***This event has now sold out, but you will be able to watch a livestream from The Reading Agency's Facebook page!***

The Teachers' Reading Challenge, which will run from 10 July to 19 September 2021, is an opportunity for school and library staff to expand their knowledge of children's books and develop their understanding of reading for pleasure pedagogy. Run by The Reading Agency in partnership with the Open University, the Challenge invites participants to join a supportive and inspired community of educators and readers, set their own reading goal, share recommendations, discuss best practice, access resources, and record their knowledge.

People who took part in last year's Challenge and people who want to find out more are invited to this launch event where a panel of educators, librarians, academic and authors will talk about the impact of taking part in the Challenge and the importance of children reading for pleasure. Following a turbulent year for both school and library staff, the event will also focus on the theme of theme of 'reading and recuperation' and explore the wellbeing benefits of adults reading books for children.

Find out more about the Challenge and sign up to take part at teachersreadingchallenge.org.uk

About the panel

Rob Biddulph was Art Director at the Observer before becoming a published author and illustrator. His first picture book, Blown Away, was published in 2014 and was only the second illustrated book to win the overall Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. Since then Rob has written illustrated eleven of his own picture books, illustrated many books for other authors and was the official World Book Day illustrator for three consecutive years. In May 2020 he broke the Guinness World Record for the largest art lesson when over 45,000 families joined him to draw a blue whale.

Afsheen Nawaz is an experienced Education Consultant, Headteacher and Specialist Leader of Education with significant experience of school improvement and curriculum design. She is also a Liveryman of The Goldsmiths’ Company and serves on the Education Committee. Afsheen has long been an advocate for reading to be at the heart of the curriculum with a sharp focus on reading for pleasure and passionately believes all schools should create a reading rich learning environment to excite children about reading, bridge social mobility and to foster a life-long love of reading.

Zoey Dixon works for Lambeth Libraries and has served on the book selection panels for The Reading Agency’s Summer Reading Challenge, BookTrust’s Letterbox Club and the judging panel for CILIP’s Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Book Awards, and currently the Branford Boase Award and Macmillan Prize for Illustration. She is one of The Bookseller’s Rising Stars in 2020 and is Chair of YLG (Youth Libraries Group) London. She was awarded YLG Librarian of the Year at the 2020 Youth Libraries Group Conference.

Rob Laight works as the Assistant Headteacher of a large primary school in Birmingham, where he is a Year Six class teacher but also has responsibility for leading English, curriculum design and mentoring Early Career Teachers. Rob also works as an Evidence Lead for the Research Schools Network. For the last year, Rob has also worked as a volunteer leader of a teachers' research group for The Open University, training and supporting local teachers and librarians to undertake reading for pleasure projects in their own schools.

Professor Teresa Cremin is a professor of Education (Literacy) at The Open University in the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies. Currently her work mainly focuses on research, although she is also involved in teaching and consultancy, leadership, management and knowledge transfer activities.

Hayley Butler is Head of Marketing and Communications at national charity, The Reading Agency. She helps to amplify the great work of the organisation and its programmes with the aim to impact and reach even more people across the UK.

Other panel members will be revealed shortly!

About the event

60 mins

This event will be hosted on Zoom webinar. You will be sent a link to join the event in your confirmation email after registering. If watching in your work place, please check that your library or school internet server permits you to watch events on Zoom.