I love visiting schools – it is my favourite aspect of being a children’s writer. It is a huge privilege to meet young readers and work with them on developing ideas for stories. I am always blown away by their fantastic imaginations!

My School Visits

When a school books me for a visit, I work with the lead teacher to plan a day that helps the school get the most out of my time with them. I mainly visit primary schools, but I am very happy to work with all and any age group.

A normal visit day will often look something like this:
• KS2 Assembly (45 mins)
• KS1 Assembly (30 mins)
• EYFS separate visit (30 mins)
• Book signings and/or ‘interview’ with reading ambassadors over lunch
• Classroom sessions of c.45 minutes each (as many as can be fitted in)

I am happy to fill my day as much as possible. If your school has managed to put together the funds to get me in, I will make sure you get the best value out of the day!

Assemblies
My assemblies (I recommend separate ones for KS1 and KS2):
• introduce me and my books,
• look at where inspiration comes from,
• encourage enthusiasm and excitement about books,
• include interactive elements, readings, draw-alongs (if requested), and the occasional hamster head

Assemblies work best in the school hall, and I require the use of a laptop/projector to show a PPT.

Classroom sessions
My most popular classroom sessions are:
• Let’s Write a Picture Book (suitable for KS1 and LKS2)
• Top Tips for Fantastic Writing (suitable for LKS2 and UKS2)
I am also happy to run sessions on other topics, including:
• Writing for different purposes (Diaries vs Letters)
• Updating the Ancient Greeks
I can also create bespoke classroom workshops if required. These may include an additional charge.

For classroom sessions, I need access to a whiteboard or flipchart and pupils needs pencils and paper.

Quotes from previous School Visits

“We absolutely LOVED Bethany’s visit. We thought her assemblies were just fantastic and were so impressed with the way she captivated all year groups – that is quite a task.”
- Teacher, The Holt School, Skellingthorpe

“She’s the best author I’ve ever seen in a school.”
- Teacher, St. Peter's C of E Primary School, Gringley

“We loved having Bethany at our school. She really inspired the children”
- Teacher, Lincoln Gardens Primary School, Scunthorpe

“Bethany presented such a fun and interactive workshop. The children were captivated by explanations of her writing process; Beth was brilliant at relating to the children as writers and she has influenced quite a few budding authors!”
- Teacher, Wrawby St Mary’s CofE Primary School

“We had the best time when Beth came in to see us! We designed our own spy weapons and let our imaginations go mad. Beth read some of her book to us and it made us want to read it ourselves! We also played a game where Beth taught us how to be observant, excellent detectives.”
- Teacher, Scotter Primary School

“The feedback from children and staff has been amazing and it's clear that everybody in Year 4 loved the sessions and the Writing challenge you set. The video for the assembly was brilliant as well and I know lots of children have come up with some amazing ideas for spy gadgets.”
- Hillyfield Primary School (virtual session)

“Thank you for this afternoon, the kids loved it. They were really keen to ask their questions as several of them are very good at story writing and it's something they are thinking of doing when they are older.”
- Bassingham Primary School (virtual session)

About me

Being a children’s writer was not a long-held ambition for me. I didn’t even have one thought about being a writer until I had my own children! In part, I think this is due to growing up in an area where you did not meet authors, and we certainly had no author visits into our schools. I meet so many children now who are excited about writing and plan to be writers in the future, which is awesome.

Before becoming a writer, I worked in museum education at some very weird and wonderful institutions around the country, including as Head of Education at Sir John Soane’s Museum. I lived in London for many years, but moved back to Lincolnshire five years ago, where I now live with my husband, two children and an overwhelming garden! Being centrally located means I can get to most areas of the country quite easily!

Other information:
I have enhanced DBS on the rolling update programme, and public liability insurance.
A teacher MUST be in the sessions with me, and be engaged and encouraging.
I am more than happy to share a day between two schools in the same area.
Book sales and signings:
I do not personally have stock of books to sell. On booking me, I am happy to have a discussion with you about book pre-orders, as I have some excellent local bookshops near me that can help supply books. Alternatively, you can get in touch with your local independent book shop or Waterstones to arrange something. Book sellers are brilliant at giving advice about this. I do not have a minimum book order number to guarantee attendance. I do however request that the school will purchase a couple of copies for their libraries/classrooms so that pupils are not restricted from reading the books by their home financial situations.
Travel:
I am based in Lincolnshire. I have a car and drive to events. This is charged at 45p/mile. If a journey to your school is more than 2 hours away, I would need hotel accommodation the night before, which would be charged to your school.