Develop your own knowledge base, meet fellow teachers and share practice at one of the many CPD events coming up over the next few weeks. There are courses and webinars to cover all aspects and key stages of the literacy curriculum. Find an event to suit your needs.

Week Commencing 13th March

• Sign up for a webinar on 14th March from EAL specialists The Bell Foundation designed to help schools develop appropriate systems and classroom practices to support the needs of refugee children.
  • Cost: Free
• Explore the role of literature in shaping children’s sense of self and the importance of providing pupils with access to high quality, inclusive and ethnically representative books in CLPE’s Transforming Literacy by Reflecting Realities webinar on 15th March.
  • Cost: £60.
• Join picture book expert Mat Tobin for two Developing Book Talk in the Primary Classroom webinars on 16th and 30th March. The first session will explore the visual language of picture books and demonstrate how an understanding of these ‘picture book codes’ can support deeper reading.  The second session will put the codes in to action with a guided exploration of Joe Todd Stanton’s The Comet as well as a look at ways to enrich and enhance book talk around picture books in the primary classroom.
  • Cost: £14 each or £20 for both sessions.
• Ensure your book knowledge is up to date by joining children’s book expert Nikki Gamble for a blast through some of the best books for primary aged children to be published this month. The March Book Blast will air live on 16th March at 8pm, or you can watch the replay at your own convenience. Plus there’s the chance to win a box of books for your school in the Book Blast Giveaway.
  • Cost: Free

Week Commencing 20th March

• Explore how to develop a text based literacy curriculum with one of  CLPE’s Planning Literacy Around a Text webinars. Each webinar focuses on a specific title to demonstrate how a text based unit can be used to support children as developing readers and writers, including contextualised opportunities for phonics, language and grammar, comprehension, and writing for different purposes.  There are dedicated webinars for EYs, KS1, LKS2 and UKS2 running from 20th – 23rd March.
  • Cost: £30
• Do you have pupils in KS2 or KS3 who can decode successfully but lack fluency and struggle to comprehend age-related texts? Explore some of the transformational teaching strategies used in HFL Education’s successful Reading Fluency Project at their online Reading Fluency Project: Implications for Classroom Practice event on 21st March.
  • Cost: £160
• The Internet is an invaluable source of information but algorithms and influencers can make it difficult for young people to access the ‘truth’ online. Sign up for a FREE webinar on 22nd March from the School Library Service looking at ways to help pupils navigate the Internet safely and effectively. Open to members and non-members.
  • Cost: Free
• Explore a range of practical strategies to support EAL learners with reading skills in a free webinar on 22nd March from the Learning Village.
  • Cost: Free
• Get tips and guidance on how to teach and discuss fake news in the KS4 and KS5 classroom by signing up for The Guardian Foundation’s interactive Fake News: Building Students’ Resilience to Mis and Disinformation webinar on 23rd March.
  • Cost: Free
• Ensure your grammatical subject knowledge meets the requirements of the 2014 National Curriculum and explore ways to teach grammar in a fun and engaging way with an online English Grammar for Teachers course on 24th March from UCL’s expert Englicious team. Suitable for primary and secondary teachers.
  • Cost: £49.
• The Dyslexia Show is a national exhibition dedicated to dsylexia and neurodiversity. With over 55 exhibitors and a packed programme of seminars from experts in the field, this year’s Dyslexia Show takes place on 24th and 25th March at the NEC in Birmingham.
  • Cost: Entrance to the show is free and seminars cost £20 + VAT per person, with discounts available for multiple bookings.

Week Commencing 27th March

• If you are looking to establish and sustain a culture of Reading for Pleasure, see what the OU’s Reading Schools Programme can offer both primary and KS3 settings. Sign up for one of the programme briefings (28th March and 26th April) to learn more about how this evidence-informed and practical programme can enable all pupils, particularly the lowest attaining 20%, to read for progress and pleasure.
  • Cost: FREE
• Sign up for the second webinar in the NLT’s Diverse Libraries series on 29th March. Author Serena Patel, publisher Barrington Stoke and bookseller Next Page Books will explore ways to ensure that book provision and reading spaces offer accessible and welcoming reading experiences for children who find reading especially challenging or who are reluctant to read.
  • Cost: Free.
• Literacy consultant Jane Considine has a programme of in-person training events exploring the tools and techniques of her popular writing approach ‘The Write Stuff’.  Starting in Birmingham on 29th March, there are events around the country through the summer term.
  • Cost: £215.

A Look Ahead to Next Term

• Explore practical approaches to develop pupils’ reading comprehension strategies with the NLT’s Teaching Reading in KS2 online course. Training takes place over four 90-minute sessions over the summer term, starting on April 17th.
  • Cost: £280 per person. Discounts for NLT premium members and for multiple bookings available.
• The new OU/UKLA Reading for Pleasure Quality Mark has been set up to recognise and reward primary schools that have developed, embedded and enriched their RfP practice with demonstrable impact on their reading communities. Find out more about this new initiative and register your interest at an introductory event on 20th April.
  • Cost: £40
• Sign up for one of the Talk for Writing conferences taking place around the country next term. Learn how to use the Talk for  Writing approach in EYs and KS1 with lots of practical strategies to develop children as confident writers.
  • Cost: £215 per person.

Explore more CPD options across the literacy curriculum here.