Dr Donna Hazzard, Literary Course Team Leader at St Mary’s University College, chaired a discussion recently on ‘The Science of Reading’. Dr Hazzard was joined by: Philip Lavery, Chair of the Moving Forward Together educational partnership; Geraldine Magennis-Clarke, Senior Lecturer in Literacy and Education at St Mary’s University College; Jodi Snowden, Global Outreach Coordinator for Nessy Learning and Maria McGoran, Literacy Support Teacher at Holy Family Primary School.

Rising above any one particular educational philosophy, political ideology or curricular programme, the Science of Reading is a rising consensus among research scientists, from across multiple disciplines over the last half century as to how the brain learns to read. This multi-angled lens also tells us what can go wrong when the process breaks down. Most importantly, it presents to us, in a critical manner, the most effective instructional practices to support reading acquisition for more children, more of the time and from earlier in their school careers. The aim of this talk was to facilitate educators in reaffirming some of their current practices, refining aspects that require such and rethinking those areas that are not as productive as maybe once thought.

This seminar highlighted how learning to read and teaching someone to read are two very complex sides of the same coin. For teachers, mastery in both domains is essential, and yet, despite many educators’ best efforts, the data often does not reflect their hard work and dedication. Equally so, many pupils do not achieve sufficient competency in multiple literacies, necessary to navigate all aspects of life as dictated by an increasingly media-saturated world. The panel explored where the fracture lines might lie when turning the theory into impactful practice.