Foundation Course in Easy Read 2027

FOUNDATION COURSE IN EASY READ · UPDATED FOR 2027

Create Easy Read
with confidence

Learn to bring words, pictures and design together to create information that people with learning disabilities can understand and use.

Our Foundation Course returns with newly recorded videos, updated exercises and assignments, new presenters and a practical look at AI in Easy Read. There are ten lessons, including an introduction, with refreshed teaching throughout.

Presented by Pete Le Grys, Holly Thomas, Grace Wilks and Matt Stabb, with special guests from the UK self-advocacy movement.

Starts Wednesday 20 January 2027

£750 · Ten lessons · 20–25 hours of study

One lesson released each week, with optional fortnightly live Zoom sessions. Work through the released lessons at your own pace.

Bookings are now open. Your course begins on 20 January 2027.

Join over 1,400 Easy Read Academy graduates

The world’s most widely used Easy Read training. Our Foundation Course has helped over 1,400 graduates develop their skills in creating accessible information.

Learn with Pete Le Grys, Holly Thomas, Grace Wilks and Matt Stabb, alongside special guests from the UK self-advocacy movement. Grace and Matt are two of our Expert Advisers.

What you’ll learn

The course has ten lessons, including an introduction to help you find your way around the learning space. Across the course, you’ll explore:

• The thinking behind Easy Read — the ideas and values behind it, who it is for, and why it matters.
• The power of information — how access to information affects people’s choices, independence and ability to have a say, and who decides what information is shared.
• Working with words — finding the main message and writing clear, useful information.
• Working with pictures — choosing meaningful images and matching them to the words so they work together.
• Design and layout — organising pictures and text so information is easy to follow.
• Co-production — working with people with learning disabilities to plan, create and check information, with a real say in the decisions.
• AI in Easy Read — exploring what AI can help with, where it falls short, and how to check and improve what it produces.
• Sharing and different formats — choosing ways to present and share information that work for the people using it.
• Practical work with EasyMaker — demonstrations of bringing words and pictures together and creating information in different formats.
• Putting it into practice — applying your learning to a real document and thinking about the next steps for your Easy Read work.

Videos, worked examples and exercises help you put your learning into practice. You can return to topics as you need them.

Lessons are released every Wednesday from 20 January to 24 March 2027. Allow 20–25 hours of study for the course.

Access for course activities

You don’t need a Photosymbols subscription to take the course. If you don’t already have access, we’ll provide access to the Photo Library pictures and EasyMaker tools needed for the course activities, when you need them.

Who is the course for?

People new to Easy Read and those who want a structured grounding in creating accessible information. Suitable for support workers, self-advocacy groups, accessibility professionals, public-sector staff, charities, businesses, designers and content creators.

Already completed the Foundation Course?

You do not need to take it again. This is the Foundation Course updated for 2027, with the same core purpose and refreshed teaching throughout.