Previous LATE Conferences

Friday 11th- Sunday 13th July 2003 - Creativity and the English Curriculum: Teaching Beyond the Frameworks
Our summer weekend residential conference was held at Stoke Rochford Hall, nr Grantham, Lincolnshire. It explored what it means - in the broadest possible context - to be a teacher of English/Literacy and reasserted the importance of creativity both in the thinking of teachers and in the experience of pupils. The conference opened on Friday evening with an analysis of the latest KS2 & 3 SATs by John Hickman and John Wilks. Keynote addresses were given on The Language of Text Messaging and Internet Chat (Tim Shortis, Researcher, Bristol University), Making Space for English (Ken Jones, Head of Education Department, Keele University) and Creativity, Culture and Educating for the Future (Miles Tandy, Teacher-Adviser for creative and cultural education, Warwickshire). Workshops were run on Media in English at KS3 & 4: Looking Beyond the Frame(work) (Jenny Grahame, Advisory Teacher, The English and Media Centre, Editor of 'Media Magazine'), Drama as a part of the English Teacher's Repertoire (Chris Oades, Head of Drama, Valentines High School) and Creative Approaches to Spelling (Margaret Preston, Primary Literacy Consultant, London Borough of Redbridge and Redbridge Leading English Teachers).Saturday evening featured a poetry reading by Meryl Pugh, Arvon Foundation Apprenticeship winning poet. Late night entertainment included midnight Vampires round the Obelisk.

Saturday 25th January 2003 - Poetry: Pedagogy, Process and Performance
Over eighty of us gathered at Tower Hamlets PDC to hear performances from Michael Rosen and Skorpio da Nemesis (performance poet/rap artist - appearance generously sponsored by Jubilee Books, South London). Workshops were run on Exploring Contemporary Poetry (led by Meryl Pugh, Subject Leader for English, Oaks Park High School, and a published and performing poet), Reading and Writing Poetry at Key Stage 3 (led by Kate Oliver, INSET Co-ordinator,The English and Media Centre), Poetry in the GCSE AQA (A) Anthology (led by Nadia Horsup and Mary Savva, Beal High School, Redbridge), Using Poetry with More Able Year 6 Pupils (led by Teresa Anstis, G&T Co-ordinator, Gilbert Colvin Primary and Part-time Literacy Consultant, Redbridge), Poetry at AS/A2 (led by Simon Gibbons, Literacy Consultant, and Examiner/Team Leader for AS/A2 AQA English Literature Specification A) and Starting to Teach Poetry (led by John Hickman, English Adviser, London Borough of Redbridge).

Saturday 30th November 2002 - Testing Time for Literacy? (English Matters at KS1, KS2 & KS3)
The keynote address entitled Telling Tales was given by Simon Wrigley (NATE Vice-Chair). Workshops were run on: Thinking Narrative (Barbara Conridge, Education Consultant for English and Literacy, Bedfordshire, Chair of NATE's Primary Committee); Planning for Continuity in Literacy in KS1 (Bryony Roberts, English Co-ordinator at Ray Lodge Primary School and part-time Literacy Consultant in Redbridge, and Margaret Crombie, part-time Literacy Co-ordinator in Redbridge); Planning for Literacy at KS2 in a Broad and Balanced Curriculum (Barbara Turner, English Co-ordinator at Woodlands Junior School and part-time Literacy Consultant in Redbridge); Drama and Literacy (Simon Wrigley, Bedfordshire NLS Manager, NATE Secretary); and Jump Cut; Fade; Dissolve - KS2/3 Transition and Moving Image Work (Paddy Walsh KS3 Literacy Consultant, Croydon). The conference ended with a plenary session led by John Hickman and Simon Gibbons on the new arrangements for KS1, KS2 & KS3 tests.

