I am pleased to be presenting at the “Once Upon a Time” festival on Saturday 15 June 2024 at Bristol Beacon, which builds on our partnership work with organiser, Helen Prince.
 
Helen is the author of the most recent Oxford Language Report (2021 – 2022) that looks at the scale of the word gap and the impact of Covid on language developments as an ongoing issue. 
 
After sifting through hundreds of school submissions regarding their focus on oracy to boost progress, standing out in their innovative and exemplary practice, Helen and the team included Tor Bridge Primary School as one of nine schools in the report.
 
In my role as Head of School at Tor Bridge Primary, Helen and I presented these findings at the 2022 ASCL conference and since then Helen has supported our school in our fluency training and oracy work. Helen’s passion, pedagogy and relentless focus on improvement has led to huge moves forward for our fabulous school.

We were thrilled that Helen remarked how she has rarely encountered schools with such openness and commitment to improving practice at every level. We have overcome - and continue to overcome – the barriers that limited cultural capital and low expectation can present through their focus on an oracy education, cementing the widest, brightest horizons for their pupils; which we like to think is testament to the high aspirational help of myself and our Trust.
 
Helen's expertise, combined with my leadership, has not only inspired the staff within The Inspire Multi-Academy Trust (South West), but has also had a profound impact on our children. 

This year, the excitement is palpable as Helen and I eagerly anticipate our collaboration once again, this time at the Once Upon a Time Festival in Bristol. The festival, known for showcasing story-led, creative teaching, aligns perfectly with Tor Bridge Primary School's commitment to oracy education. Helen and I, along with further brilliant keynote speakers, are thrilled to bring oracy to life through the immersive and enchanting world of storytelling, music, and drama.

The Once Upon a Time Festival will provide a unique platform for educators to explore and embrace the creative potential of language. Imagine an exhilarating educational oracy festival for teachers, where passion for language and creativity converge. This vibrant event offers a dynamic platform for educators to immerse themselves in innovative teaching methods. From captivating storytelling sessions to interactive workshops, the festival becomes a melting pot of ideas, fostering a community of educators dedicated to enhancing oracy skills in the classroom. Teachers can escape into a world of inspiration, and gain valuable insights and practical tools to elevate their pedagogical practices. 

The festival's unique blend of story-led, creative teaching serves as a catalyst for professional growth, empowering educators to transform their classrooms into dynamic hubs of communication and expression. This exciting educational festival will not only ignite the spark of creativity in teachers, but will also cultivate a shared commitment to nurturing the language skills of the next generation.

This is not only an event.  It is an opportunity to imagine what is possible in your classroom, and will leave you inspired and equipped to transform your teaching approach.
​
Join us for an unforgettable experience where the possibilities for enriching oracy education are boundless.

By Olivia Bartlett, Head of School, Tor Bridge Primary School

"Allow children to find their way with words through passion and poetry."

After an hour in the company of Joseph Coelho speaking on Reading for Pleasure at the Ilsham English Hub event last week, I was convinced that he was every inch the Waterstones Children's Laureate.

In the second year of his tenure as the twelfth Laureate and successor to “How to Train the Dragon” writer Cressida Cowell; poet and library enthusiast Joseph’s call to action was delivered with focused fervour and fizz in how encouraging children to read, you also encourage them to write (and vice versa).

Let them understand they are “part of this wonderful world of words and their words are wonderful.”

Words count and understanding that many children struggle with words, poetry reading can be the perfect medium as “you cut straight to the marrow.”

​Poetry can come with a certain scary “baggage,” but thinking beyond any imaginable barriers, poetry plays with words and can be very appealing to children and boost their reading. 

Poetry is often dipped into for a wedding or a funeral and then forgotten.
But “it translates into the soul” and puts into words the indescribable and can be relished in our minds.
It makes words live.
Think of the almost magical meaning of lyrics as the words performed to the lyre.

Sharing his own poet pen portrait story was inspiring.
Joseph did not grow up in a book-filled home. Yet it was a home of words in which poetry was prominent.

