National Primary English Conference 2025: Powerful Pedagogy: Say It, Read It, Write It

The educational landscape is always changing but post-pandemic, schools have reported that children are struggling with additional emotional and cognitive demands and have significant gaps in literacy and language skills, including reading, writing stamina, spelling, vocabulary, punctuation, handwriting and enjoyment of writing.

Our annual English conference is designed specifically for primary school teachers and leaders, and we aim to inspire and empower you by exploring innovative teaching strategies and effective pedagogy to support all learners in reading, writing, and spoken language.

Pedagogy is crucial in developing successful learning experiences and outcomes. A robust pedagogy allows us to address diverse learning needs and also adapts to the ever-changing educational landscape.

Our influential speakers, some of whom are listed below, will be sharing their insights and expertise aiming to inspire you and to strengthen and elevate pedagogy in your schools and settings. You’ll be able to listen to inspiring keynotes and take part in workshops from renowned authors, practitioners and leading academics including:

• David Almond, multi-award-winning author of Skellig, discussing his writing process
• Valerie Bloom MBE, award-winning writer and performance poet, sharing her reflections on poetry and writer identity
• Clare Sealy, Head of Education Improvement in Guernsey, sharing wisdom on adaptive teaching
• Charlotte Hacking, Learning and Programme Director at CLPE, exploring getting reading right from the start
• Tracy Swinburne OBE, Executive Headteacher, CEO of Accomplish MAT and Jerry Clay English Hub Lead, discussing how to build a culture of excellence
• Ross Young, co-founder of The Writing for Pleasure Centre, sharing effective classroom strategies for teaching writing that inspire and motivate young writers
• Professor Julia Snell, Professor of Sociolinguistics at the University of Leeds, talking about how dialogic teaching and oracy support learning
• Sharon Brown, Federation Headteacher at Barley Barkway Federation, exploring the initial stages of cultivating an Oracy culture in two small schools
• Dr Wayne Tennent, Senior Lecturer at Brunel University, discussing how we might plan, teach and assess for reading comprehension, in a more pedagogically coherent way

Further information

Please contact the HFL Events team at events@hfleduaction.org or call 01438 544477