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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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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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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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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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Supporting reading, writing, oracy and School Improvement, across the English curriculum.

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English adviser committed to developing people and solving real problems that shape strong schools.

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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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