There were Argus and Littlewoods catalogues and whilst books were sparse, Joseph notably remembers reading a Ladybird edition of “Little Red Riding Hood” with the iconic watercolour cover and Dr Seuss’s “The Cat in the Hat.”

His Gran wonderfully furthered his literary leanings with a poster of 1950s Mabel Lucie Attwell‘s “Please remember - don't forget - never leave the bathroom wet!” in her toilet. Joseph read and read the catchy fun verse over again, learning and absorbing it as a boy and in later years, it was a happy revelation for him to discover that Gran wrote her own poems. 

As a child in his formative writing years, Joseph put his own poetry skills to the test when he wrote a poem for a competition. He had discovered that bears were not treated well, which upset him and he wrote a poem very cleverly called “Unbearable” (a young punster!). Whilst he did not win, Joseph enjoyed writing the poem and kept writing and reading.

Along the way in his own journey as a poet, Joseph was to work as a gym instructor, in adverting and sales, as a transport planner and even dare we say it, a tequila boy.
Joseph’s ideas do not come from starring at a computer screen, but from going out and thinking, confident in the act of composition by letting ideas evolve.

The schooling of his poetic soul evolved in attending a poetry performance course at Battersea where he discovered an ownership in reading and writing poetry and felt in his bones that he was already a writer, believing poetry to be innate in us all, belonging to everyone in non-judgemental ways.

Amongst many role models, Joseph was inspired by the work of Jamaican dub poet and storyteller Jean, "Binta" Breeze MBE; understanding personally the importance of diversity and representative characters in books and writers on the bookshelves.

But poetry is more than putting pen to paper or writing composition; it is about ideas and ownership of children’s words and opportunity to read each other’s words.
In leading activities with children, Joseph has used post-it notes for their wordy ideas whilst playing in the hall to describe what they are doing, for example, sliding down a dragon’s back.

Poetry allows children to build-up empathy by using each other’s poetic phrases and taking the words back into the classroom and in doing so, gently introducing the idea that they can all read and write poetry; which can have a huge impact on the reading and writing process and encourages them to be more open to reading the works of others. 

​Indeed, in his own work, Joseph has used poetry to work on a project supporting mental health.

Poetry tends to be short, so you can read it and keep in your head for longer than prose and is less overwhelming.

Let’s say it and celebrate it now: reading a poem is usually less of a challenge.

You can memorise it. It becomes part of you. 
The pleasure of reading poetry.


Poetry plays with language, for example the world of spoonerisms – switching around the front letters as in Joseph’s fun poem, “A Tip of the Slongue” and encourages pupils to be actively engaged in reading the poem.
​
Introduce simple devices and engage them in hunting out the different devices.

The wonderful thing about children is that they naturally use poetry and naturally come up with poetic devices. Encourage them to feel words are powerful and valid.

Think what the children are writing on.
Use giant pieces of sugar paper, jotting down words in felt-tip pens or in one activity Joseph even used disposable lab coats (taking Science to new heights!) that can be put on and taken off.
In his own crafting, Joseph uses a beautiful notebook and before he had a space of his own, he used to write in cafes in Soho.


Poetry makes literacy accessible to children. Give them their own poetry notebook to use in the classroom.
Let them know that the pen belongs to them and their words are powerful and valid in building a foundation where they feel welcomed by books.


Get children to write quickly and put their poems down from their heads.
Poetry-penning can certainly be easier with younger children who have yet to learn to edit and are not worried about the opinions of others.
As teachers, read aloud your poetry.
Children are always enthralled by listening to the poetic world. Join them on their poetic journey.

On visits to schools, Joseph has even been asked by the librarian if he has a book with him to take part in the stop: 15-minutes reading time for everyone.
Children mimic, so it is good for them to see everyone reading.
Make these reading routines a happy habit.

Let the children feel that they have a final product of their work. Be it a performance to which parents are invited to attend, a wall display, a book, a piece of art. Encourage children to share their own poems.

