Reading is on the agenda

Annual Primary English Conference

A leading education service provider is bringing an exciting conference to Liverpool to help support teachers in developing a lifelong love of reading in children. School Improvement Liverpool Ltd (SIL), which delivers training and consultancy to schools and academies across the UK, is hosting its ‘Annual Primary English Conference – The Reading Agenda’.

The day will focus on equipping subject leaders with practical ideas to create engaging reading environments and celebrating reading for pleasure. The conference, to be held at the Crowne Plaza Liverpool on 29 June, will consist of hands-on workshops led by local reading advocates and teachers, as well as a keynote presentation from award winning author and educational advisor, Aidan Chambers.

A prolific reader himself, Aidan is passionate about literacy and regularly writes novels, plays and literacy criticism. His inspiring two part book, ‘Tell me: Children, Reading and Talk’ with ‘The Reading Environment’ describes, with practical examples, the attitudes that support children’s encounters with books. Delegates will receive a complimentary copy as part of the day.

After his keynote speech, Aidan will delve deeper into how to help children talk well about books; Jill Wright, deputy headteacher at Whitefield Primary School will lead a session on using quality texts as a core part of English provision; Nicola Stretch, reading advocate at St Gregory’s Catholic Primary School, will discuss developing the physical reading environment, while Jeannie Turner, reading recovery teacher leader for SIL will explore early reading strategies. Sue Killen, primary learning strategy manager at SIL, said: “This Conference hopes to highlight the many ways teachers can approach reading in the curriculum and promote a love of reading from a young age. We are delighted to have Aidan Chambers involved who will be the day’s keynote speaker and impart his fantastic knowledge and experience of reading.

“We believe reading is the foundation for all learning, that’s why this event is so important and we would urge all teachers to get involved and explore some new, exciting ideas to take back to the classroom.”

SIL also runs its highly successful reading quality mark, supported by the National Literacy Trust. The award recognises the effort schools have made in promoting the joy of reading amongst their pupils. For further information, please visit www.ednet.co/conferences or contact SIL on 0151 233 3901.