to everyone with an interest in literacy, languages and basic maths.
I have tried to put what I've learned from forty years' experience on this website. Get in touch if you think I can help. Most reading and spelling difficulties can be tackled quickly and easily with the right teaching, by which I mean teaching that is closely matched to the individual's current knowledge and thinking, and designed to help the person adjust his or her thinking to achieve what they are trying to do. Teachers are always welcome to sit in on sessions, and when I work with children a parent always observes, so that they can help their child to practise. If you don't live near Linton, I'm often able to teach by telephone. Contact details are at the top left, and there is no charge. The site has just reached 70,000 hits.
Books and reviews
I've written two books, Using Phonics to Teach Reading and Spelling (Sage) and The Literacy File (available from me). I have also written The Teaching Assistant's Edufax. Reviews represent my honest opinion only. I have no financial connection with any publisher, and there is no paid content. Publishers are invited to send materials for review.
For Local Authorities, schools...and occasionally lawyers!
I offer consultancy to local authorities and individual schools on all aspects of school management, including budgetary control and staff appointments. I have extensive and highly successful experience of training teachers and assistants in literacy (including tackling dyslexia), languages and basic mathematics. All training is discussed in detail with you, as client, and closely matched to your needs.
I was an expert witness in the leading libel case, Bookbinder v Oppenheim, with the late George Carman QC, and have recently acted as an expert witness in a schools admission appeal for a firm of solicitors in the North of England. I am a member of the UK Department for Education's Expert/Reference group on teacher training, and of its ministerial steering group for languages.






At Wellington, we do not ask: “how intelligent is this child”, but rather, in what ways is this child intelligent? For all children are intelligent and they are intelligent in many different ways. We believe that everyone possesses eight intelligences or aptitudes: Moral, Spiritual, Logical, Linguistic, Physical, Cultural, Social and Personal.