“Invite them into the world of the books.”
Cue libraries.
Joseph is a member of 177 libraries.
It must a be a record and a tribute to his passionate support.
Back to Joseph’s own childhood and his introduction to libraries.
It was his Gran who launched him on his library career and the beautiful, wood-panelled West Hill Library where she had wanted her ashes to be scattered on the parquet floor.
Although Joseph’s Gran outlived West Hill Library; recently sending him an article that the library was sadly closed and the building was up for sale.


Joseph used to spend the day at the library. He was part of the reading schemes, bought incomplete encyclopaedias in book sales (“a space to own books”), did his homework there, he even met a girl, laughed with the two Pauls, and played the book bag games of triggering the alarm.


Libraires are “a hub for the community.”
Warm and dry, a resource of information and support.
As well as a place to discover and read books and enjoy other experiences, libraries are spaces to play board games and Lego, for knit and natter, and support mental health services.


Not surprisingly, Joseph has created lots of poems about libraries.
For four years he performed a one-man stage of poetic storytelling, writing plays that toured libraries as spaces to experience live theatre and events and for him to test out new material.
Joseph works with children who are not taken to the library, working to break down barriers to get them into a library and making visual the opening of doors to new worlds.
“So that more children can discover books and see themselves in books and know that their own words are important and have power too.” 

With an eye on literacy, one of the teachers in the audience asked a question about balancing creative pupil writers with the a focus on spelling that can be an issue with some children avoiding big words that they cannot spell. Understanding this dilemma, Joseph encouraged teachers to develop “a passion and urgency” in the children’s writing, as once they wish to write, everything else is easier. Plus, as we all know, spelling mistakes are a part of life. Get them to the point where they want it to be their best work and to be inventive and imaginative and brave with their word choice.
 
In his privileged poetic position as Children's Laureate, it is clear that Joseph will continue to celebrate books and inspire children to read and write their own poetry through his delightful personality and poetry.

We thank him for his dazzling talk and to Ilsham English Hub for hosting such a wonderful event.
Afterwards, I was tempted to pen a poem in celebration myself.

Review by Jude, PA to the SWIFT Executive Team 

Ilsham English Hub are pleased to offer the following professional development opportunities for 2023 – 2024:
 
Teacher as Readers Group | Open University/UKLA Ilsham English Hub 2023 - 2024
1600 – 1730 | Zoom
 
Session 1 | Thursday 5 October 2023
Session 2 | Thursday 30 November 2023
Session 3 | Thursday 18 January 2024
Session 4 | Thursday 14 March 2024
Session 5 | Thursday 23 May 2024
Session 6 | Thursday 20 June 2024

This group provide free evidence–based CPD for teachers, Teaching Assistants, Early Years professionals, librarians, reading volunteers and others to enrich their understanding of Reading for Pleasure (RfP) and how to support it. It is the fourth year this group has been running and is led by Danni Cooke Ilsham English Hub Lead and the Ilsham Hub Team.  

The aims of the group are:

1. To foster children’s Reading for Pleasure through supporting teachers’ /members’ own RfP and research-informed practice. 
2. To support the profession by building a professional community around RfP locally and online. 
3. To share teachers’ resultant development work on the Open University RfP website.

You will receive a certificate at the end of the course when you have shared your example of practice on the Open University Reading for Pleasure website.

​We ask that you aim to attend all the sessions, and within this work you are aiming to make a difference initially to a small group of children.

Transforming your School Reading Culture (TSRC) | Ilsham National English Hub 2023 - 2024
Core Sessions | 1230 – 1500 | Zoom
Optional Workshops | 1600 – 1630 | Zoom
Sign up here   
 
The TSRC programme is underpinned by research; and throughout the programme there are articles/books for participants to read, as well as references to research built into the session plans.
This research is split into two strands: reading for pleasure and leadership development/change management theory, and  there will be gaps tasks in between the sessions.
You will need to attend all the sessions and will receive a certificate once the course is completed.
 