Saturday 12th October 2002 - Shakespeare at The Globe:Context, Language and Literacy
This one-day conference was held at The Globe Theatre on London's South Bank and was designed by Globe Education for LATE. It was aimed at upper KS2, KS3 and KS4 teachers and offered practical insights and approaches to the teaching of Shakespeare. It also provided an opportunity to look around the theatre. Over 60 colleagues enjoyed workshops entitled Speaking and Listening, Speak the Speech and Stage. A highlight for many was the chance to take part in a drama workshop on the stage in front of a succession of guided tours.

Friday 12th - Sunday 14th July 2002 - The Importance of Oracy: Raising Standards in a Climate of Collaboration (Corsica Hall, Seaford, nr. Brighton, East Sussex)
This conference examined how oracy is a critical feature of the learning process, inextricably entangled with creativity, with thinking skills, and with enhancing the quality of reading and writing in every key stage. The conference opened with an evening of poetry, story-telling and drama with Sandra Agard. Workshops on the Saturday were run on Planning for Talk in the Primary Classroom (led by Margaret Preston, Primary Literacy Consultant, Redbridge, and members of the Redbridge Literacy Forum), Oracy Across the Curriculum (led by Valerie Coultas, Assistant Head/Head of Faculty, Selhurst High School for Boys) and The Evolution of Oracy (led by (John Hickman, English Advisor, Redbridge and John Mills, Literacy Consultant, Newham). Saturday concluded in the evening with a poetry reading from LATE's own Seaford poet-in-residence, Meryl Pugh, followed by a murder mystery devised and executed by LATE's Nadia Horsup. On Sunday delegates shared work from their workshops and the conference ended with a presentation linked with some drama activities by Anton Frank, Lecturer in Education, London Institute of Education, titled Active Approaches to Learning Across the Key Stage.

Saturday 26th January 2002 - Reading: 'Strategy' or strategies?
Aidan Chambers gave the keynote address "Reading to Live", drawing on material from his latest critical work, ReadingTalk. Workshops were run on Reading: some generic issues for BTs and NQTs (led by John Hickman), Challenging Non-Fiction (led by Lucy Webster), Guided Reading; A View from the Classroom (led by Margaret Preston), Independent Reading (led by Meryl Pugh).

Saturday 8th December 2001 - Assessment
Bethan Marshall gave the opening address based on her research into formative assessment. (This replaced an address by Paul Black who was ill). Workshops were run on Marking and Assesment: some generic issues for BTs and NQTs (led by John Hickman), Formative Assessment (led by Bethan Marshall), Level 4 - so what? (led by Meryl Pugh), Giving a Voice to EAL Learners (led by Basman Zora) and Assessment at AS and A2 English Literature (led by Jane Ogborn).

Saturday 13th October 2001 - Writing; Within and Beyond the National Literacy Strategy
Terry Furlong gave the keynote address "Writing is more than knitting" in which he argued that, although the NLS has much to recommend it, we need to remember all that we have learned about writing in the past forty years and be careful not to over-balance. Workshops were run on Writing Models (led by Margaret Preston), Managing English and Literacy (led by John Wilks and Morlette Lindsay), Starting Out (led by John Hickman), GCSE Writing (led by Allison Blitzl) and Planning Year 7: Adapting Key Stage 3 Units (led by Simon Gibbons).

Friday 13th to Sunday 15th July 2001 - The KS3 Strategy: Making it work for us (Summer residential weekend conference)
Once again our heroic band of worn-out (mainly) London teachers gathered at Seaford on the East Sussex coast to contemplate the latest Government directives and recharge our batteries. The conference began on Friday evening with a storytelling session with Pat Bowen. On Saturday morning Jenny Grahame from the English and Media Centre (EMC) gave a keynote address entitled Reframing the Framework; Bringing English and Media Together. We looked at recent publications from the EMC, particularly Big Brother. During the rest of the weekend workshops covered Cracking Drama (led by Paul Bunyan), An Overview of the Planning Process for the Primary Curriculum (led by Margaret Preston and Ian Bennett) and An Objective Look at Poetry (led by Nadia Horsup and John Wilks). Saturday evening once again featured the ever-popular literary karaoke. The conference ended on Sunday with small groups sharing ideas from Saturday's workshops and a plenary session to consider the way forward with the NLS.

