MEET THE
TEAM
ANDREA FORD
Andrea has an extensive and varied background in education. Teacher, Principal, Associate Director of the Principals Development Planning Centre, and a facilitator, coach and conference presenter both nationally and internationally.
Her strengths are in:
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Early years development including foundation skills, learning through play and transition to school.
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Structured Literacy
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Leadership development and school evaluation
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Assessment for learning
Andrea is a qualified coach and has 15 years coaching experience. She has extensive experience in creating curriculum and professional development programs, resources and approaches both internationally and nationally
Andrea coaches leaders and teachers, working alongside them to co-construct support and development that is based on sound data and is appropriate to their context and specific needs. She has an inquiry and growth mindset and her way of working fosters and grows this in others. She is passionate about making a difference for all learners.
CAROLYNNE MASSON
Carolynne is an author, national and international conference presenter and PLD facilitator. She is passionate about understanding and improving teaching and learning especially in the early years. She is experienced in Structured Literacy, learning through play and child development and is the co-creator of the Ready for Learning Foundation Skills framework.
Carolynne has created hybrid learning and development opportunities for NZ Primary schools and the Australian early childhood sector.
She enjoys working collaboratively and co-designing approaches with others. She thrives on challenge and is a passionate about making our schools the best possible learning experience for everyone including children, whanau, teachers and communities.
Carolynne's general approach to work is about being inclusive, challenging, scaffolding progress, working collaboratively and being positive - in other words learning while having fun together.
Sue McVey
Sue has been working in education for over 30 years and has experience in teaching Year 0 - Year 11 students. She currently leads a wonderful Junior School team and runs literacy intervention groups using a Structured Literacy approach. She is AP and her current role also includes SENCO responsibilities and running music programmes. Since 2020 she been growing her knowledge of the Science of Reading and working as a R4L facilitator part time to support schools who are implementing a change to a Structured Literacy approach. Sue supports schools and Kāhui Ako in implementing Structured Literacy in the Napier and Gisborne region. She completed the IMSLE training in 2022 and is awaiting the AMADA membership.
Sue loves supporting teachers and working alongside them as they grow their pedagogy and believe in keeping tamariki and education outcomes at the forefront!
Jenni Dittmer
Jenni has worked nationally and internationally across primary, intermediate and secondary schools for over thirty years. As a teacher, senior school leader, project lead, professional development facilitator and coach she is passionate about improving educational outcomes for students, staff and whanau. Her strengths in Literacy Education (with a SL lens for the past four years), using Assessment to inform learning and Leadership Coaching have been developed through roles which have included national literacy projects, national and international assessment tool development and review, coaching middle and senior leaders and professional development design for change management and implementation of new curriculums and assessments.
Rosie Whitley
Rosie is a Structured Literacy Specialist teacher with a passion for empowering students through effective literacy intervention and teacher. Since 2021 she has provided targeted support to students in both tier 2 and 3 settings, as well as supporting teachers and whānau with how to support these ākonga.
Rosie has completed the intensive IMSLE (Institute for Multi-Sensory Language Education) training, which is grounded in the science of learning and reading and writing acquisition. Rosie holds a Bachelor of Teaching and Learning, and has completed three years of coursework in Speech and Language Therapy, all of which underpin her structured literacy expertise.
As part of her work as a PLD facilitator she has taken on a leadership role in driving literacy improvement across multiple schools, utilising principles from the science of learning, reading, and writing. Through her contract role, she works with multiple schools within the Te Tairawhiti district to implement and support significant pedagogical shifts. This work includes assessing the impact of facilitation on teaching practices and monitoring student progress and achievement, ensuring that the strategies she supports teachers to implement lead to measurable improvements.
Toni Howard
Toni has been teaching for over 30 years with a break in the middle to have her sons. She has had varied roles over this time including a classroom teacher teaching through structured literacy, a Lead Coach in Structured Literacy, team leader roles, an Associate Principal, conference presenter and a MoE accredited facilitator providing professional development in structured approaches to literacy. I have recently completed my Multi Sensory Associate Training Course and am now in the process of completing my Practicum of 100 hours tutoring to become an AMADA (accredited member of the Australia Dyslexia Association). I am so excited to be supporting our educators to grow their understanding about the science of learning, to use evidence based practice based on current research, to know the elements of structured literacy and the principles of explicit and intentional teaching. Together, we will be able to ensure our tamariki have the very best literacy education we can provide.
"Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better" Maya Angelou.
Nicole Lowrey
Nicole is a NZ teacher and researcher with over 15 years experience working in primary schools and early childhood settings. I am devoted to producing excellent outcomes for our tamariki through making the curriculum more accessible to learners through play and readiness for learning.
Over the last 5 years I have looked deeply into how we deliver curriculum to unlock learning potential. This includes developing a deep understanding of the components of play and how we as teachers can weave emergent curriculum into the NZC in a practical and manageable way. In 2020, I completed a Master of Education endorsed in Curriculum and Pedagogy with Distinction with research conducted into transition, leadership and networking. My areas of expertise include:
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Mentoring and modelling play implementation
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Facilitating linking play to planning and assessment
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Structured Literacy
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Transition and networking with ECE services
I am passionate about building trusting relationships to foster collaboration with teachers, syndicates, and leadership to design practical solutions to meet the needs of your school and develop shared understandings that work for everyone in the learning community.
Annette Pram
Annette has been a PLD facilitator for the past three years and has worked with schools across Auckland supporting them with the implementation of Structured Literacy, Foundation Skills and Learning Through Play.
Annette first started the Structured Literacy journey 6 years ago when she attended multiple courses and devoured the research and readings on how to implement SL in her junior classroom. After the success of this, as Team leader, she then led the implementation of structured literacy across the 10 junior classes.
Recognising and responding to reading and writing difficulties is crucial to her practice. Annette has an amazing classroom which integrates foundation skills, learning through play, with an effective Structured Literacy approach.
Annette has presented at many conferences and her classroom is visited weekly by teachers and leaders from throughout NZ.
Kate Horton
I think that having a culture of coaching is the secret sauce of educational success, and I’m out there every day proving that it’s a game changer in schools and ECE Centres all over New Zealand.
In partnership with Clarity Education, I have created a series of workshops as well as group and 1:1 coaching programs that have strengthened leadership and allowed teams to navigate their way through the constant ups and downs that come with being educators. My work with teachers has shown time and time again that when you establish a culture of coaching they absolutely thrive, teams come together and learners achieve incredible results.
In 2023, as we embark on an exciting new journey with Te Mātaiaho (the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum), a school wide culture of coaching has never been more important. I’m thrilled to be offering my support to educators up and down the country, while on the side I’m completing my International Coaching Federation accreditation. All of this and I still manage to work on my handicap a bit in the weekends ⛳.
Now I’d love to hear about you. Head to my website and let’s chat.
Liz Swanson
Liz has an extensive background in education with positions as teacher, principal, curriculum & policy developer, in learning and behaviour support, working in mainstream Primary, ECE, and special education settings. She currently teaches part-time, delivers a package of storytelling PLD to schools and Kahui Ako, coaches, and creates storytelling curricula for schools across NZ. She founded Storyways Literacy in 2017 on the back of a career-long inquiry into spoken language development, inclusive and effective SLD interventions, and creative and joyfull learning. Liz and her co-writer Judy have authored a book, The New Zealand Storytelling Way; from Talking to Writing, combining the ‘why’ and ‘how to’ of storytelling, with a collection of stories created specifically to teach about Aotearoa’s History and Science; stories of our people, times, place, and guardianship.
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Vince Ford
Author, Speaker, Educator
Vince Ford has worked as a jackaroo in outback Australia, been a stay-at-home Dad and led 4WD trips through the sand dunes of the UAE and Qatar.
He’s best known as an award winning author with 16 novels for children and teens. His first book won the Tom Fitzgibbon Award for an unpublished manuscript and went on to win the Junior Fiction and best first book awards at the New Zealand Children’s Book Awards. He’s been writer in residence at the University of Otago College of Education and participated in the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa.
Vince is a trained teacher and for the last five years has been working alongside the team at Clarity Education and Ready 4 Learning. He wrote Ready 4 Learning, Ready 4 Life during lockdown and has been researching and writing about social connection for his latest book.
Vince has spoken at numerous schools through the Writers in Schools program, he’s president of Tauranga Toastmasters, he’s an accomplished MC and has been speaking at wellbeing events, Kahui Ako and principals conferences throughout New Zealand.