Core Sessions
Core Session 1 | Reading for Pleasure: a whole school culture | Wednesday 11 October 2023
Core Session 2 | Creating whole school change | Wednesday 22 November 2023
Core Session 3 | Creating a reading school: structural changes | Wednesday 17 January 2024
Core Session 4 | Creating a reading school: behavioural changes | Wednesday 13 March 2024
Core Session 5 | Celebrating impact and sustaining change | Wednesday 19 June 2024

Optional Workshops

• Setting up a staff book club
• Making the most of libraries
• Making World Book Day purposeful
• Creating social and inviting book corners
• Don’t ‘pay’ children to read: developing children’s intrinsic motivation to read
• Developing informal ‘book talk’
• Intervention for Reading for Pleasure
• Reading identities
• Successful author visits
• Engaging parents in your school’s reading culture

 
This group is for English Leaders and is looking at developing a whole school reading community and culture and is FREE to access and will be facilitated by Danni Cooke (Ilsham English Hub Lead) and Carly Watson (Hub Team).

You will need to sign up to attend all five core sessions to be part of this support group and you are also welcome to attend the optional after school workshops (further details to follow next academic year), which should also be valuable.

Contact 
For any enquires, you can contact Ilsham English Hub Lead, Danni Cooke.  

FREE to attend for all educators, the Reading Roadblocks event will be of most interest to primary English / Reading Leads or Senior Leaders. ​

Gill Jones HMI English Talk
Thursday 29 September 2022 | 1600 - 1700 | Online 

Gill Jones HMI, Deputy Director, Schools & Early Education will talk about learning to read and write, drawing on research from Ofsted English Research Review and the implications for teachers of primary age children.     

The session will cover communication and language, phonics, handwriting, transcription and comprehension and Gill will be joined by Kirsty Godfrey HMI, Specialist Adviser.

N.B. This session will not be recorded.

​Teachers as Readers Group | Open University/UKLA Ilsham English Hub 
Session 1 | Wednesday 12 October 2022
Session 2 | Wednesday 23 November 2022
Session 3 | Wednesday 18 January 2023
Session 4 | Wednesday 15 March 2023
Session 5 | Wednesday 24 May 2023 
Session 6 | Wednesday 21 June 2023
From 1600 - 1730 

Open to all!

These six informal, friendly and supportive sessions will help to develop evidence informed practice, widening knowledge of children's literature and other texts, enriching Reading for Pleasure pedagogy and documenting the impact of children as readers. 

There is an expectation that attendees will try to attend all the sessions.

Contingent Talk
Session 1 | Thursday 10 November 2022 
Toolkit Focus: Why do books matter so much? What is child-led book talk? 
Gap Task: Book talk and complete the pre-project survey.
  
Session 2 | Thursday 19 January 2023 
Toolkit Focus: Quick reflection on first session.  
Gap Task: Set up a timetable for sessions and start note-taking. 

Session 3 | Thursday 23 February 2023 
Toolkit Focus: Quick reflection on the last session and troubleshooting.  
Gap Task: Film yourself with one of your target children and choose a snippet to share. 

Session 4 | Thursday 4 May 2023 
Toolkit Focus: Reflection.  
Gap Task: Complete survey 

From 1400 - 1500 

The structure of this work will be four sessions led by Danni Cooke, Ilsham and Rowena Lucas, Ilsham and Ramsbury English Hub Leads and the focus will be on Early Years Foundation Stage (nursery/pre-school included, but can be bridged into Year 1).  

In-between each session, participants will be invited to try out the strategies that they explore to ensure that they reflect on the previous workshop.  

This work is open to a maximum of 20 schools.
N.B. This is currently not open to Wave 4 Partner Schools - if this is you, then please, send email Danni Cooke.

Schools will need to sign up for all four sessions and as a commitment to the sessions will be sent two books for use in the work.

​Ilsham English Hub Showcase
Thursday 6 October 2022 | 0900 - 1200 

• Main aims of the English Hub. 
• Looking at the evidence including the Reading Framework.  
• Validated SSP programmes and the importance of one route to reading.  
• Opportunity to look at and discuss best practice.
• A chance for you to consider your schools next steps.
• Looking at how we can help support you and your school including access to funding.

