Testimonials:

What an impact Dan had! We’ve had many authors visit us, but the last two days have gone off the scale! Dan’s messages of resilience, hard work and bravery really rung true with our staff and students and these messages were the driving force behind the stories Dan told us and the ideas he shared.

Over the course of two days, Dan was able to spend time with every student in our school, the largest SEN school in the UK. They were inspired and enthused in ways that are unprecedented. Thank you so much Dan; I know our creative paths will cross again!

The assembly, which Dan provided, was insightful and engaging. The children found out what it was like to be an author and what they needed to do to be the best writer that they could be. Dan provided the children with inspirational comments about working hard to achieve their dreams and goals, which had a real impact on them.
Once the colourful waistcoat had been put on though, the hall erupted with laughter and giggles. Dan’s ability to draw the children in so that they are living and breathing his story was phenomenal. For ten minutes, children from Reception to Y6 were mesmerised and engrossed in his storytelling. It was truly magical to watch.

Writing workshops
Dan’s visit was really beneficial as he used a topic which engaged the children. It was very obvious, as a reader, what the outcome of the story was but Dan managed to help the children understand that revealing it much later on and describing the effect of feelings, rather than just stating what they are, can create an excellent impact on the reader. The fact that he came back to listen to their stories really inspired the children to do well as it gave them the opportunity to get feedback from a real life author.

Vicky Smith, Y6 class teacher

The children were challenged to use higher level vocabulary and use a variety of sentence openers and structures. The impact of the workshop was outstanding writing that truly engaged the reader.

Lisa Hodson, Y3 class teacher

Dan was recommended to us by a colleague from another school and he didn’t disappoint! Both Key stage 1 and Key stage 2 were in awe of him during his assemblies as he told one of his stories. It was also an important lesson for Key stage 2 in what it takes to become a writer and how important it is to keep working hard until you achieve whatever it is that you want to. Each Key stage 2 year group thoroughly enjoyed their writing sessions with Dan and this was shown through the detailed pieces they wrote following his visit from the activity he had started with them. The children’s excitement from Dan’s visit was clear by the queue out the door of children wanting to buy his books – just the sort of enthusiasm for reading we had hoped for. Thanks Dan!

Thanks so much for your inspiring presentation on reading aloud effectively at Inset. It really provided food for thought for all our teachers about what aspects create great story telling and how to really engage the children. I’ve never seen a roomful of teachers so quiet!! Can’t wait to see the story sharing across the school.

Thank you for being a huge part of our Spring term for the last 5 years. We really appreciate your efforts, enthusiasm and energy and for continuing to inspire our children to read and write. It is a pleasure to have you here and long may it continue!

What an absolutely brilliant visit from Dan today!

It is not easy to hold the attention of over 240 children, from Years 3-6 and keep them entertained and engaged for so long, yet Dan did this with ease. His assembly was fun, inspiring, informative, engaging, entertaining and absolutely hilarious, appealing to children and staff alike – I don’t know one person that didn’t come out of his assembly with a huge smile on their face, feeling like writing a story was something they could easily achieve. Hard work, determination, resilience….the way these qualities were fed through his assembly was also inspiring and sent a really positive message out to the children.

The children involved in his writing workshop today were engaged and enjoyed every minute. Thank you, Dan! If you’re thinking about booking a writing workshop in your school, look no further.

I would not hesitate to recommend Dan and will certainly be welcoming him back to our school in the near future.

Dan Worsley was commissioned to deliver a 6 week writing project in our school. Dan enthused and engaged the pupils from the start, through sharing his own writing examples and teaching them his techniques. High level language was modelled and the children planned their writing with Dan, ‘magpieing’ ideas along the way. Staff accessed his sessions as part of their CPD to support them in developing their own teaching and modelling of writing skills. Each session layered the learning and in the days following each session the children transformed their planning into quality written pieces. Dan is an excellent role model and his dynamic personality cannot fail to excite those he works with.

Dan worked with Years 3, 4 and 5 in our school, kicking the morning off with an assembly about the book publishing process and illustrations from first draft to final picture. The children and staff were engaged from the start and were enthralled by his story telling abilities (complete with waistcoat).

The class-based workshops were both inspirational and informative, resulting in some excellent character description from all abilities of children. Dan was dynamic in his delivery which kept the children on task, willing to have a go and share ideas. Emphasis on vocabulary and grammar linked closely to the National Curriculum expectations for these children.

It was an excellent morning which left us all buzzing with excitement and with several new tools for staff and children to utilise.

I knew from colleagues in the north-west that Dan was going to be good, but for him to be so outstanding and to engage all the pupils all day shows what a talent he is. We will certainly look at booking him in again soon, as what the pupils produced in their workshops in such a short space of time, and the inspiration he has given them, is immeasurable.