Literacy: Unlocking

Potential & Raising Achievement

A range of FREE conferences and webinars in partnership with RISE and the Department for Education, designed to strengthen literacy and raise achievement across Key Stages 3 and 4.

Fully-funded through the Department for Education.

January 2026 – March 2026

Unlocking Potential & Raising Achievement.  Unlocking Potential & Raising Achievement. Unlocking Potential & Raising Achievement. 

Unlocking Potential & Raising Achievement.  Unlocking Potential & Raising Achievement. Unlocking Potential & Raising Achievement. 

A Common Approach to Literacy.

Strengthening the whole school literacy offer drives attainment across KS3 and KS4 and Matrix Academy Trust is excited to offer a dynamic suite of CPD, including face-to-face conferences and targeted webinars, focused on embedding literacy through common approaches to reading, oracy and writing.

Expert-led: implementing a robust offer with proven strategies and fully-resourced.
Research-informed: breathing life into the latest approaches.
Live observation: see it in action across multiple diverse settings.

Attainment in reading and writing across the West Midlands is consistently below national averages, limiting pupil achievement across phases.

Pupils significantly below their chronological reading age by 15 are strongly linked to low GCSE attainment and face a significant disadvantage.

FREE TO ATTEND

Literacy Conferences

Our KS3-4 conferences explore the essentials of improving reading and writing at scale, including whole-school approaches, targeted intervention, reading across the curriculum and developing expert practice. The conferences will explore an introduction to a whole-school common approach to reading, how reading should be prioritised in the curriculum, the fundamental concepts that underpin the teaching of writing, while providing delegates with the opportunity to see the effective implementation and impact of the reading common approach across the curriculum.

A full list of our conferences can be found below.

FREE TO ATTEND

Webinar Series

Our KS3-4 webinars will support delegates in developing a knowledge-led approach to the teaching of writing and how specific knowledge is mapped across the curriculum, while offering a methodical approach to text selection and language and development across subject disciplines.

Digital Platform

A digital platform will complement our conferences and webinars which will include model schemes, implementation plans, diagnostic tools and example action plans which can all be tailored to meet the needs of individual and bespoke settings. A video library will also demonstrate our common approaches and their effective implementation.

Upcoming Events.

Delegates can book places at any of our trust-hosted conferences up to 48 hours before the event, and register for online webinars up to 24 hours in advance. All webinars will also be available to watch after the event, and delegates can register their interest to receive recordings and resources as soon as they are released. Individual bookings can be found below or book onto a cycle package.

Booking Links

Cycle 1: Conferences, Webinars and Digital Platform – Book Here
Cycle 2: Conferences, Webinars and Digital Platform – Book Here
Cycle 1: Conferences only – Book Here
Cycle 2: Conferences only – Book Here
Webinars only – Book Here

Design your own literacy packages – Book Here

Writing Webinar:

Knowledge vs Skill

Exploring how a knowledge-led approach to the teaching of writing develops and sustains this as a transferable and cohesive skill.

Monday 19th January 2026

Reading Conference:

A whole school approach to reading

An introduction to a whole-school common approach to reading (including reading across the curriculum, interventions and a reading culture) that can be adapted to suit individual school contexts.

Cycle 1: Thursday 22nd January 2026 (Book Here) or Cycle 2: Thursday 29th January 2026 (Book Here)

Location – Barr Beacon School

Writing Webinar:

Composite to component knowledge

Exploring how to breakdown long and medium-term learning goals into granular, specific knowledge end points that build through multiple learning episodes, across the curriculum.

Monday 26th January 2026

Reading Webinar:

How to select academic texts

A methodological approach to selecting high quality academic texts across the curriculum.

Thursday 5th February 2026

Reading Conference:

Implementing an impactful reading offer within the curriculum

Exploring how reading should be prioritised in the curriculum as part of a broad literacy offer, and how practical strategies can be implemented across different subject disciplines.

Cycle 1: Tuesday 3rd February 2026 (Book Here) at Turves Green Boys’ School or Cycle 2: Monday 9th February 2026 (Book Here) at Wednesfield Academy

Reading Webinar:

Using reading as a vehicle

An introduction to how reading can be used as a vehicle to look at wider societal issues, with a focus on personal development.

Thursday 12th February 2026

Reading Webinar:

Explicit teaching of vocabulary

A strategic approach to develop both language and vocabulary development across the curriculum.

Thursday 26th February 2026

Writing Conference:

Foundations of writing across the curriculum

An introduction to the fundamental concepts that underpin the teaching of writing e.g. sentence construction and how to strategically approach this across the curriculum.

Cycle 1: Monday 23rd February 2026 (Book Here) or Cycle 2: Tuesday 3rd March 2026 (Book Here)


Reading Webinar:

Reading and Inclusion

An inclusive approach to driving reading across the whole school to ensure we meet the needs of all pupils.

Thursday 5th March 2026

Reading Webinar:

Creating a Reading Culture

An insight into how to develop, drive and sustain a reading culture across the whole school.

Thursday 12th March 2026

Writing Webinar:

Grammar through writing

Exploring how a formulaic approach to the teaching of writing, threading and sequencing the knowledge of grammar strengthens writing proficiency.

Monday 9th March 2026

Writing Webinar:

The power of live modelling and marking

Exploring how live modelling can be used to scaffold the writing process and how live marking can be used to give granular and specific feedback.

Monday 16th March 2026

Reading Conference:

Observations

An opportunity to see the effective implementation of the reading common approach, across the curriculum.

Cycle 1: Thursday 19th March 2026 (Book Here) at Turves Green Boys’ School or Cycle 2: Thursday 26th March 2026 (Book Here) at Wednesfield Academy


Writing Webinar:

Deliberate Practice

An insight into how a strategic approach to embedding opportunities for a range of deliberate practice models sustains a proficient skill and build writing fluency

Monday 23rd March 2026

Secondary leaders with a focus on Quality of Education/Curriculum and Teaching, in particular those with a link to whole-school Literacy. 

Select the cycle package or individual conference/webinar you wish to book and complete the Microsoft Forms to register your interest for more information. 

Some materials will be published on a digital platform. However, attendance is highly recommended to benefit from expertise and collaboration. 

Yes. This is a fully funded programme, offered free of charge, in partnership with the RISE initiative from the Department for Education.

Contact Literacy@matrixacademytrust.co.uk 

Stronger Together

Meet The Team

Expert-Led Conferences. Explore real practice, observe live strategies and leave with clear implementation and action plans.