Dr Bernadette Dwyer worked in the field of education for over 43 years as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, researcher and academic. She was an Associate Professor in the school of Language, Literacy and Early Childhood Education where she lectured and researched in the area of Literacy. She has published refereed articles in high-ranking journals, chapters in books, commissioned reports, and has edited conference proceedings. Her most recent book publication is Using technology to improve reading and learning. Bernadette has presented at both national and international conferences and has given a range of invited keynote addresses at conferences around the world. Bernadette has been awarded a number of awards including the DCU President’s award for Engagement in the Community (2016) and the Technology in Reading Research Award (2017) by the TILE-SIG of the International Literacy Association. Bernadette served on the International Literacy Association (ILA) board from 2013-2016 and was elected as President of ILA 2018. She chaired the International Taskforce on the systematic review of the literature pertaining to Children’s Rights to Read. and Children’s Rights to Excellent Literacy Instruction.
Journalist, presenter and broadcast pioneer – Janet
Street-Porter CBE arrived on our screens in 1975. At LWT, Channel 4 and the BBC she set the template for modern youth programming, winning a BAFTA for the ground-breaking Network 7. Janet edited The
Independent on Sunday from 1999 until 2001, continuing as
columnist and Editor-at-large, then wrote a weekly column for
The Daily Mail online for 5 years. She appears regularly on television presenting shows as diverse as The Money Programme and Masterchef for the BBC, The F Word for Channel 4 as well as a host of reality shows across all channels. For the last ten years she has presented ITV’s successful lunchtime series Loose Women and is currently touring her one woman show around the country. She has written 7 books, including two best-selling memoirs.
Jean Gross CBE
Jean is a popular speaker and writer on children’s issues. She is passionate about achieving better life chances for children and young people who don’t have much going for them in their lives and dedicates her time to trying to make a difference for this group. She has been a teacher, an educational psychologist, head of children’s services in a local authority, and a Visiting and Associate Fellow at three universities.
Jean has frequently acted in an advisory capacity to government on oracy, early years, wellbeing and special educational needs policy. Until 2011 she was the government’s Communication Champion for children and young people, responsible for promoting the importance of good language skills. Before this she headed a charity responsible for the very successful Every Child a Reader and Every Child Counts one-to-one tuition programmes, and led work on overcoming barriers to achievement as a Director of the government’s National Strategies. She was awarded a CBE for services to education in 2011.
Her many books include Beating Bureaucracy in special educational needs (4th edition, 2023), Time to Talk (2nd edition, 2017) and the influential Reaching the unseen children: practical strategies for closing stubborn attainment gaps in disadvantaged groups (2nd edition, 2025).