and English subject leaders around all areas of English, including a grammar course, reading course, phonics networks, subject leader networks. I also run projects with groups of schools. Recently I have been part of a successful writing project which addresses all aspects of the writing curriculum. I have also led on a secondary early reading project, empowering literacy leads withing secondaries to implement reading interventions and to develop disciplinary literacy skills across the school. My next project coming up will be implementing an effective oracy strategy in our primary and secondary schools. I also deliver assessment leader networks and provide training for teachers around various aspects of assessment, including an in-depth look at reading and writing assessments.

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23 years in comprehensive schools, 15 in university and 40 years in GCSE Assessment

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Nicola has worked in Lancashire since 1997 as a primary teacher, Senior Manager and Consultant. She joined the Literacy team in May 2004 after several years as a Leading Literacy teacher and Subject Leader, and has been involved in co-developing and presenting the very popular boys' writing projects in KS2 within Lancashire and beyond.Nicola has a particular interest in the use of film to develop literacy and has gained Lead Practitioner status with the British Film Institute. In addition, she regularly consults on projects with the BBC.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 appointed by DFE for leading phonics in Lancashire with an outstanding accreditation. She also specialises in reading development, improving writing, boys' writing and is the Lancashire Lead Moderator for KS1 and KS2.She currently leads a team of eleven Primary English and Literacy Consultants, as part of Lancashire Professional Development Service, with expertise from Nursery to Y6 in all aspects of English. Nicola has a valued reputation for working wtih an extensive range of schools across Lancashire, and beyond, in raising standards via in-school support and high-quality CPD training courses.Nicola was appointed to the Senior Consultant role in October 2017.

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