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Type of work offered: Advisory work for government bodies/organisations, Assessment, Consultancy and Training

Specialism: Handwriting, Oracy, Primary and Reading

Region available: South

Social media: Twitter @BabcockLDPEng

Website: https://www.babcockldp.co.uk/english

Testimonials

"‘Thank you very much for the detailed responses and links and for your time last week. I found it very useful and thought-provoking… I really appreciated the time and it is great to know there are people on the end of a phone or email who can help. I've been really impressed with the English team at Babcock since moving to Devon from Surrey 2 years ago.’ – a primary English subject leader after a consultancy call to support post-COVID school closures"

"‘The reading was really good last week - we are looking forward to the next one! Thank you.’ – a primary English subject leader after an online training session/staff INSET"

Profile

Rebecca is a Primary English Adviser with Babcock LDP, having joined the team in 2016 after over eighteen years’ experience of teaching in Key Stages 2 and 3. She has worked as a Leading Literacy Teacher for Bath & North East Somerset, an Advanced Skills Teacher for Somerset, was Head of English and Assistant Headteacher at a middle school, alongside her class teaching. Rebecca has a Master of Arts degree in Education and is an accredited KS2 moderator.As an adviser, she supports schools and teachers with all aspects of primary English, through training, consultancy and publication. She has co-written several popular publications such as Re-think Reading!, No Nonsense Literacy, and developed a suite of CPD materials to support a whole school approach to developing vocabulary.

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Personal Information

Type of work offered: Assessment, Consultancy, Teaching/working with pupils, Training and Writing

Specialism: Oracy, Primary, Reading and Writing

Region available: Midlands, National, North, Scotland, South, UK and Wales

Social media: @RuthBakerLeask

Testimonials

"'Ruth is one of the most knowledgeable, well-informed and enthusiastic people working in the field of primary English. I’ve learnt so much about education from her.' James Clements, writer, researcher and author of ‘Teaching English by the Book."

"'Ruth's training videos deliver great content. Her expertise is underpinned by a deep knowledge of what really works in the classroom, and her presentation style is clear and engaging.' Joe Carter, Head of Content, Teach Primary"

"'Ruth exudes passion and common sense which is infectious. My staff were genuinely inspired working alongside her, and she had a clear impact on us achieving outstanding in our OFSTED.' Darrell Butler, Principal, Jon Locke Academy, London"

"'Due to Ruth’s support, we have seen staff confidence grow in how to identify and use quality texts effectively. As a result, there has been a huge improvement in our writing! We now see our children enjoying writing and wanting to write and being able to self edit and improve.' Sally Robbins, English Leader, Pedmore C of E Primary School, West Midlands"

"'Ruth’s energy and expertise have led to the development of a completely new curriculum approach to the teaching and learning of English in the 6 primary schools within our trust. She has efficiently coordinated working with our subject leaders to produce clear and comprehensive resources, which encompass both the skills and content required by the National Curriculum in years 1-6. In the absence of face-to-face sessions, the videos Ruth produced as professional development for our teachers have been very well received. Engaging, motivating, inspiring, professional and responsive - we couldn’t have asked for more!' Katy Russell, Head of School Development, East Midlands Academy Trust"

Profile

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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Personal Information

Type of work offered: Consultancy, Teaching/working with pupils, Training and Writing

Specialism: Cross-phase English, Curriculum Design, Initial Teacher Education, Primary and Reading

Region available: Midlands, National, Online and UK

Social media: LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lauraspargo Bluesky: @lauraspargo.bskysocial Substack: https://substack.com/@lauraspargo

Website: www.lauraspargo.com

Testimonials

" 'Having Laura in to our school has transformed the way we teach English lessons and given the teachers the confidence to adapt planning and lessons to the needs of their class.' Rachel Boswell, Executive Headteacher, Tibshelf Infant School, Derbyshire."

" 'It’s always a joy to collaborate with someone who brings such clarity, depth, and heart to the work. I very much hope we’ll find more opportunities to work together in the future. Thank you once again for helping to make the session so memorable.' Nadine Abeng, Education Partner, Birmingham Education Partnership."

" 'We recently received training from Laura and have already booked her in for a return visit. It has sometimes proved difficult to find someone with the right skills, knowledge and passion to really engage our staff during training days but she provided us with the best training we have had for a long time!' Nikki Ingram, Literacy Coordinator, Dame Allan’s Junior School. "

Profile

Having led Primary English across the UK, Spain and Dubai, and with a career in education spanning over 16 years, Laura is an experienced practitioner and subject specialist. Passionate about inspiring and supporting educators in cultivating reading and writing experiences which are inclusive and ambitious, Laura has presented at a number of conferences and works with a range of educational organisations. She is a member of the Opening Doors team, supporting schools in creating a quality English curriculum, rooted in providing inclusive learning experiences and promoting equity and excellence for all. She is a also a Just Imagine trainer and content contributor, providing bespoke training and consultancy opportunities for schools, academy trusts and wider organisations on all aspects of teaching English, literacy and dialogic pedagogy. Laura is a proud member of the English Association's Primary and Early Years Education Committee.

