Good Practice in Dyslexia and Literacy

Neil Mackay

'Developing Contextualisation Skills'

This session will explore non words, cloze and higher order thinking comprehension and weak decoding challenges.

Neil Mackay is a freelance consultant and trainer as well as an experienced teacher who has taught for 26 years.

Dr Kathleen Kelly and Sylvia Phillips

'Conquering Literacy'

We are delighted to welcome Sylvia Phillips and Kathleen Kelly formerly of Manchester Metropolitan University, as they deliver a Masterclass on what is good practice in teaching Literacy to those with Dyslexia, drawing on their expertise, experience and research.

Kathleen and Sylvia will discuss specific aspects of structured multi-sensory teaching which they consider particularly effective for learners with severe dyslexia. They show how these have been implemented in their programme ‘Conquering Literacy’ and suggest that they can be incorporated into any individualised literacy intervention for learners aged 5 to 15.

Dr Susie Nyman, Farnborough Sixth Form College

'How to get an A* in English!'

Dr Susie Nyman of Farnborough Sixth Form College, will discuss using multi-sensory teaching techniques to enable students to reach their full potential, sharing her own experiences as a teacher and parent, to highlight this engaging, imaginative and interactive talk!

Dr Paula Clarke

'Equipping teaching assistants with the skills and knowledge needed to deliver individually tailored reading intervention'

Dr Paula Clarke joins us from Leeds University to explore supporting colleagues to deliver reading intervention strategies.

Dr Paula Clarke will provide an overview of the objectives, content, structure and general ethos of a training programme designed specifically for Teaching Assistants (TAs). The programme has evolved from a series of research studies conducted over past two decades and is currently being trialled as part of the REACH Primary project funded by the Education Endowment Foundation. The aim of the programme is to equip TAs with the skills and knowledge to be able to confidently deliver and tailor intervention sessions to individual pupils learning profiles, in order to develop their component reading skills and ultimately their ability to make meaning from text. Sharing insights from my perspective as an intervention developer and training provider and highlight the elements that Dr Paula Clarke perceives to be key in promoting good practice in supporting learners experiencing reading difficulties.

Dr Holly Joseph

'Supporting children with dyslexia: what works and what doesn’t?'

Many children with dyslexia use coloured overlays or glasses when they read. In addition, in recent years, a number of specialist fonts have been developed which claim to help people with dyslexia to read more easily and fluently. Both can be expensive but are they worth it? In this session I will discuss what the research evidence says about the utility of coloured overlays and fonts. I will also give an overview of what works, and how we can best support children in learning to read at home and at school.