Opening Doors to Excellence for All: new routes to exciting English

This is the second exciting London conference to support ambitious English kindly facilitated by The English Association. It’s going to be a very special event for schools already pioneering with the principles and strategies which can open doors to excellence for every pupil. It’s also going to be relevant for any school about to launch excellence in English initiatives.

It could be you have asked yourselves questions like:

• How do other schools apply ‘Opening Doors’?
• How can approaches be spread across a school?
• What relevance do the principles and strategies of ‘Opening Doors’ have to the curriculum review?
• How can ‘Opening Doors’ support the development of reading for pleasure and growth?

Please come to London on 7 October to hear these issues and many others addressed via case studies and presentations from teachers. Of course, the Opening Doors team will be on hand to answer questions and we are building in time for networking and informal exchanges of ideas. Sometimes, that part is valued the most! You will be able to return with a new agenda for the next steps of English development and with a buzz of creative possibilities.

This face to face event and its nominal cost is made possible by the support of The English Association.

Places at Senate House are limited to about 40 so please register asap. It’s now eleven years since the first book was published so it’s also time to celebrate your terrific work with your pupils. Some of you are new to this thinking. Others have worked with us for a decade. You are all welcome!

Thank you for coming up with something so exhilarating. It is a joy to interweave practical strategies into rich and meaningful text. It feels good when you’re teaching something that makes you think HARD and it is such a JOY to see the children’s writing at the other end of the journey. - feedback from the 2024 Opening Doors conference

09:30 Registration and refreshments

10.00 Introduction: Dr Rebecca Fisher, CEO of the English Association

The Importance of Excellence for All: Bob Cox, Director and Founder of Searching for Excellence

10:30 Choice of two workshops:

Workshop A: Leading with Impact: Advancing Excellence and Equity in Writing Through a Global Lens (Sara Abbas and Vicky Buzoku)

Workshop B: How has a rich tapestry of texts opened doors to ambition for KS2 readers and writers at Penn Wood? (Emma Mann and Georgina Allen)

In this session, we’ll explore how rich tapestries of texts weave together within concept-driven units to create an ambitious reading and writing curriculum for the children at Penn Wood. Sequences of work from both lower and upper KS2 will exemplify our approach and we’ll illustrate how and why ambition is central to our mission. The session will culminate in an exploration of how a rich reading curriculum fosters greater independence by the end of KS2, resulting in skilled, motivated and passionate readers and writers.

11:30 Networking

12:15 Lunch

NB To keep ticket costs down, lunch will not be provided; there are plenty of options for places to purchase lunch near the conference venue

13:00 Choice of two workshops:

Workshop C: How We Use the Opening Doors Approach to Align with the New DfE Writing Guidance (Sam Parkinson and Emma Darwin, Melbourne Primary School)

In this session, we’ll share how we’ve used the Opening Doors approach to develop writing that’s fluent, purposeful, and ambitious—aligned with the aims of the new DfE guidance. We’ll explore what’s worked in our context to build stamina, vocabulary, and craft through high-quality texts, while encouraging rich, knowledge-driven writing experiences.

Workshop D: How can Opening Doors support teachers to move from curriculum deliverers to curriculum innovators? A case study from The Inspire Learning Partnership (Danni Renyard, Zoe Carson, and Emma Thorne, Inspire Partnership)

14:00 Endnote: Excellence in English and the Curriculum and Assessment Review

Dr Rebecca Fisher, CEO of the English Association

Sara Abbas – English Leader & Global Curriculum developer

Sara Abbas is an experienced primary teacher and subject leader who has been teaching at Mulgrave Primary School for 13 years. She has taught across a wide range of year groups, from Year 2 to Year 6, and has led English for the past nine years. Sara is deeply passionate about raising standards in reading and writing, and she brings a wealth of knowledge, creativity, and commitment to curriculum development. With a degree in Philosophy and Politics, Sara has always sought to combine critical thinking with education. Ten years ago, she introduced and developed a Global Learning Curriculum at Mulgrave, embedding global themes and perspectives into teaching and learning. This approach, which centres on the use of rich, diverse texts to foster empathy and critical awareness, has become a core strength and unique feature of the school’s identity. Sara has also played a key role in enhancing the English curriculum through the use of Opening Doors strategies, which have had an immediate and measurable impact across the school. As an experienced moderator for writing, she is highly skilled in assessment and is dedicated to ensuring consistency, accuracy, and high expectations in pupils’ written outcomes. Sara is driven by a belief in the transformative power of literature and is committed to inspiring both pupils and colleagues to achieve excellence in English.