We recommend Heads of School, SLT, Reading/Phonics Leaders attend this session.
This showcase has been updated in accordance with current up-to-date documentation and priorities.  

Some schools might be eligible for a total of £160 funding each to support supply cover to attend.  
Schools will be assessed for eligibility when spaces are booked.
If supply cover has been given in previous years, then it cannot be claimed again.  

Oral Blending and Segmenting and Soft Sounds
Thursday 6 October 2022 | 1600 - 1700 | Ilsham English Hub

This workshop will look at the importance of the foundations of understanding the skills of oral blending and segmenting and soft sounds and will be useful for any colleague who wishes to develop their understanding of the foundations to build effective phonics learning.

Nurseries and Pre schools are welcome to attend.

The Role of the Reading Leader (Autumn 1)
14 October 2022 | 1130 - 1300 | Online

This webinar will look at the key priorities for this point in the term as the reading leader and will be run every half term with a different focus to enable leaders to develop in the reading leader role.

Contact

Ilsham English Hub will also be booking audits for the Autumn Term where they can look at personalised support and access to funding. 

Please contact Danni Cooke if you would like to find out more.

Listening to celebrated poet, children's author, presenter and former Children's Laureate, Michael Rosen makes me wish I were a primary school teacher, a Secondary Teacher of English – or even better perhaps…a child hiding in a corner with a book, or looking forward to my bedtime story with a loved one.

This Reading for Pleasure session introduced by Ilsham DfE National English Hub Lead, Danni Cooke, and Early Years and Phonics Specialist Leader of Education with the Learning Academy Partnership was always going to be a treat like reading a gripping good book.

In this value-added talk, so, to the takeaway tips and Michael Rosen’s Top Strategies to create a reading culture in schools – all of which are doable and dynamic, so without further ado... 

1. Home School Liaison
Mindful that some parents might not be literate, might have language difficulties, might have their own preconceptions of schools and teachers, there’s value in developing a home school culture.
Set up a Home School Reading Committee to act as “Book Champions.”
Organise bring and buy sales to encourage parents and pupils that sharing books is normal - and reach out to parents!
 
2. Hold Book and Reading Events
Get everyone excited!
Book sales. Book swaps. Second-hand bookshops.
Enact book dramatisations and invite parents to watch and play out a story.

3. Appoint a School Librarian
But what about sharing a School Librarian across a number of schools in a Trust or locally?

4. Share Information on Local Libraries
Yes, we know the story about our national library service…
Keep parents informed. Some might think they have to pay to use the library. Tell them they can borrow the books!

5. Set Up School Book Groups
Let the School Book Group influence others with their reading ideas and discussions.

6. Adopt an Author or Illustrator
Why not?!
A win-win for the school and the author!
 
7. Making Books
Dignify the making of books.
Make the children the authors and celebrate the joy of books and reading.

8. Regular Activities
Nourish activities with books.
Think fiction poetry, music, guides to sites.

9. Show your Emotion about Special Books
As teachers and staff, share books that mean so much to you.
Bring in cherished books, talk about them and say why they are cherished.
​
10. Book Reviews
To get started online, see:
https://booksforkeeps.co.uk/
http://www.lovemybooks.co.uk/
https://www.lovereading.co.uk/
https://www.booksfortopics.com/

Print and pin-up in the classroom book reviews from newspapers and magazines AND of course, get children to write their own

11. Train Colleagues and Children on Children’s Literature
Set up reading for pleasure groups and study children’s literature.
20 minutes after school.

Booklovers always like an insight into a favourite author’s favourite books. You heard it here that Michael’s favourite books are “Emil and the Detectives” by Erich Kastner (for older children) and “Clown” by Quentin Blake (for younger), and in the realm of poetry, Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce and Decorum est” and “Down Behind the Dustbin” by Mr Michael Rosen no less.

