School visits

"Thank you so much for today - wow! The children got so much from this and thoroughly enjoyed it! I did too!" Claire Annese, Year 1 teacher at Gladstone Primary Academy

Author school visits can inspire even reluctant readers! Kathy is an enthusiastic speaker and loves to visit schools to share her stories directly with children. Online visits can also be arranged using Zoom or Microsoft Teams - please contact us using our online form for more information.

Kathy can provide school sessions for Reception - Year 6 and takes bookings for Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. She can also provide shorter Nana Duck visits for nurseries.

Contact us for more information

INFO SHEET - EYFS

INFO SHEET - KS1

INFO SHEET - KS2

Average session times are between 45 minutes and an hour. If you have bespoke requirements for a session, I'm more than happy to discuss them.

Nana Duck is set in North Staffordshire and fits in well with topics about our local area. The sessions are between 45 minutes - 1 hour long and include reading the story, a Q&A session and a short PowerPoint presentation showing maps and discussing what local means. We also cover the difference between an author and an illustrator, watch a time-lapse video of the painting process and spot mistakes like an editor. Nana Duck colouring pages are provided as part of the package.

Rescue Me is a story of hope and kindness. It shows that even a bad start in life (being abandoned) isn't the end of the story. Children respond well to the caring people in the story and empathise with the main character as he travels the road to his eventual adoption. Again, sessions are between 45 minutes - 1 hour long and include reading the story and a Q&A session. The end of the story provides a perfect opportunity for a sequel and an extended session can include a group creative writing activity as we discuss what happens next. Included in the package are 6 worksheets for use after the visit. They include vocabulary sheets, adjectives, comprehension, alphabetical order and a map & maths exercise.

Work in Progress - Kathy is often working on new stories and this gives the opportunity for unique sessions with older children. They can have a real impact on the finished product. The title for Kathy's book, The Whisker Twitchers, came from a Year 3 lesson at a local school. Children were given the story and were asked to come up with a title. One of the children suggested The Whisker Twitchers and it stuck! They also designed a cover and wrote a blurb. These sessions give the children a chance to be creative and to engage with the text and the author as well as giving them an understanding of the effort that goes into the finished product. Picture books do not just appear fully formed.

Feedback on virtual school visits:

"Thank you so much for a great call! Everyone is happily working through the activities that you sent over!" Year 3 teacher following a Rescue Me Zoom call.

Feedback on Nana Duck school visits:

“Kathy came to our school, Abbotsholme, to share Nana Duck with the Reception, Year 1 & 2 pupils. We invited parents and nanas too. Everyone loved the story and how Kathy came to write such a delightful book. The pupils were given colouring sheets and a bookmark. Kathy signed copies of Nana Duck too. I recommend every local primary school to invite Kathy in. We look forward to doing some follow up activities which Kathy has kindly sent us.” – Ann Parker

“5* – Used this book as support for story writing in year 1. The children and their nanas loved it. Lots of familiar settings and a funny twist at the end.” – Gill Shaw, local year 1 teacher

“I read this with the children in my nursery class. They liked it very much. We had it up on a big screen; the children kept asking to see it over and over…” – Teacher

“Kathy came to share her story ‘Nana Duck’ with our Year2 classes. The children loved the story and were intrigued to find out how Kathy came to write the story, incorporating features from the locality, such as oatcakes and the familiar ‘Ay up duck’. It was interesting and valuable for the children to find out about the writing process and how stories may go though many drafts and redrafts before the finished story is published. Kathy was very well-prepared with a good range of resources to engage the children’s interest and all of them received a Nana Duck bookmark as a reminder of Kathy’s visit. We would thoroughly recommend an author visit from Kathy. ” – Year 2 Staff, Werrington Primary School