Whether you are looking to develop effective strategies to support young writers, explore ways to create an inclusive learning environment or brush up on your own grammar knowledge, take advantage of the CPD opportunities still available for these last few weeks of the spring term.

Conferences

• Raising Voices, Raising Literacy (in person): Join authors, academics and expert practitioners to explore practical and creative ways to support young people’s written and spoken communication at the annual NLT Primary Conference taking place in Bradford.
  • Date: 27th March.
  • Cost: £150 (discounts for premium members available).
• OU Reading for Pleasure: Choice and Voice (in person): Choice, voice and agency play a key role in motivating and sustaining young readers. But this involves far more than offering text choice. Join members of the OU RfP team and fellow practitioners to explore evidence-based strategies to support young readers on their individual reading journeys at this one-day conference in Doncaster.
  • Date: 29th March.
  • Cost: £45.

CPD Courses

Reading and Writing 

• The Write Stuff (in person): Understand the guiding principles of Jane Considine’s popular The Write Stuff programme and learn the tools and techniques to help you implement it in the classroom at one of  a series of in-person training events taking place across the country.
  • Date: From 21st March.
  • Cost: £215 per person.
• Teaching Writing (online): Explore the writing practices and contexts that support the needs of pupils across the primary age range in this series of four webinars from CLPE. All elements of the training are in line with the requirements of the National Curriculum and recordings of the webinars will be available to access on demand for 30 days from the release date. Teachers and Literacy Leads can sign up for a single webinar or the whole series to embed consistency of practice from Nursery to Year 6.
  • Date: 24th March to 27th March.
  • Cost: £60 per person per webinar.
• Empathy Day Festival Introductory Webinar (online): Sign up for a free webinar to find out more about the new Empathy Day Festival and how to make the most of the resources provided.
  • Date: 25th March or 7th May.
  • Cost: Free.
• Success for All in Year 2 Writing (online): Develop effective strategies and activities to support pupils in Year 2 to become  confident, accurate and enthusiastic writers at this webinar run by HFL Education.
  • Date 25th March.
  • Cost £80 + VAT per person.
• Teaching English to More Able Pupils in Years 5 and 6 (in person): Learn how to identify and support more able readers and writers in Upper KS2 and prepare them for the demands of the secondary English curriculum. This one-day course run by CLPE and the English & Media Centre takes place at their offices in London.
  • Date: 26th March.
  • Cost: £250 per person.
• Winning at Writing: Raising Standards in Years 4 and 5 (online): Explore evidence-based strategies to support children in Years 4 and 5 to develop writing fluidity, stamina and confidence in this webinar from HFL Education.
  • Date: 31st March.
  • Cost: £225 + VAT per person.
• Talk for Writing at KS2 – Raising Standards in Writing (in person): Learn how to implement Pie Corbett’s popular Talk for Writing approach to develop confident and creative writers at a series of in-person training events taking place across the country.
  • Date: From 3rd April.
  • Cost: From £195 + VAT (location dependent).

Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation

• Success in Spelling (in-person): Explore a range of evidence-based strategies and approaches to support the teaching of spelling across the primary age range, including how to use a range of quality children’s texts to build vocabulary and provide spelling models, at this one-day course from CLPE at their London office.
  • Date: 1st April.
  • Cost: £250 per person.
• English Grammar for Teachers: Develop or refresh your grammatical subject knowledge and explore engaging ways to teach English grammar to primary and secondary pupils with this live webinar from the Englicious team at UCL. The course is also available to complete in your own time on FutureLearn.
  • Date: 21st March.
  • Cost: £49 per participant (£25 for Trainee Teachers)
• Teaching Grammar in Context: Explore the benefits of a contextualised approach to teaching grammar and learn how grammar can be integrated into analytical and creative teaching activities with this interactive workshop from the Englicious team at UCL. The course is also available to complete in your own time on FutureLearn.
  • Date: 28th March.
  • Cost: £49 per person (£25 for Trainee Teachers).

Supporting students with EAL

• Comprehensible English for New Arrivals (online): This online course will help all members of staff understand what makes English difficult to understand for new EAL learners and provide easy-to-use strategies to improve communication and create a more inclusive learning environment. The course is delivered by a Bell Foundation Centre of Expertise.
  • Date: 21st March.
  • Cost: £43.
• Adaptive Teaching for Learners Using EAL in Primary Settings (online): Learn how to adapt your teaching approach to support EAL pupils’ language development alongside curriculum learning, and explore strategies to create a more inclusive classroom environment that benefits all students at this online course run by a Bell Foundation Centre of Expertise.
  • Date: 25th March.
  • Cost: £43.
• Explore the range of short online courses offered by the EAL Academy to support EAL practitioners. The courses can be started at any time and take 12 – 15 hours to complete. Choose from topics such as EAL Beginners in the Mainstream Classroom, Leading EAL, and EAL and SEND.
  • Cost £195 + VAT.
• Grow with FlashAcademy® (online): Sign up for a new, flexible, on-demand CPD programme for educators teaching EAL learners, developed with specialists for practical, evidence-based strategies. Tier 1: Foundations of EAL Pedagogy has just launched with Tiers 2 and 3 coming later in the year. Each Tier includes six lessons lasting 60-90 minutes each.
  • Cost £295.

Supporting students with SEND

• Dyslexia Action (online): Explore the range of accredited courses for primary and secondary practitioners from leading dyslexia training provider Dyslexia Action. Level 4 and 5 courses cover topics such as Developing Literacy Skills in Learners with Dyslexia and Dyslexia in Multilingual Settings and require between 20 and 30 hours of self-paced study over eight weeks. The courses run six times a year and the next start date is 19th March.
  • Date: 19th March and then 21st May.
  • Cost: From £295 + VAT.
• Whole School SEND CPD Units (online): Explore some of the most commonly observed barriers to learning, regardless of age or area of need, and learn how to adapt your teaching to meet the needs of all learners with this series of online webinars provided by Whole School SEND. The webinars are free to access at any time and cover a range of issues such as creating a safe learning environment,  supporting the development of speech, language and communication skills, promoting independence and supporting reading and comprehension across the curriculum.
  • Cost: Free.
• Developing Effective Pedagogical Practice for Pupils with SEND (online): Get practical advice and guidance on how to embed effective teaching practices for pupils with SEND to increase engagement and reduce the need for additional support in this webinar from the National Association for Special Educational Needs (nasen). The webinar can be watched at any time.
  • Cost: £60 +VAT.

For Librarians

• Supporting Reading Through Audiobooks (online): According to the 2024 Children and Young People’s Listening Report from the National Literacy Trust, over one third of children and young people said listening to audio had sparked their interest in reading books. Explore how audiobooks can support reading in school at a free webinar hosted by the SLA and the National Literacy Trust.
  • Date: 1st April
  • Cost: Free (with free membership of the SLA)
• Breaking Barriers – Freedom to Learn (in person): Sign up for the School Library Association’s annual conference in June. With keynotes from award-winning authors and a range of workshops to choose from, the conference will explore ways to overcome barriers to reading and learning. This year’s conference takes place in Northampton.
  • Date: 6th and 7th June
  • Cost: £230 + VAT (members)/£320 + VAT (non-members) for a weekend ticket. Day tickets also available.