Dr Peter Mugo Gathara (left) and Prof Kisulu Kombo (right) from Kenyatta University   Hello teachers! Jambo from Kenya! I’m here for a visit to Nairobi. When I have not been striding across the Maasai Mara, feeding baby giraffe to the Out of Africa soundtrack, I have been visiting the School of Education at Kenyatta University. Thank you for the welcome – asante sana !  But don’t be jealous UK teachers – it’s colder here in Kenya than it is in Leeds! Book literacy CPD for your school’s September INSET! Whether your school’s literacy teaching needs a bit of a shake up or a new sparkle, an ARTiculate CPD workshop is the ideal for your school’s INSET day in September. If your school is getting back to basics, I have workshops designed to help teachers choose and use quality texts, develop independent writers, engage reluctant writers and use more effective editing or redrafting techniques. For schools looking to develop and enhance their literacy teaching, I can guide your s...

I wrote the following article for publication on the TES online 'Subject Genius' blog series. The original article can be found at: www.tes.com/blog/author-way-a-shift-pedagogy-writing An author way: a shift in the pedagogy of writing A recent report by the National Literacy Trust into child attitudes towards writing indicates that the number of children who write for pleasure is on the increase. This is undoubtedly a cause for celebration for those of us who write for joy, work or for any number of assorted reasons. However, for many pupils aged 8-18 years – almost half of those surveyed in fact – writing is still an activity that fails to capture the imagination and for some remains an unenjoyable slog. I can empathise with both the joyful and the joyless. I often wonder how my former teachers who cajoled, bullied and dragged me by the pencil tip to produce writing of any quality might now feel if they knew that I enjoy writing as an adult. The laying down of words is no ...