Charlotte Hacking is a teacher, primary literacy consultant and speaker. She currently works in a 2-7 setting, investigating the role of Early Literacy, Creativity and Play in early education.
With Professor Dominic Wyse at the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Pedagogy, she co-authored The Balancing Act: An evidence based approach to teaching reading, writing and phonics, which shows, in vivid detail, how phonics, reading, and writing should be taught through the creativity of some of the best authors of books for children. By describing lessons inspired by ‘real books’, it showcases why the new approach is more effective than narrow phonics approaches favoured in current curricula.
She formerly worked at, and still acts as a consultant for, the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE), developing their learning programme and research, in particular around Early Literacy and the use of picturebooks and poetry to develop children's attainment and engagement as readers and writers.
Charlotte also works as a children's poetry editor. Alongside author Matt Goodfellow, she was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award in 2025, for the verse novel The Final Year.
