Sylvia PhillipsSylvia Phillips, BA, DASE, MEd (SEN), AMBDA, began her career as a teacher of English in secondary schools where she first became interested in why some learners had severe literacy difficulties. She later joined Manchester Metropolitan University whre she was a Principal Lecturer, Head of SEN, and then Head of Continuing Professional Development. At MMU she developed the first courses for specialist dyslexia teachers at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. During her time there, she also continued to work in primary, secondary and special schools both with teachers and directly with pupils. She developed and taught on SEN courses for teachers in the UK and was the UK partner (with Italy, Belgium and Spain) developing and teaching EU courses on 'Inclusion and SEN' for European educationalists. She has served on the Accreditation Board of the British Dyslexia Association, has been involved in several dyslexia research projects, and was a specialist member of the SEND Tribunal. She was course leader of the specialist dyslexia teachers' course at Glyndwr University, Wales, and is now a part-time tutor for the dyslexia programme at Stranmillis University College, and an Education Consultant.

She has co-authored Putting the Code to Work (Primary and Secondary editions, 1998, MMU - MET Publications), Inspection and Beyond (1997, Pearson), Management Skills for SEN co-ordinators (1999, Falmer Press), and A Multi-sensory Teaching System for Reading (1998, MMU Publishing), a fully scripted set of materials for teaching small groups of pupils with dyslexia.

Sylvia's other main areas of interest lie in 'learner voice', pupils' social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, and supporting teachers undertaking enquires into their practice.

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