Literacy Tree

Seeing children embrace writing as something they enjoy – and as a way to make their voices heard – is a reminder that high-quality literacy teaching can change lives, shaping children’s confidence and relationship with the world around them. An impact that extends far beyond the classroom and into the future. 🌍

Children are at the heart of everything we do, so including pupil voice in this year’s Impact Report felt especially important.

Their responses speak volumes, capturing the pride they feel in their writing and the excitement of discovering new, diverse stories.

💬 “Our literacy lessons are the best. I wish we could do it all day!” – Year 6 pupil 

💬 “I am proud of my writing because I can express my ideas.” – Year 2 pupil

Huge congratulations to the incredible Patrice Lawrence MBE on her appointment as the new Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2026–2028. 👏 📖

Patrice’s laureateship will focus on the power of stories to help children find their place in the world and connecting communities through shared reading, and storytelling. This feels so closely aligned with what we believe at Literacy Tree: children’s literature gives children the chance to see themselves, understand others and explore the wider world through rich, meaningful texts.

We’re especially proud to have a Writing Root for Patrice Lawrence’s beautiful picturebook Granny Came Here on the Empire Windrush, illustrated by Camilla Sucre. It's such a tender and powerful story about family, migration, and belonging.

A wonderful appointment and a very exciting chapter ahead...

Working walls shouldn't become workload walls. They're not about perfectly curated displays. They're about making learning visible.

When they're used well, working walls save time, reduce cognitive load, and promote greater independence, freeing teachers to spend more time working with the children who need them most. 👩‍🏫

One of our favourite features from the working walls at Van Gogh Primary was the vocabulary nets, where key terms are collected and pegged in one place. It's a simple idea, but one that has a big impact, keeping new vocabulary accessible throughout the planning sequence.

What's your favourite quick win for a working wall?