In our 'My Work' series, we get to know the people who make Meridian Trust what it is, hearing from colleagues across our schools and central team about their roles, the projects they're leading, and the difference their work makes across the Trust. This time, we spoke with Beth Morrish, Director of Literacy Strategies at Meridian Trust.
Beth, tell us about your role as Meridian Trust Director of Literacy Strategies – what are you responsible for and what difference does your work make to the Trust?
I work across our secondary schools and provide colleagues with support, training, and resources to help develop their students’ literacy skills. Being able to read and write fluently allows students to access a wide-ranging curriculum, but it’s also so much more than that – literacy is a life-long power that brings confidence, independence and the freedom of choice. It’s why literacy plays such a vital role in Meridian Trust schools – it’s one of the fundamental ways we can help secure achievement for all, and ensure the boundaries of learning are extended for everyone.
One of the things I love most about my role is how it brings me into contact with so many wonderful colleagues who are working to achieve this – from our TAs delivering reading interventions; our Reading Leads sharing classroom strategies; our librarians curating the stories that speak to their students; through to our data managers, pulling together the information that let us target support where students need it the most.
I’m so proud to be part of a trust that genuinely believes literacy is a whole school commitment that has to involve everyone.
Can you tell us about a stand-out moment for you at work?
Last year I spent a lot of time writing ‘Code Read‘, a phonics intervention programme for our secondary schools. Nothing puts a bigger smile on my face than when I get an email from one of our SEND teams about how they’ve used it with a particular students and seen great results – being part of that young person’s reading journey is a huge privilege for me. Likewise, when I visited one of our primary schools a few months ago, I got the chance to watch Powerful Words, our cross-phase vocabulary programme, being delivered by Year Five and Six teachers. It was wonderful to see the skill and expertise of my primary colleagues bringing the resources I’d written to life, not to mention the voracious appetite the children had for learning the words!
Most recently, the response to our ‘Poem in your inbox‘ initiative, which is part of our Year of Reading campaign, has been a lovely surprise. Nearly 150 colleagues from across the Trust have signed up to receive a poem each Monday morning – I have so much fun choosing them, and I love getting messages about the ones colleagues like, and the ones they’ll pass on. I’m convinced there’s a market out there for a Meridian Trust Poetry Anthology – it could make a perfect stocking filler for Christmas!..
Tell us about something you’re excited to work on at the moment.
I’m really excited about the new intervention programme I’m currently developing that supports students who struggle to read fluently. It’s never ideal for students to have to come out of lessons, so for this programme, I’ve been working with Mike Smith, Curriculum Director of Geography, and Emily Oakes, Curriculum Director of History, to develop a set of 12-week intervention resources that are fully aligned with their curriculum. That way, students can practise their reading fluency whilst also keeping up with the learning that their peers are doing in class so there aren’t huge gaps in learning when they return. All of this is done in collaboration with Amy Wright, the Deputy Director of SENDV, and her brilliant team of SENCOs – I think this joined-up approach to developing intervention programmes is something that really stands us apart from other trusts, and I can’t wait to see the intervention in action next year.
What’s coming up for you in the future that you’re excited to work on?
There’s lots in the pipeline – next week I’m working with Shehlha Zafir, the Director of English, to film a colleague from one of our secondaries delivering a ‘Faster Read’ English lesson, as part of a teacher training video. I think seeing theory in action is one of the most powerful ways we can support professional development, and I’m really looking forward to how we can use this resource to develop great practice across the trust. Later on this term, I’ll be working with Audrey Caudwell, the Director for Performing Arts, to judge the entries for our ‘Soundtrack my Story’ trust-wide competition for students in Years 5 – 13. Their brief was to compose a song or piece of music inspired by a book, and we’ve been blown away by the talent we’ve heard – I can’t wait to see the winners perform at our Arts Festival in the Summer. Finally, I’m looking forward to collaborating more with Becca Thompson, the newly appointed Primary Curriculum Area Lead, on all things literacy. There’s so much we can share and work together on across the phases – the chance to belong to this community of like-minded colleagues, who all believe literacy is a super-power that can change children’s lives for the better, is what makes my job so rewarding – I wouldn’t change it for the world.