Latest News
Story Shaping Launched in Nigeria
On 23rd March 2013 the very first Storyshaping training workshop was held for private school teachers and academics in Nigeria with the aim of showing teachers how to use Storyshapes to inspire, motivate and enhance learning across the curriculum through oral storytelling. Teachers were shown the role that the method has in building vocabulary, ensuring reading readiness, enhancing writing and allowing children to express their story ideas orally. A pilot study on this inspiring speaking and listening tool will be developed with academics from the University of Uyo in conjunction with Excellent Montessori School in Port Harcourt and Stepping Stones Model School in Eket. Teachers expressed very positive reactions. Chief Victor Ikot from Stepping Stones Model School commented, "It is a fantastic new way to teach children, developing their memory and awakening their creativity." Another teacher said, "With Storyshaping, both the teacher and learner are actively involved in learning. It makes learning very interesting and gives the learning a sense of discovery whilst building vocabulary.
New UK Storytelling Campaign Launched!.​
On 18th May 2013 Universal Learning Solutions launched a new campaign to encourage families, teachers, childminders and anybody who works with children to start engaging in oral storytelling. Research has demonstrated that when children are given a chance to create and tell their own stories they build their vocabulary, improve confidence and memory, as well as their enthusiasm for reading and writing. Telling a story to your child is great, but our campaign is asking people to go one step further and listen to childrens' own stories, helping them to build their imaginations and giving them a chance to engage in meaningful talk. The campaign kicked off with a lively storytelling workshop at Lancaster Library, where children and parents discovered how to create stories using a method known as Storyshaping. You can find out more about this method and other tools to build your storytelling skills by clicking the links below:
Discover how to help children share stories using storyshapes. Contact Universal Learning Solutions for workshops and training
Read communication charity I CAN's tips for communication skills
Naomi Foxcroft demonstrates the "place" storyshape
Jolly Phonics in Sierra Leone and Liberia
In October 2013 our Universal Learning Solutions Training Manager travelled to Sierra Leone to provide additional Jolly Phonics training to government schools in Port Loko and Freetown, Sierra Leone in order to support a phonics pilot study being undertaken through the Institute of Education in London. Teachers were reminded of the 42 Jolly Phonics letter sounds and shown the importance of blending as a skill for initial reading. Teachers also tried out a new Jolly Phonics 'Talking Pen' which would serve as a tutor for teachers, as it plays all the letter sounds, Jolly Songs and shows teachers how to blend effectively. The Sierra Leone Ministry of Education appointed staff to monitor the project in conjunction with Fourah Bay College, Freetown. Finally teachers from private schools in Liberia also received additional Jolly Phonics training alongside two government school teachers and interested Non Government Organisations as part of a study into the impact of Jolly Phonics for Liberian children. Interesting observations about Liberian pronunciation and vocabulary were made and will feed into any recommendations for future Jolly Phonics projects in Liberia.
Nigerian Federal Government Supports Phonics
On Thursday the 21st of November 2013 Nigerian Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) held a meeting with the Education Commissioners, Chairmen of State Universal Basic Education Boards and directors in an effort to introduce synthetic phonics into schools.The acting Executive Secretary of UBEC, Prof. Rashid Aderinoye said there was the need to link properly curriculum, teaching methods and the teacher in order to solve reading challenges.According to him, quality and consistency of teaching are central to an effective learning.He said, “The role of school leadership and teachers’ attitude to teaching and especially to reading, should be our concern so much that teachers’ attitude must be positive and school leadership must be professionally sound and committed towards school performances. During the meetings, delegates were shown how to teach with synthetic phonics, and states discussed implementation challenges as well as how synthetic phonics could be tied in with other literacy initiatives. Finally, the Minister of State for Education, Nyesome Wike, urged all stakeholders to use synthetic phonics to improve reading and writing in schools. Universal Learning Solutions commends the Nigerian government as well as key phonics advocates such as the UK charity Stepping Stones Nigeria, University of Uyo, University of Sokoto and University of Calabar for the key role that they play in advocating for phonics as a way of teaching reading and writing in Nigeria.
Nyesom Wike, Minister of State for Education, Nigeria
Pilot Study in Enugu State, Nigeria
6th February 2014
Jolly Phonics training for sixteen teachers selected by Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board, ESUBEB, for a new pilot programme started on Monday 3rd February, 2014 at the headquarters of ESUBEB, Independence Layout, Enugu, Enugu State, Nigeria. The teachers were drawn from six public primary schools spread between urban and rural communities in Enugu State. Academics from the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, who were nominated to evaluate the effectiveness of the method in helping pupils in elementary classes learn to read and write effectively were also present and participated in the training.One of the academics, Mercy Okoye, observed that, "Jolly Phonics has the four basic components for language development embedded in every lesson and is very simple and easy for teachers to use in their classes."
Pilot Study in Oyo State, Nigeria
April 2014
Twelve primary one teachers from six government primary schools in Oyo State, Nigeria have just received three days of Jolly Phonics training alongside government officials and selected academics. The purpose of the training was to enable the teachers to test the impact of synthetic phonics in their schools. Speaking during the training event, the Chairman of Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board stated, 'It pains me when pupils leave primary school unable to read and write effectively and....language development is essential for enduring academic pursuit'. The training received positive ratings with more than half of participants giving a 100% rating for training quality. Teachers will now begin to teach using synthetic phonics every day, using materials donated by Jolly Learning Ltd UK. Pre and post tests will be administered by the academic team from Emmanual Alayande College of Education in order to learng more about the particular needs of government school teachers and to deisgn materials that fit the needs of pupils in Oyo State government schools.
