This time last week I was gearing up for a whole day author event at West Thornton Primary Academy, Croydon, arranged by the National Literacy Trust and funded by Arts Council.

Warmly welcomed by the staff and pupils, I was in awe of this outstanding school. The atmosphere was more like that of a university lecture than a primary school. Children worked at independently at stools, under the stairs, on bean bags and were able to talk to me in detail about their learning and assessment. It was easy to see that the children had very high levels of self-challenge, motivation and engagement and the school’s use of ICT was instrumental in this.

So it was a real privilege to be asked to work with the children of Year Two… who were also that week preparing to hold their own parents evenings! What a great idea! Continue reading →