Charlotte is an author, teacher, educational speaker and children’s poetry editor. A teacher and teacher-trainer for over two decades, Charlotte has extensive experience of leading and teaching across the Early Years and Primary phases. Her special interests lie in the development of reading and writing, the role of phonics and the use of picturebooks and poetry to raise children’s engagement and attainment.
She has spoken and delivered workshops at a wide range of educational events and conferences, including keynotes at the UKLA conference, The Reading Recovery International Conference and delivered the 2025 Christian Schiller Lecture for the National Association for Primary Education.
Her book, The Balancing Act: An Evidence-Based Approach to Teaching Phonics, Reading and Writing, co-authored with Professor Dominic Wyse, dismantles polarised debates about the teaching of phonics and analyses the latest scientific evidence of what really works, showing in vivid detail how phonics, reading, and writing should be taught through the creativity of some of the best authors of books for children.
Charlotte was formerly the Learning and Programme Director at the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE). In this role, she developed the CLPE’s groundbreaking Power of Pictures research, investigating the impact visual literacy and illustration can have on children’s reading and writing, for which she was awarded the Anna Craft Creativities in Education Prize. She also extensively developed CLPE’s poetry programme, including the CLPE Poetry Award, and several research projects investigating the power of poetry to develop children’s literacy.
Charlotte has extended her work in children’s poetry by working as a children’s poetry editor, including on the multi-award winning The Final Year, by Matt Goodfellow, illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton.
