Please see below for an overview of network opportunities that are running during the 2026/27 academic year.
Please note: Both the Early Reading Hub and the Reading Leaders’ Network will focus on the core principles of inclusion and adaption in teaching reading. However, both programmes will be tailored to the different audiences and will differ. We recommend that schools attend both programmes to support whole school focus.
Early Reading Hub
Cost: Free for Leicester City maintained schools. £270 per delegate for non-maintained city schools and all Leicestershire schools.
Course Lead(s): Jo Puttick, Emma Spiers & Monika Singala
No. of sessions: 3 x half day sessions
Audience: Early reading leaders, reading leaders, EYFS leads, teachers (EYFS / Y1 / alternative specialist provision)
Overview
This year, the Early Reading Hub will focus on inclusion and adaption in teaching reading and aims to:
- Continue to develop teacher and leader understanding relating to best practice in reading development in the Early Years and Y1.
- Support leaders with their knowledge and skills in monitoring and evaluating current practice and making decisions about change and embedding change.
Session 1:
- Assessing and understanding every lower achieving pupil: in word reading.
- How to ensure parents understand how to support their learner in phonics and word reading.
- And what about children who learn to read differently?
- Case sampling: who is chosen and why?
- Developing leadership: Case sampling: Phonics and phonics interventions.
Session 2:
- Assessing and understanding every lower achieving pupil: in fluency and comprehension / book match.
- Guided reading and one to one reading to meet the needs of the lowest 20%.
- Metacognitive prompts to support early readers.
- Developing leadership: Case sampling: Guided reading and one to one reading.
Session 3:
- Early screening for all learners.
- Working memory development: what to look for and how to support it.
- Whole class book sharing and reading teaching.
- Developing leadership: Case sampling: When adults are sharing books or whole class reading teaching.
Gap tasks will be provided after each session.
Session dates
Session 1: Wednesday 28th October 2026, 8.45am-11.45am
Session 2: Thursday 28th January 2027, 8.45am-11.45am
Session 3: Wednesday 5th May 2027, 8.45am-11.45am
Contact: hayley.carter@sdsa.net
Reading Leaders' Network
Cost: Free for Leicester City maintained schools. £270 per delegate for non-maintained city schools and all Leicestershire schools.
Course Lead(s): Jo Puttick & Mel Hendy
No. of sessions: 3 x half day sessions
Audience: Reading leaders
Overview
The Reading Leader’s Network will focus on inclusion and adaptation in teaching reading and aims to:
- Develop subject knowledge for Reading Leaders to support learners in the lowest 20%.
- Use case sampling of lower attaining learners in KS2 in all aspects of the reading curriculum to identify best practice to support these learners to make progress.
Session 1:
- Understanding every lower achieving pupil.
- Screening to identify needs of the most vulnerable readers: fluency at word and sentence level.
- Case sampling: who is chosen and why?
- Developing leadership: Case sampling: How are their needs being met in shared reading and when stories are read aloud?
Session 2:
- What did your screening show you? What do these pupils need? Do your teachers know how to move this learning forward?
- Screening to identify needs of the most vulnerable readers: working memory, vocabulary knowledge and wider comprehension.
- Strategies to meet the needs of the lowest 20% (e.g. guided reading).
- Metacognitive prompts to support early readers.
- Developing leadership: Case sampling: Guided reading.
Session 3:
- What did your screening show you? What do these pupils need? Do your teachers know how to move this learning forward?
- Dyslexia: how does this impact on readers.
- What are these children choosing to read (volitional reading): why might they be choosing this?
- What do the lowest achieving learn?
- Now you have all this information: so what will you do about it?
- Developing leadership: Case sampling: Volitional reading.
Gap tasks will be provided after each session.
Session dates
Session 1: Tuesday 13th October 2026, 9am – 12pm
Session 2: Tuesday 12th January 2027, 9am – 12pm
Session 3: Thursday 8th April 2027, 9am – 12pm
Contact: hayley.carter@sdsa.net
English CPD 2026/27 offer from Professional Development Leicester
To find out about the range of English CPD on offer in the city this academic year through Professional Development Leicester, further and booking information is available here: https://www.lpp-leicester.org.uk/english-cpd-offer-2026-27/