Jackie Kay and Vice-Chancellor to lead Salford Literacy Symposium

The Salford Literacy Symposium will bring in over 100 educators, academics, school teachers and librarians from across Salford and the North West of England for a one-day event at the University’s MediaCity campus on Monday 30 June.

The event represents a place-based, community led approach to literacy and a commitment to educational partnerships tackling the problem of reading for pleasure and literacy. During the day, Salford’s professional literacy community will engage in a survey that will identify best practices, gaps in provision and the opinions of literacy leaders.

It follows the National Literacy Trust launching a ten-year campaign with Salford City Council to encourage more children and young people to discover a love of reading after it was revealed that over a third of children in Salford started primary school without the literacy skills needed to thrive.

The symposium, run by the Northern Writing School at Salford, will seek to strengthen and build on the city’s existing literacy and literary networks whilst helping to develop new connections, research and projects that can help improve Salford’s literacy rates.

Jackie Kay CBE, Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Salford, said: "Being an avid reader helps you in all areas of your life and helps you better understand the world we live in. It's more important than ever that young people get enthusiastic about reading as early as possible."

David Savill, symposium organiser and Programme Leader for BA Creative Writing (Multidiscipline) at the University of Salford, said: “We believe in the power of reading and writing to transform lives, create social mobility, enrich democracy, and the way to help enrich lives with literature is to work locally, as a community. We are committed to bringing together leaders from across Salford to discuss the urgent issue of improving literacy across our city.

“With the establishment of the Northern School of Writing here at the University, and the arrival of the National Literary Trust hub in Salford, the momentum for real change is here, and we hope that this symposium will be the catalyst to help deliver it.”

The Northern School of Writing was established by the University of Salford in 2024 to better represent Salford’s work in supporting writers who work across a variety of mediums. From novels and poetry to screenwriting and podcasting, the school aims to showcase the community and champion the arts to those across the city.

The symposium will be opened by Jackie and the Vice-Chancellor ahead of panels which will explore successful school and community projects in literacy, the latest cognitive and psychological research affecting literacy issues like attention spans, and neurodiversity, and will also explore the work that is already taking place in Salford.

The symposium will take place from 10am to 5pm and tickets for the event can be claimed at Eventbrite.