Vicky Buzoku – Maths Leader & Experienced Year 6 Teacher

Vicky Buzoku is a dedicated and passionate educator with eight years of teaching experience, currently serving as Maths Leader at her school. As an experienced Year 6 teacher, Vicky is committed to raising standards in mathematics through high-quality teaching, a strong understanding of the curriculum, and a focus on developing confident, independent learners. With a degree in English, Vicky brings a unique perspective to her teaching, blending analytical thinking with creativity. She is not only passionate about maths, but also deeply values the role of writing across the curriculum. She regularly incorporates Opening Doors strategies into her teaching to enrich pupil engagement, deepen thinking, and enhance both mathematical and literacy outcomes. Vicky’s enthusiasm for curriculum development and her high expectations for all learners underpin her success as a leader. She is driven by a belief that every child can succeed with the right support, challenge, and inspiration.

Sam Parkinson is an experienced teacher and English Lead with over 10 years of teaching in Upper Key Stage 2 and 6 years leading English across the primary phase. He is currently an Assistant Headteacher at a rural primary school of 200 pupils. His teaching career has taken him across both town and rural schools, giving him the opportunity to work with pupils from a wide range of backgrounds and abilities. He has a deep passion for writing and for engaging children in the writing process—particularly through shared writing and modelling what it means to be a writer. He believes in using high-quality texts to inspire children to write with purpose, confidence, and ambition. A strong advocate for developing vocabulary and crafting language, he encourages children to read like writers and write like authors, embedding creativity, curiosity, and challenge in every step of the writing journey.

Emma Darwin is a dedicated and experienced educator with over 14 years of teaching across the full primary phase, from Nursery through to Key Stage 2. Her career began with a strong foundation in child safeguarding, equipping her with a deep understanding of the importance of pupil wellbeing and support. She is now the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) at a small rural school in East Yorkshire. Emma is passionate about inclusive education and believes every child should have the opportunity to thrive. She champions adaptive, high-quality teaching as the key to meeting diverse learning needs and ensuring all pupils can succeed. Alongside her teaching career, Emma spent six years as an accredited trainer for a Speech to Print phonics programme—a role that enabled her to work closely with schools across the UK and internationally. Her experience includes training both teachers and speech pathologists, including time spent in Australia supporting literacy development through evidence-based practice. Driven by a commitment to equity and excellence, Emma continues to advocate for effective, inclusive teaching that empowers every child to reach their full potential.

Emma Mann is a Deputy Headteacher at Penn Wood and leads English.

Georgie Allen is a Senior Leader at Penn Wood who co-leads English. Both are passionate advocates of a high-quality and ambitious English curriculum and believe that access to rich literature is an entitlement for all children, regardless of background and prior attainment.

Penn Wood Primary and Nursery School is a 3-form entry primary school in Slough, South-East England. It serves a culturally diverse community, with over 85% of its intake speaking English as an additional language. Penn Wood is an accredited Talk for Writing Training Centre, providing outreach support for other schools locally and nationally. Penn Wood has been working with Opening Doors for the past 18 months, focusing primarily on enhancing its reading curriculum.

Danni Reynard, Zoe Carson and Emma Thorne are all English Subject Leaders within The Inspire Learning Partnership: a 6 school trust based around areas of Southampton. The Trust is built on a belief in rich experiences and high expectations for its staff and its children and invests deeply in ethical, high challenge, low threat, collaborative CPD to grow sustainable innovation.

• Tickets are £30, including refreshments on arrival
• Space is very limited, so we would appreciate it if only one teacher per school and one advisor per organisation could register

• 10 free tickets are available to members of the English Association: to claim your free ticket please email [email protected]

Host or Publisher The English Association