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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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I have been teaching for 20 years in KS2- predominantly Y6 and have been English subject lead for this time also. I am Director of Lancashire Research school as part of the Research School Network working for EEF to support schools in evidence informed practice.

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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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Wendy has a wealth of experience in education having worked as a Secondary school leader, Senior LA Adviser and 6 years as an Ofsted Inspector. She is the Lead UK trainer for Professor John Hattie's Visible Learning programme with Osiris Educational and Corwin, working with schools nationally and internationally. She also provides bespoke training and SIP consultancy working extensively with Head teachers as a School Improvement Partner, training teachers, leaders and ECTs in all phases across the UK and in Europe. Wendy is passionate about supporting all teachers to make a difference in their classrooms and for their learners.

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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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Janet was a highly effective teacher in primary schools in Birmingham for 15 years. She had successful experience of subject leadership and middle management. She also worked for the local authority as an INSPIRE tutor, developing workshops to help parents to support their children’s learning.In 2007, Janet joined the Staffordshire Local Authority as a Primary English Advisor. She provided support and professional development to improve teaching and learning in English. In a wider role for the LA, Janet had extensive experience of leading whole school review and improvement as a School Improvement Professional. She worked with a range of schools including those in challenging circumstances or an Ofsted category; clusters of small schools and good/outstanding schools.Since 2017, Janet was the strategic lead for Primary Statutory Assessment, moderation manager for KS1 and lead moderator for KS1 and KS2.Now working as an independent consultant, Janet continues to support schools in English, Assessment and Whole School Improvement. She specialises in: devising and delivering training; supporting the role of subject leaders; leading whole school initiatives; working alongside teachers and consultancy in all aspects of English. Her assessment work now spans across the Midlands, as Janet continues to be a LA moderator and also supports Statutory Assessment in several Local Authorities to train moderators, lead training and provide CPD through Assessment networks and moderation courses. With strong links to STA, she co-ordinates the Midlands Moderation Managers Support group.

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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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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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As a former local authority English advisor and headteacher, I have extensive leadership experience as well as curriculum expertise. I work across the country supporting academy trusts, local authorities, schools and other organisations in improving teaching, strengthening leadership and developing curriculum. I am currently the chair of the National Association of Advisors in English (NAAE) as well as working with organisations such as The National Literacy Trust (NLT) and the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) as an associate consultant/teacher and I am a member of the United Kingdom Literacy Association's (UKLA) Awards and Members Committee. I am passionate about research-informed practice and in supporting teachers to understand how children learn to read and write.

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