On Saturday 1st October, an enthusiastic group of Elmhurst Primary School Reading Teachers attended the Open University Reading for Pleasure Conference in Milton Keynes.
Reading Teachers - capital R, capital T - are not just school based teachers of reading.
Nor are they simply teachers who read.
Reading Teachers are enhanced professionals and reading role models who reflect upon the relationship between being a reader and a teacher of reading, adjusting their work to make the experience of reading more authentic, and more relevant.
Every year, Elmhurst staff return from this annual conference full of ideas to get children reading. And this year was no different with plenty of book blether and a choice of RfP workshops throughout the day. Several of the New Vision English Hub team were also invited to speak at the event.
Zeena Vadher, Literacy Specialist, delivered a workshop around the use of story talk and play to help children find their voice. The session looked at ways to build a language rich environment in EYFS and encouraged teachers to view reading beyond words on the page.
Sam Creighton, Literacy Coordinator at Elmhurst, shared some reflections at the end of the day on what it means to be a Reading Teacher and how we can share best practice with our colleagues.
It was an excellent day and we are already looking forward to next year's conference!
