Dr Maureen Lewis is a reading and comprehension expert. Maureen's career in education has included time as a teacher, an advisor, a research fellow in education and a director in the National Strategies. Maureen has worked extensively with teachers to develop practical strategies that really work, and has written many books, articles and classroom materials on all aspects of literacy. Maureen's particular expertise focuses on children's interactions with reading
comprehension, what motivates children to read, and non-fiction texts. Di Hatchett is an expert in early intervention in literacy and mathematics and in the leadership of inclusion. Di's extensive career
in primary education has included 12 years as a head teacher, a long spell as a Senior Director with the Primary National Strategy and, more recently, as Director of The Every Child a Chance Trust, developing the Every Child a Reader and Every Child Counts programmes. Di's field of expertise is the development of high quality approaches to intervention for children who struggle with the development of core skills in literacy and/or mathematics. Marilyn Joyce is an expert in systematic synthetic
phonics and early literacy development. Marilyn has spent many years teaching in London schools and advising on literacy in local authorities. Marilyn was also part of the team that wrote the 'Letters
and Sounds' phonics programme under the leadership of Sir Jim Rose, and was Senior Director of the Communication, Language and Literacy Development team in the National Strategies.