Back in 2009, Co-founders Anthony and Lynn met when working for an Inner London Local authority school improvement team. They quickly bonded over a love of words, books and coffee, but essentially they loved developing and running training for teachers together.
Trying to find a resource they could recommend to teachers, they realised that what they had created for their training events couldn’t be found in one single resource. Time and again, they were creating something that combined high quality children’s literature, drama and grammar which also helped reduce teacher workload, and this simply didn’t exist elsewhere – the entire English curriculum taught creatively through quality children’s literature.
When the opportunity to work independently arose in 2012, they decided, over several flat whites in their favourite coffee spot, to take the plunge and create a consultancy based on this core principle and so what started as a seed of an idea grew into Literacy Tree. With Anthony’s experience of language and literature – knowing exactly how to embed the grammar – and Lynn’s background of drama in education – knowing how to bring a book to life – they then began to write their own resource, using books they loved that they knew worked in the classroom. This became the Teach Through a Text pedagogy and the core values that underpin this literary curriculum.
Starting out in a small room in a school in Kings Cross, they began developing more and more resources using books they knew and loved as well as selecting new texts they discovered. Before they knew it, there were enough planning sequences to fill a website and for schools to adopt as a whole school approach. Soon, all teachers could access the plans they had written – all this alongside full diaries working in schools in London and before across the whole of the UK.
Before long, they realised they couldn’t do this by themselves and, through their work with schools, they brought together a team of like-minded experienced and passionate teachers. This creative team were all committed to improving children’s lives through quality literature and teacher’s lives by creating consistent high-quality resources to improve work-life balance. By now they had acquired so many books that they needed a bigger office too! And before long the Literacy Tree website evolved into a place where teachers could access all the book-based resources in one place.
Literacy Tree remains a small, friendly and approachable company with UK Headquarters still in central London, but now, as well as supporting teachers in the UK, they’re also lucky enough to regularly travel around the world (or on Zoom!) to work with schools as far flung as Brazil, Costa Rica, Hong Kong and India. The teaching of high-quality literacy remains the focus and they continue to pride themselves on exceptional customer service. They are always happy to chat in person, or jump on a call to talk about teaching through a text.
All consultants are children’s literature enthusiasts and skilled in planning through text. They have all contributed to creating resources for Literacy Tree.
Lynn has taught from Nursery to Y6 and was a Literacy coordinator and an Advanced Skills Teacher in Southwark before becoming a Local Authority Consultant and a Deputy Head. Lynn has a background in drama-in-education and is always looking for ways to engage children within literature to use as a platform to inspire high quality writing. This inspired her focus for an MA in Achievement and Equity in Education from the Institute of Education which she completed in 2001 whilst teaching. Lynn is a KS1 and KS2 moderator for writing and runs training for moderators for Local Authorities. She’ll admit that she’s slightly obsessed with words and their origins, and is particularly geeky about homophones and portmanteau.
Get in touch lynn@literacytree.com
Anthony has a background in English Literature with a focus on children's literature and drama and has taught children in Key Stages 1 and 2 in Primary Schools across London. He has worked as an English Subject Leader and an Advanced Skills Teacher in schools in Merton and Islington, where he developed book-based provision. Later, Anthony became a Local Authority Literacy Consultant for a central London authority and within this role led on the development of new training using engaging, high-quality texts to create equally high-quality written outcomes before setting up Literacy Tree with Lynn Sear. Anthony is also an experienced Key Stage 1 and 2 moderator, running training for moderators. When not working, he be found making coffee using wide variety of gadgets and practising his Spanish!
Get in touch anthony@literacytree.com
After qualifying from Edinburgh University in Scotland with a BEd Honours in Primary Education and specialisms in English and Music, Pippa started her teaching career in London and taught across the primary age-range in several schools. Prior to joining the Literacy Tree, she managed a nursery, was a Deputy Head and a Local Authority Advisor in Merton. Pippa is an experienced Key Stage 1 and 2 moderator and adores seeking out the best in new children's literature to be included in Literacy Tree's monthly Literature Reviews.
Get in touch pippa@literacytree.com
Donny has taught in Scotland and England across KS1 and KS2 since qualifying from Glasgow with a PGCE and previously from Edinburgh with a degree in English and Philosophy. Donny has led English in schools as well as holding leadership and phase leader roles and most recently has been a lead practitioner of English teaching for a Local Authority. He is an experienced KS2 writing moderator and can often be found in bookshops finding new poetry books or graphic novels.
Get in touch donny@literacytree.com
After graduating from the University of Bath, Alex gained her PGCE at Southampton University. Since then, she has taught KS1 and KS2 and held senior leadership positions in schools across Hampshire and London. After working as a Lead Practitioner for English, Senior Teacher and Deputy Head, Alex became a Teaching and Learning Advisor for a Multi-Academy Trust across the South Coast. Most recently, she has also worked with ITT providers, supporting the next generation of teachers. Alex is a self-professed grammar geek with an unhealthy obsession for puns who needs frequent reminders from her daughter to keep her hands off her bookcase.
Get in touch alex@literacytree.com