Universal Learning Solutions, Ministry of Education and VSO Trial Jolly Phonics in Nepal
April 2014
Teachers from 10 government schools in Makwanpur district, Nepal, along with a number of officials from the Ministry of Education were trained in Jolly Phonics by expert trainer - Shainaz Jussa. Together with VSO and the Ministry of Education, Universal Learning Solutions will monitor the effectiveness of the training over the coming year and, if successful, work towards implementing large scale training of all government head-teachers and all grade 1 and 2 teachers in 2015. The project compliments the Government of Nepal's recent call for English to be taught more widely in Government primary schools and, as such, there exists a great deal of optimism that this project could make a real difference in the lives of government school pupils in the years ahead.
New Literacy Project Launched in Abuja, Nigeria
March, 2014
Jolly Phonics training has been delivered to 120 Primary 1 teachers from 60 schools selected by Federal Capital Territory Universal Basic Education Board (FCTUBEB). The three sessions of training, between 17th and 26th March was delivered by an Expert Jolly Phonics trainer and, in addition to teachers, included officials from FCTUBEB and academics from FCT College of Education, Zuba. These officials and academics will constitute a team for the effective mentoring, monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the Jolly Phonics method in the state. The training was considered by all to have gone extremely well and all concerned were full of enthusiasm for using the method in schools. This project is, hopefully, the first step in extending this training to all Primary 1 and 2 teachers in the state.
Literacy Project in Zamfara State, Nigeria
August, 2014
Universal Learning Solutions continues to work in partnership with Zamfara State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) to deliver training and support to primary one teachers in 1000 government primary schools. Already 2000 teachers and headteachers have been trained, alongside 200 officials. Working alongside SUBEB, a designated team of project coordinators and academics from Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto and Federal College of Education in Gusau have engaged in rigorous monitoring of more than 100 schools to date. During a recent visit to Zamfara State, the ULS Senior Technical Adviser, Naomi Foxcroft, observed that children in a number of schools were able to read words and sentence phonetically, and that teachers were now prioritising teaching with phonics over word 'cramming'. The Zamfara State government has demonstrated its strong commitment to the project through holding phonics competitions, printing promotional exercise books, and even sending excellent teachers on pilgrimages to Mecca. It has also provided a fully equipped Jolly Phonics office where teachers can seek advice, either in person or through a new Jolly Phonics hotline. To read more about this project please click on the link below:
September 2014
In collaboration with the Ministry of Education in Sierra Leone, Universal Learning Solutions (ULS) and the publishers of Jolly Phonics, Jolly Learning, have just completed a two year pilot of Jolly Phonics in Freetown and Port Loko. This pilot clearly demonstrated the effectiveness of the Jolly Phonics programme, with the % of pupils reading at or above their chorological age increasing at 5 out of 6 of the pilot schools. ULS, along with its partner organisations, hope to build on the success of this pilot by implementing Jolly Phonics across Sierra Leone in partnership with the Ministry of Education and therefore make a significant contribution to furthering literacy levels throughout the country.
Click here to read the summary report and here to read the full report of the pilot study.
Results from Jolly Phonics Trial in Sierra Leone
Plateau State Universal Basic Education Board partners with Universal Learning Solutions to train 2379 teachers in Jolly Phonics
March 2015
Universal Learning Solutions has just trained 793 early year teachers, 793 primary one teachers and 793 headmasters across the three senatorial districts in Jolly Phonics. To read the full article, click on the link below.
Teachers make the 'i' letter sound and action
Jolly Phonics Materials and materials made from old bottle lids, stones, sand and shells are displayed at every training event
Chilldren in Zamfara State make the 'i' sound with the approrpriate action
Chilldren in Freetown learning with Jolly Phonics
Siix selected schools with their free Jolly Phonics Starter Kits and Jolly Phonics Extra Kits
A pupil in an FCT Project school forms the 's' letter on the board. Pupils also use their arms, bodies, sand trays and pencil and paper to practise letter formation
Teachers in Enugu State learn how to blend sounds orally using their whole arms. This appeals to kinisthetic learners and is lots of fun!
Universal Learning Solutions is a Community Interest Company (CIC). This is a new type of company introduced by the United Kingdom government, designed for social enterprises that want to use their profits and assets for the public good. In the last six months Universal Learning Solutions has donated more than £3000 towards the following causes:
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Funding scholarships at Stepping Stones Model School, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.
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Supporting the Child Right's charity ' Basic Rights Counsel' in Cross River State, Nigeria ( https://www.facebook.com/basicrightscounsel)
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Donating to the Prime Minister's Earthquake Appeal in Nepal
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Paying tuition fees for undergraduate students in Nigeria
Universal Learning Solutions Donates to Charitable Causes
Universal Learning Solutions donated £1229 to Stepping Stones Model School in April 2015.
Upcoming Event: Improving Early Grade Reading for All: Successes and Challenges, July 2015
On Tuesday 7th July 2015, Universal Learning Solutions will have a delegation of high-level Ministry of Education officials from a variety of countries coming to the UK and as part of this will be convening a seminar on this important topic of improving early grade reading. Speakers include:
ï‚· Improving Early Grade Reading in Nigeria - the use of the synthetic phonics programme: Pius Osayande Osaghae, Director of Academic Services, Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Nigeria & Louise Gittins, Projects Director, Universal Learning Solutions.
ï‚· Improving Early Grade Reading - successes and challenges from the perspective of governments: Ministry of Education, The Gambia, Ministry of Education, Science & Technology, Sierra Leone, Ghana Education Service and Ministry of Education, Nepal.
ï‚· Working in partnerships with governments to improve early grade reading across Sub-Saharan Africa and Indian sub-continent: Kieran Cooke, Universal Learning Solutions
Location: Garden Court Chambers, 57-60 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3LJ
Time: Tuesday 7th July 2-5pm
This is a public event and all are invited. To register for the event please click the invitation letter below and follow the guidance.
