I am a teacher, tutor and educational writer specialising in English, literacy and inclusive education.
I create structured teaching resources and books for learners who benefit from clear explanations, manageable steps and repeated practice. Much of my work focuses on making the underlying structure of a task more visible, so that learners can understand what they are being asked to do and how to begin.
The resources collected on this site include materials for GCSE English Language, Functional Skills English, literacy and phonics, neurodiversity and SEND, alongside my published books.
Teaching and Tutoring
I have worked in education for more than twenty years, across mainstream and specialist settings and with learners from preschool age through to adulthood.
I originally trained as a secondary teacher and later worked in specialist autism education, where I developed curriculum materials for pupils with a wide range of communication, sensory, motor and learning needs. I have also undertaken specialist training in dyslexia and worked in Montessori early-years education.
Since 2015, much of my work has been through individual tuition. I teach English and literacy to learners with a wide range of starting points, including students preparing for Functional Skills and GCSE English Language qualifications.
Working one to one has strongly influenced the way I design resources. It makes it possible to see precisely where a learner becomes uncertain, which explanations are genuinely helpful and how much practice may be needed before a new skill becomes secure.
How I Design Resources
Many teaching materials assume that learners will infer the steps between an explanation and the finished task. For some students, those missing steps create much of the difficulty.
My resources therefore tend to use explicit explanations, worked examples, predictable structures and carefully sequenced practice. More complex tasks are broken into smaller components before learners are asked to bring those components together.
I also try to keep layouts clear and uncluttered. Scaffolding is used to support access to the task and can be reduced as the learner becomes more confident and independent.
This approach is particularly useful for learners who experience anxiety around open-ended tasks, students with dyslexia or other literacy difficulties, autistic learners and anyone who benefits from more explicit instruction.
English and Literacy
A large part of my current teaching and resource development focuses on English.
My Functional Skills materials cover reading and writing from Entry Level through to Level 2, while my GCSE English Language resources focus on developing the component skills learners need for reading analysis and writing tasks.
I also create literacy materials exploring phonics, spelling, vocabulary and word structure. My book Understanding English Through Word Parts develops this strand by introducing learners to prefixes, suffixes, roots and relationships between words.
Browse English and literacy resources →
Inclusive Education
My earlier work in specialist education continues to shape the way I think about curriculum design and accessibility.
I am particularly interested in the difference between the skill we intend to assess and the additional demands a task may place on a learner. Clearer instructions, explicit modelling and carefully structured practice can often make learning more accessible without changing the underlying level of challenge.
Alongside teaching resources, I have produced introductory guides to autistic processing, monotropism, autism in girls and dyslexia.
Browse Neurodiversity and SEND resources →
Music Education
Before specialising increasingly in English and literacy, I trained and worked as a music teacher.
I graduated from the University of Glasgow with First Class Honours in Music and received the Goudie Prize for excellence in my honours year. I then completed a PGCE in Secondary Music and taught in both mainstream and specialist education.
My experience of developing a music curriculum for autistic pupils across a wide age and ability range eventually became the foundation for Music for Every Learner: Inclusive Music Teaching and Curriculum Design for Children and Young People with SEND.
Browse books by Kate Coldrick →
Educational Writing
Alongside teaching and resource development, I write about autism, literacy, assessment and inclusive education.
My work has appeared in publications including Edutopia and SEN Magazine, and my peer-reviewed article with L. Ly, Beyond Voice: Re-imagining Student Engagement Through a Co-created Project Led by an Autistic Student, was published in the Student Engagement in Higher Education Journal.
My longer articles, professional information and wider writing are available on my main website.
Find My Resources
This site brings together resources that are available through TES and books published through Amazon.
Browse GCSE English Language resources →
Browse Functional Skills English resources →
Browse Literacy and Phonics resources →
Browse Neurodiversity and SEND resources →