We thank Michael for his uplifting talk that makes reading for pleasure palpably so and to Ilsham English Hub for hosting this event. Watch out for the Goldsmiths, University of London “Children’s Literature in Action” free e-book due to be published in September.

Report by Jude Owens, PA to the Executive SWIFT Team 

More RFP CPD from Ilsham English Hub

Ilsham English Hub are providing the following FREE TO ACCESS Reading for Pleasure offer of support for the next academic year:
 
Teachers as Readers Group
A Open University/UKLA evidence informed practice CPD.  Open to all!
​
There will be six informal, friendly and supportive sessions to help develop evidence informed practice, widening our knowledge of children's literature and other texts, enriching or Reading for Pleasure pedagogy and documenting the impact of children as readers. 
 
Session 1 | Wednesday 12 October 2022
Session 2 | Wednesday 23 November 2022
Session 3 | Wednesday 18 January 2023
Session 4 | Wednesday 15 March 2023
Session 5 | Wednesday 24 May 2023
Session 6 | Wednesday 21 June 2023
 
From 1600 to 1730 | Zoom
There is an expectation that attendees try to attend all the sessions.

​Transforming your School Reading Culture (TSRC) Programme
​The TSRC programme is a sustained, research based CPD programme aimed at Primary English Leads. 
During the course of the programme participants will engage deeply with reading for pleasure pedagogy and leadership theory to transform their school’s reading culture.  
 
Participants will attend five sessions and complete gap tasks in between sessions:

Core Session 1 | Wednesday 12 October 2022 | Reading for Pleasure: a whole school culture
Core Session 2 | Wednesday 23 November 2022 | Creating whole school change
Core Session 3 | Wednesday 18 January 2023 | Creating a reading school: structural changes
Core Session 4 | Wednesday 15 March 2023 | Creating a reading school: behavioural changes
Core Session 5 | Wednesday 21 June 2023 | Celebrating impact and sustaining change
 
From 1230 to 1500 | Zoom
There is an expectation that attendees try to attend all the sessions.

The gap tasks will be related to developing participants’ own knowledge of children’s literature, understanding of reading for pleasure pedagogy and developing the reading for pleasure culture in their school. 

Audits
Work is underway for Autumn Term audits where Ilsham English Hub might be able to help your school with further personalised support and access to funding.  
 
For more information contact Ilsham DfE National English Hub Lead, Danni Cooke.

It was exciting to hold our second SWIFT Literacy Conference in-person at the end of last term and to welcome a huge range of delegates at Exeter Racecourse with with as much buzz as in 2019.

David Didau, author and expert talked knowledgeably about the importance of reading and of building a reading culture within our schools.
 
“Reading: there are few things that are likely to make as much of a difference.”
“Reading aloud is gap narrowing.”

Other keynotes including John Tomsett, author and erstwhile Headteacher of Huntingdon School who explored the complexities of the 0 to 19 curriculum - explaining how curriculum development must rest on teacher development.
 
“A child's vocabulary at five predicts how well they'll learn to read, how well they'll do in the school system. We really have to get that right; that's our number one priority.”
Dr Julian Grenier, appointed by the Department for Education to lead on the revision of Development Matters (quoted by John Tomsett).

Helen Prince, author, developer and contributor to Oxford University Press’s Word-up Podcast Series, explored the power of Oracy through prosody and provided delegates with specific takeaways they could use within classrooms.
 
“There’s a causal relationship between oracy and improved behaviour.”
 
Our keynotes also delivered effective breakout sessions, and and other breakouts included the Director of Primary Literacy from OUP; AQA provided an expert on Language in the form of Lance Hanson; Anna Szpakowska from LYFTA contributed towards cultural capital and Bedrock’s Ellie Ashton explained the power of Disciplinary Literacy. WeST’s Executive Director of English, Scott Davies paired with Vicky Thornton to explore the implementation of Forensic Reading.​

If you attended this year’s Literacy Conference and would like to feedback to inform future conferences, we would welcome your feedback by clicking on the link below: