Teaching Reading to ALL!
5 March 2025: 9 am – 12 noon
Building Foundational Literacy Skills for All
This course introduces the building blocks of teaching an engaging and appropriate reading curriculum for learners with neurodiverse or severe/complex needs.
By providing practical strategies and addressing the gaps in traditional curricula, Sarah will help you create meaningful literacy experiences in an engaging and inclusive literacy curriculum for all learners in your classroom.
Session 1: Literacy for all! What is an inclusive reading curriculum?
Literacy is a universal entitlement for all, including individuals with severe and complex learning needs. Sarah explores what an inclusive reading curriculum means and what our role is in creating it.
You will cover:
the importance of purpose, participation, praise, pace and passion in learning to read
why learners with SEND may approach the task of reading with uneven patterns of language skills and what this means for a reading curriculum
the difficulties learners using AAC experience when learning to read and supportive strategies to use
the four aspects of processing in learning to read and what effect these have on the learning experiences provided both in school and at home
Session 2: Establishing foundation literacy skills
What fundamental skills are necessary for literacy learning in learners with diverse and complex needs? In this session, Sarah focuses on developing foundation skills in an Inclusive Reading Curriculum (Moseley 2023.)
You will cover:
the development of foundation skills as a continuous cycle of development
ideas and resources to engage and motivate learners learning to read
the importance of storytelling and drama
the impact of a literacy-rich learning environment alongside high aspirations
Session 3: Creating an Inclusive Reading Curriculum (Moseley 2023.)
This practical session will include activities, ideas and resources for all learners in an inclusive reading curriculum.
You will cover:
the importance of rhythm, pattern and order, sound discrimination, awareness of vocabulary and intentionally of text in learning to read
the importance of attention skills and working memory
where to explore practical online resources and available key texts
9 am Admission and virtual tea/coffee to start the session!
9.05 am Welcome and a warm-up
9.10 am Chat task: Why do you read? What makes us pick up a book?
9.20 AM Session 1: Literacy for all! What is an inclusive reading curriculum?
Literacy is a universal entitlement for all, including individuals with severe and complex learning needs. Sarah explores what an inclusive reading curriculum means and what our role is in creating it.
You will cover:
the importance of purpose, participation, praise, pace and passion in learning to read
why learners with SEND may approach the task of reading with uneven patterns of language skills and what this means for a reading curriculum
the difficulties learners using AAC experience when learning to read and supportive strategies to use
the four aspects of processing in learning to read and what effect these have on the learning experiences provided both in school and at home
10.00 am Break out room activity
10.15 am Session 2: Establishing foundation literacy skills
What fundamental skills are necessary for literacy learning in learners with diverse and complex needs? In this session, Sarah focuses on developing foundation skills in an Inclusive Reading Curriculum (Moseley 2023.)
You will cover:
the development of foundation skills as a continuous cycle of development
ideas and resources to engage and motivate learners learning to read
the importance of storytelling and drama
the impact of a literacy-rich learning environment alongside high aspirations
10.45 am Coffee and a mini online learning activity (video)
11.05 am Session 3: Creating an Inclusive Reading Curriculum (Moseley 2023.)
This practical session will include activities, ideas and resources for all learners in an inclusive reading curriculum.
You will cover:
the importance of rhythm, pattern and order, sound discrimination, awareness of vocabulary and intentionally of text in learning to read
the importance of attention skills and working memory
where to explore practical online resources and available key texts
11.50 am Q & A
12 noon Plenary, thank you and goodbye!
This course will be appropriate for classroom practitioners from special schools and colleges, mainstream settings with specialist SEN provision and early years settings, and working with pupils with severe/complex learning needs and autism, or both.
Dr Sarah Moseley has over 25 years of experience working in special and mainstream education, from teaching assistant to Headteacher. She has a solid research background which includes a master’s degree and PhD in Special Education, focusing on the teaching of reading for pupils with SEND and inclusion. Sarah has presented nationally and internationally at conferences and is a published author.
Sarah’s PhD centred on teaching reading to pupils with SLD and the impact on their feelings of themselves as learners. Her research focused on six special schools across the UK with pupils aged 11-14 years and found positive results from including all pupils in a reading curriculum.
She is now an independent Educational Consultant specialising in school improvement and raising outcomes for all learners. Her key areas for support focus on all aspects of SEND, teaching and learning, inclusion, behaviour, and the development of literacy/communication
Each place costs £135 plus VAT.
You can pay by credit card for this booking or request an invoice on the booking form.
The recording of this event will be in your account at online.hirstwood.com. You will access this using the email address on the booking form and your password (instructions for creating your password are in the joining information).
Here you will find:
a digital recording of the event
a transcript of the Zoom chat
These will be available for 10 days after the event.
NEW for 2025!
We will suggest practical reflective practice for this event to support you in implementing your key takeaways from this session in the classroom.
We’ll also offer a toolkit of additional resources to help, which may include further documentation, videos or links to valuable resources/websites.
Please join our Facebook Group, Sensory Support Spaghetti, to connect with us and other like-minded professionals – for everything sensory!
‘big thank you feel inspired!’
‘Thank you. This was really useful and I have so many ideas for things to look into at school’
‘Interesting and very useful.’
‘Expand my knowledge of literacy in an ever fast changing digital environment – hoping to explore new resources to access.’
‘Thank you. That was excellent.’
‘All the ideas and up to date information!’
‘It illustrated the things that I currently do are correct and gave me lots of ideas for the future.’