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Personal Information

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Personal Information

Type of work offered: Advisory work for government bodies/organisations and Training

Website: I am a lead school improvement adviser for English and moderation manager. Having taught across key stages 1 and 2, relatively recently, I am able to draw on my expertise to support schools with their English curriculum and teaching. I am passionate about empowering subject leaders and teachers to enact change in their setting. 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.

Profile

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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Personal Information

Specialism: Handwriting, Oracy, Phonics, Primary, Reading and Writing

Region available: Midlands

Social media: FaceBook - Janet Fisher Education

Testimonials

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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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Personal Information

Type of work offered: Consultancy, Training and Writing

Specialism: Cross-phase English and Oracy

Region available: International and UK

Social media: Blue Sky @think_talk_leah.bsky.social

Website: www.leahcrawford.com

Testimonials

"'I am more confident now to ‘facilitate’ when questioning and I feel more able to reinforce the ‘ease’ in which grammatical knowledge can be applied to complex tasks through talk.' Primary English Subject Leader"

Profile

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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Personal Information

Type of work offered: Advisory work for government bodies/organisations, Assessment, Broadcasting, Consultancy and Training

Specialism: Oracy, Primary, Reading and Writing

Region available: Midlands and South

Social media: Twitter @BabcockLDPEng

Website: https://www.babcockldp.co.uk/english

Testimonials

"Thank you very much for last week, all staff felt that it is the best CPD they have had; it was both informative and confidence boosting for them."

"I just wanted to say a massive thank you for your support and calming words during the English assignment time. Honestly, you and Rebecca were brilliant and made me feel that I could achieve the necessary pass!"

"The webex meetings have been extremely useful. They enhance our subject knowledge and give us lots of ideas to try with the children. The course leader (Jenny) is incredibly knowledgeable and ensures the sessions are well-paced. The sessions have had a direct impact on our teaching and the progress our children are making."

"Thank you so much Jenny. I have found your support very productive and reassuring! I am excited about the way forward and the changes we will now finally be able to implement, so thank you!"

"I am writing to thank you very much for the No Nonsense Spelling training you delivered to us this morning and for forwarding the presentation slides. The session was excellent and enjoyed by everyone. It has prompted some thoughtful discussions about spelling in our school and we are looking forward to using the programme from September."

Profile

Jenny currently works as one of Babcock LDP’s team of English Advisers. Her role involves providing training for teachers and English subject leaders in all areas of primary English, supporting teachers in the classroom and co-writing teaching publications such as No Nonsense Spelling, No Nonsense Grammar and No Nonsense Literacy. Jenny is an experienced primary class teacher, senior leader and English subject leader with experience in schools in the UK and abroad. Jenny is also a KS2 moderator and provides the English training for Devon Primary SCITT. In addition to working for a number of years as an English Adviser, Jenny also worked as a Primary Languages Adviser for Devon between 2005 and 2012.

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Personal Information

Type of work offered: Research and Training

Specialism: Primary, Reading, Transition and Writing

Region available: North

Website: https://researchschool.org.uk/lancashire

Profile

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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Personal Information

Type of work offered: Advisory work for government bodies/organisations, Assessment, Consultancy and Training

Specialism: Handwriting, Oracy, Primary and Reading

Region available: Midlands and South

Social media: Twitter @BabcockLDPEng

Website: https://www.babcockldp.co.uk/english

Testimonials

"‘An Introduction to Teaching Vocabulary’. I found the course to be extremely relevant, informative and easy to follow as well as incorporating useful strategies, supported by credible references. I have been very impressed by the Babcock courses and am looking forward to the new ones appearing. I have recommended your courses to my colleagues and also alerted our SLT to the value of the content."

"Useful practical ideas, information that feels like it will work in the classroom"

"Excellent PRACTICAL advice. Very clear answers, lots of useful information"

Profile

Alison is a member of the Primary English team for Babcock LDP. The team offers a wide range of training, consultancy and publication Alison is a qualified teacher with a Masters Degree in Literacy and Literacy Learning Difficulties with 30 years’ experience in education as a teacher and an adviser. She is also an accredited KS1 lead moderator.Alison provides support for schools as a literacy specialist with the English Hub, she is trained in a broad range of literacy interventions and is an accredited Reading Recovery Teacher leader. The Babcock LDP English team have developed some extremely popular and well respected publications, most notably No Nonsense Spelling, Grammar and Literacy. The team are currently developing extensive materials and cpd to support schools with developing vocabulary.

Rebecca New

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Ruth Baker- Leask

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Laura Spargo

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Sarah Lomax

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Elizabeth Armour

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Janet Fisher

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Leah Crawford

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Jennifer Core

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Gillian Fearns

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Alison Braddon

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