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, Initial Teacher Education, Keynotes, Research, Training and Writing
Specialism:
Assessment, Cross-phase English, Initial Teacher Education, Oracy, Primary and Reading
Region available:
International, London, Midlands, National, North and UK
Profile
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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Personal Information
Type of work offered:
Assessment, Consultancy and Training
Specialism:
Primary, Reading and Writing
Region available:
North
Social media:
@lancsliteracy (Twitter) @lancslpds (Facebook) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC55zSaI6p5ZhJxL--Q00IjA (Youtube channel)
Website:
https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/lpds/primary/primary-english-and-literacy/
Testimonials
"'Nicola and her team are inspirational - the support and expertise in the team is incredible! I am grateful for having the exceptional support in Lancashire and hope others across the country can access it via websites, publications and online training'. A Lancashire Headteacher"
Profile
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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Personal Information
Type of work offered:
Advisory work for government bodies/organisations, Assessment, Consultancy, Teaching/working with pupils, Training and Writing
Specialism:
Curriculum Design, Oracy, Phonics, Reading and Writing
Region available:
International and National
Social media:
x - @susie_spolander
Website:
www.primarysupportteam.co.uk
Testimonials
"Over the past few years, Susie has been an integral part of the development of our English curriculum. She has supported the leadership team with planning, implementation and monitoring, ensuring results that exceed national standards across all areas. In addition, Susie has tailored training sessions for both the entire staff and individual teachers, strengthening their practices and fostering a culture of continuous improvement."
"I just wanted to say thank you for all your help with writing. Our results this year built on the great training that you gave us: 83% of our pupils hit the expected level in writing with 20% working at a greater depth! To say we were pleased would be an understatement and we thought you might like to know the impact that you were a part of."
"I have worked with Susie over many years. When I needed some staff training on key priorities, I asked Susie to support. Her knowledge of current developments were particularly useful, both supporting staff and challenging their thinking. The focus on grammar and whole class guided reading has certainly supported the staff in improving attainment for children. Our KS2 results clearly show the impact of the support."
"Susie is clear, has great subject knowledge and speaks with passion and enthusiasm. The project gave practical ideas that can be implemented straight away."
"I have tried your method for writing for the first time over the last couple of weeks and I am overwhelmed by how well it has turned out. I am excited about feeding back to school and sharing the experience so that they can also move forward. I just wanted to say a massive thank you for your guidance and support."
Profile
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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Personal Information
Type of work offered:
Assessment, Assessment, Consultancy, Research, Training and Writing
Specialism:
Oracy and Primary
Region available:
Midlands
Social media:
@rebeccakennedy39
Contact the Adviser
Personal Information
Type of work offered:
Assessment, Consultancy, Initial Teacher Education, Research, Training and Writing
Specialism:
Assessment, Early Years, Higher Education, Initial Teacher Education, Oracy, Phonics, Primary, Reading, Secondary, Secondary Literacy and Transition
Region available:
International, Midlands, North, Northern Ireland, Online, Scotland and Wales
Social media:
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/claire-mckie-1b28391a5 https://www.facebook.com/mckiemastery?__tn__=-]C
Website:
www.powerphonicsbooks.com
Testimonials
"Exceptional progress in terms of pupil achievement and engagement"
"Claire McKie's Power Teaching methods could revolutionise the way we teach. Since adopting itwe have seen a consistent level of very high results well above thenational average. The benefits have been high achievement (consistentlyTop 2% in England phonics and KS2 SAT results); great work-life balancefor teachers and spare money (we don't need any additional support).Children have become independent learners and that is the key to PowerTeaching success "
Profile
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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Personal Information
Type of work offered:
Keynotes, Training and Writing
Specialism:
Oracy, Primary, Reading and Writing
Social media:
@PrimaryEnglish (X and Bluesky) @_primaryenglish (Instagram and Threads) @PrimaryEngEd (Facebook)
Website:
primaryenglished.co.uk
Testimonials
"Rachel is an experienced, knowledgeable and motivated trainer"
"I've just had two members of staff, who have both just attended your vocabulary course, come and see me full of enthusiasm and ideas!"
Profile
I have extensive experience in the primary phase as a teacher, deputy headteacher, local authority English advisor and now as the director of Primary English Education Consultancy.I write for several educational publishers, create resources for the Primary English website and provide training and consultancy support to schools, SCITTs and MATs.
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Personal Information
Type of work offered:
Advisory work for government bodies/organisations, Assessment, Consultancy, Initial Teacher Education, Research, Training and Writing
Specialism:
Initial Teacher Education, Primary, Secondary and Secondary Literacy
Region available:
London, Online and South
Social media:
Twitter @MuchAdoALJ
Profile
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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Personal Information
Type of work offered:
Assessment, Consultancy, Teaching/working with pupils and Training
Specialism:
Assessment, Cross-phase English, Curriculum Design, Primary and Reading
Region available:
National and UK
Profile
I’m an education leader with 20 years’ experience in primary education, with particular expertise in English, curriculum and pedagogy. I lead Primary English at Ark Curriculum Plus, where I work with over 100 Ark and non-Ark partner schools on curriculum design, pedagogy, professional development and school improvement. I’m particularly interested in the relationship between curriculum quality, teaching quality and implementation. My work focuses on designing ambitious, inclusive and evidence-informed curriculum and professional development that improves progress and attainment. I am passionate about closing the disadvantage gap and ensuring that all pupils have the opportunity to succeed.
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