Teacher Leader Professional Development Meeting 2026
The four Maltese Reading Recovery Teacher Leaders participated in their annual professional development meeting, which was held from 25 to 27 March 2026, at the Marino Institute of Education, Dublin. The yearly conference brings together all Teacher Leaders in the Reading Recovery Europe network to engage in professional learning as part of their ongoing accreditation in the Teacher Leader role.
The theme of this year’s conference was Creating Desirable Difficulties – when you have to engage and think, it gets encoded better. It explored the concept of scaffolding, supported by insights from the cognitive sciences. Sessions focused on both professional learning and pupil cognition, emphasising the importance of strategic activity and deep engagement as prerequisites for long‑term, sustainable learning and lasting change.
Mr David Muscat, CEO of the National Literacy Agency, was invited by Reading Recovery Europe to join European Teacher Leaders, Teacher Leader Affiliates and Line Managers on 26 March 2026. The event was held at the Marino Institute of Education to celebrate the achievements of the Reading Recovery Network community over the past 12 months and to mark 25 years of Reading Recovery in Ireland. During this event Mr Muscat presented Dr Sue Bodman, Reading Recovery National Leader, with a copy of the book entitled Reading Recovery in a Bilingual Context – The Case of Malta. The book was published in 2025 by Horizons Publishing House, Malta, in collaboration with the National Literacy Agency and edited by Professor Charles L. Mifsud and Mr David Muscat.
On 24 March, the Maltese delegation was afforded the valuable opportunity to observe Reading Recovery teaching in practice at the following schools in Dublin: St Oliver Plunkett’s National School, Malahide; Portmarnock Educate Together National School, Malahide; and St Kevin’s Junior National School, Donaghmede. Following the classroom visits, time was allocated for professional dialogue with the teachers trained in Reading Recovery and the school principals, during which the implementation of Reading Recovery within their respective school contexts was discussed.
The Maltese Reading Recovery Teacher Leaders would like to express their sincere appreciation to the National Literacy Agency within the Ministry for Education, Sport, Youth, Research and Innovation for its continued support.
