This week, our Year 6 pupils had the exciting opportunity to take part in a live webinar with children’s author and poet Matt Goodfellow. It was a truly inspiring experience and one the children are still talking about!
Matt spoke to pupils about his journey to becoming a writer and shared how poetry became a powerful way for him to express thoughts, feelings and experiences. He encouraged the children to see that poetry doesn’t have to follow strict rules – it can be personal, creative and full of emotion. Hearing directly from a professional author helped the children realise that everyone has a voice and a story worth sharing.
During the session, Matt performed some of his poems and talked about the ideas behind them. The children were completely engaged and loved hearing the rhythm, humour and honesty in his work. It was wonderful to see how quickly they connected with his poetry and how confident they felt discussing their own ideas afterwards.
Matt also shared helpful advice for young writers. He reminded the pupils that writing isn’t about getting everything perfect the first time; it’s about experimenting, being brave with ideas and enjoying the process. His message that “anyone can be a poet” really resonated with the children.
We were 1 of 196 classrooms joining the live webinar and there was a real buzz of excitement when Matt answered one of our questions, “Is Mr Joshua based on you?” His intriguing answer left us all wondering whether in fact his life experiences formed the basis of the protagonist, Nate, too.
We are very grateful to Matt for such an engaging and motivating session. Experiences like this help bring writing to life and show our pupils that their words – and their voices – matter.
