HAMPTON

Welcome to The Reading Doctor Hampton.

In 2014, the opportunity arose to work alongside the founder of The Reading Doctor, Deborah Salsbury, in a school for disaffected learners. Witnessing the obstacles and barriers to learning these children faced, I developed a passion for the teaching of literacy skills and embarked upon a rigorous re-training program. This included specialist reading intervention training that added to professional development courses in phonics, speech/language and primary curricula and included obtaining a First Class Honours Degree in the Teaching and Learning of Children with Special Educational Needs.

In 2018 I became the first franchisee of The Reading Doctor Ltd and opened the doors to my reading room from my home in Bromley. Opening my own business allowed me to bring together my experience, skills and previous knowledge to offer the gift of reading to all children and with the continuous and unwavering support from the founder of The Reading Doctor Ltd, the business grew quickly.  In 2019, alongside my private tuition, I opened my first School Hub in a special school for disaffected learners aged 11 – 25 whose range of specific learning and behavioural difficulties had been a barrier to learning to read.  Helping not only the learners to make accelerated progress and improve their self esteem, I was able to work closely with Senior Leaders for whom I created a Reading Library and Intervention space that is dedicated to the teaching and enjoyment of reading.

I have carried out in-depth research looking at neurodiversity and the effects of specific learning difficulties upon a child’s self-esteem, and focused research around developmental dyslexia and the challenges children face; this training has been essential in underpinning the skills required to become part of The Reading Doctor franchise.

In April 2021 there followed another school Hub in a local mainstream primary school in Bromley and the opportunity to reach out not only to children with specific learning difficulties and dyslexia but also to those for whom English is an Additional Language (EAL).  Teaching The Reading Doctor Intervention programme to such a diverse age range and learning differences has allowed my own professional development to grow and our extensive range of resources are constantly evolving to suit the individual needs of all our learners.

A move to Hampton, Herne Bay in the summer of 2021 saw my business name change to The Reading Doctor Hampton and at the beginning of 2022 I opened my third School Hub in a local mainstream primary school close to my new home. I continue to teach privately from my new reading room and am enjoying working in both mainstream primary schools and in secondary specialist provision.

Learning to read is undoubtedly the key to unlocking potential and improving self-esteem and confidence.  It is life changing for so many of the young people I work with and  I am extremely proud to be part of The Reading Doctor franchise and also of my own personal journey and I regularly share training, skills and knowledge with the other specialists in our group all of whom share the same passion and dedication for our work.