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Training

At Speld Qld, we deliver evidence-based professional development workshops, intensive courses, and online webinars designed to empower educators, parents, and all those looking to support learning for all (including those with Specific Learning Difficulties).

Literacy Workshops

Speld Qld is a leader in literacy training across all of Queensland. Our trainers have been officially endorsed by Sounds-Write UK, the University of Florida Literacy Institute, and Dyslexia - SPELD Foundation (DSF) to provide the highest quality training.

Our comprehensive literacy training offerings include the Sounds-Write 4-day course, which provides the foundational skills and code knowledge necessary to teach reading and spelling from Prep to Year 6 or within intervention settings. We also run targeted single-day programs such as Word Origins, focusing on middle to upper primary vocabulary and spelling instruction, and UFLI Foundations, which covers explicit and systematic phonics.

Click on the plus signs next to each course to find out more.

Sounds-Write

What is Sounds-Write?

Sounds-Write is an expertly structured synthetic phonics programme based on the science of reading. It is a multisensory, code-oriented, comprehensive approach to literacy instruction.

Sounds-Write teaches the skills, concepts and code knowledge necessary to teach children to read and spell from Prep to Y6, and can also be used in intervention settings at any age.

Sounds-Write teaches the complete code (175+ of the most common spellings of the 44 or so sounds in English) through our Initial Code and our Extended Code. We also teach students to read and write polysyllabic words.

The course includes a robust rationale for linguistic phonics and covers the theoretical underpinnings of the programme, as well as lesson demonstrations, practical activities and guidance for implementation in your setting.

Your face-to-face experience will be with a small cohort of trainees (up to 24) so that your trainer is able to get to know you, giving you bespoke feedback on your practice and answering your questions about your setting.

What does the training cover?

Learn how to teach the skills, concepts, and code knowledge students need to master in order to become competent readers, writers, and spellers.
Discover how to introduce them to the Initial Code in the first year of school, moving from CVC words to words with a progressively more complex structure, and then transitioning to learning the Extended Code, alongside polysyllabic words in Y1.
Learn how to teach all the different Sounds-Write lessons (or activity types), and have ample opportunity to practice them yourself.
Find out how to teach Sounds-Write to groups of different sizes, so you can work with the whole class, small intervention groups, or one-to-one.
Learn how to teach through errors—one of the cornerstones of the Sounds-Write approach—and how to conduct formative assessment and use differentiation as an integral part of your teaching.
Learn how to assess where a new student should start the programme.

How can this help my School?

Four of the schools who have trained in Sounds Write through Speld Qld have contributed “Success Stories” to the Sounds-Write website.
They are Cleveland State School, Clifford Park Special School, Dutton Park State School and Springfield Central State School.

Their reviews outline the school’s journey implementing the program and illustrates their success through the data they have collected. One of these schools also contributed sessions at the recent online symposium that is accessed by educators all around the world.

The Success Stories can be accessed via this link (scroll down to the Australian Success Stories section):
https://sounds-write.co.uk/success-stories/

UFLI

What is UFLI?

Developed for teachers, by teachers, with teachers.

UFLI Foundations is an explicit and systematic program that teaches students the foundational skills necessary for proficient reading. It follows a carefully developed scope and sequence, designed to ensure that students systematically acquire each skill needed and learn to apply each skill with automaticity and confidence.

The program is designed to be used for core instruction in the primary grades or for intervention with struggling students in any grade.

What does the training cover?

Provides an overview of this evidence based, highly effective program.
Guide participants through an in-depth exploration of each lesson step.
Shares recommendations for progress monitoring and differentiation.

Word Origins

What is Word Origins?

Word Origins is an exciting, explicit year 3 to 6 spelling and word study program, designed to follow any high-quality early primary phonics program. The daily lessons focus on multiple layers of word knowledge, including orthography, morphology, semantics and etymology.

The workshop will introduce the design, scope and sequence, and materials utilised in the program and participants will gain an understanding of the structure and delivery of the detailed lesson plans, including daily reviews. The interpretation of assessment data, and the use of program resources will also be explored.

Developed by DSF Literacy and Clinical Services, the workshop is aimed at teachers of students in mid/upper primary school (including whole-class and remediation settings), and other professionals interested in delivering a comprehensive, evidence-informed spelling and word study program.

Interested in our courses for your area?

Our Speld Qld trainers love to travel and support people all across Queensland. Tell us where you think we should bring our specialist training next by filling out the expression of interest form below.

Expression of Interest

Meet Our Trainers

Kylie Eckermann

Kylie is one of our Trainers and Education Advisors. She is an accredited Sounds-Write, UFLI, and Word Origins trainer. The majority of her time is spent delivering Face-to-Face training to teachers and Speech Pathologists and supporting schools in their llteracy journey with follow-up communication and visits to their classrooms. Prior to training as a presenter, Kylie co-ordinated the tutoring program in our office.

Before joining the team at Speld Qld, Kylie spent 28 years working as a primary school teacher. She is passionate about helping busy teachers by directing them to evidence-based programs and offering ongoing support.

Kylie Power

Kylie is an experienced primary school teacher with a passion for teaching reading. She has worked extensively with students at Speld Qld, engaging small groups and individual students in the Sounds-Write program.

Kylie started as an Education Advisor, sharing her knowledge of evidence-based programs and teaching practices with parents, teachers and allied professionals and now works as a Sounds-Write trainer, delivering Face-to-Face workshops to teachers and speech pathologists throughout Queensland. Kylie thrives on this recent role of helping teaching professionals to expand their knowledge of how the English code works and how to best teach students of all ages to become fluent at reading and spelling.

School Consultancy

The Speld QLD trainers provide a consultation service to QLD schools. We work with school leaders, classroom teachers, and support staff to help with the implementation of evidence-based strategies and literacy programs, ensuring the best possible learning outcomes for all students.

Find out more

Professional Development

Speld Qld offers Professional Development opportunities to all schools, organisations, parent groups and individuals across Queensland.Our sessions are designed to promote awareness of Specific Learning Disorders (SLDs) in order to improve learning outcomes for students.