Saturday 23rd June 2001 - The Literacy Curriculum in Primary Schools: Where do we go from here?
Myra Barrs, director of the Centre for Language in Primary Education (CLPE), gave the opening address based on recent research at CLPE and their latest publication 'The Reader in the Writer'. Workshops were run on Making Connections: Writing in the Humanities (led by Claire Warner), Targets for Reading and Writing (led by Ian Bennet), Primary Writing Models - The Complete Works! (led by Margaret Preston) and A Key Teacher Group - Why would you want to join? (led by Amanda Hill). The conference concluded with the LATE AGM.

Saturday 9th December 2000 - Creativity
Keynote addresses were given by Miles Tandy (Creativity, Culture and Educating for the Future) and Kit Thomas ("Yippee! I've got English today"). Workshops were run on Creative Collaboration and the NLS (led by Margaret Preston), Creativity and Analysis (led by Tim Seward), Writing Poetry (led by Helen Clare) and Working with Drama Texts in English (led by Linda Hopkins).

Saturday 14th October 2000 - Lucky 7s? (an exploration of the KS3 Literacy Strategy)
Christine Counsell was unable to give her main address so Morlette Lindsay and John Wilks substituted at the last moment. Workshops covered Key Stage 2-3 Crossover (led by Mary Savva and Nadia Horsup), Summer Schools and the Impact of the KS3 Intervention programme (led by John Mills), Avoiding the Dip (led by Dan McCarthy) and Surviving Inspection at KS3 (led by Jo Burdon and Andrew McCleod).

Friday 14th to Sunday 16th July 2000 - Drama, English and Literacy (Summer residential weekend conference)
Our annual seaside break combining rigorous intellectual stimulation and strenuous cliff-top walking. The conference began on Friday evening with a performance by Tara Arts, the premier Asian Arts organisation in London. During the rest of the weekend keynote addresses were given by Helen Nicholson (Missing Bodies: Drama, Texts and Literacies) and Derek Brown (A style of Learning for All Our Futures). Workshops covered Drama at KS2-3: learning through Talk and Action (led by Simon Wrigley), Using Drama to Stimulate and Support Writing (led by Meryl Pugh) and Oracy in the NLS (led by Margaret Preston). Saturday evening featured the ever-popular literacy karaoke.

Saturday 20th May 2000 - Information and Communication Technology and English (+ AGM)
Martin Tibbetts gave the opening address Keeping Your Feet on the Ground with the Internet. Workshops covered ICT on a Budget (led by Martin Tibbetts), Word Processing Activities (led by Nadia Horsup), Working with the Web (led by John Davitt), Surfing LATE (exploration of English websites), ICT for Technophobes.

Saturday 18th March 2000 - Moving English On ( A conference to celebrate the life and work of Ros Moger)
Keynote addresses were given by Michael Simons and Bethan Marshall. Discussion groups centred on some of Ros Moger's key interests and commitments: Assessment and Learning in English; Gender and Achievement; issues of Ability in English; Issues of Literacy in Primary to Secondary Transfer; the Training of English Teachers; English and the Arts.

Saturday 5th February 2000 - Innovation and Creativity at KS1 & KS2
Morag Styles gave the opening address Poetry for the Primary School - Challenges for the new Millennium. Workshops covered Groups Not Tables (led by Barbara Conridge), Storytelling and Storywriting (led by Theresa Grainger), Facilitating Interactivity in Shared Sessions (led by Maria Keenan), Using TV to enhance Literacy Learning (led by Allan Johnston), Drama and Literacy (led by Simon Wrigley) and Using Paintings as Texts ( led by Jan Young).