Jolly Futures News

In early 2018, the Ministry of Education (MoE) took a bold step toward improving early grade literacy by launching a pilot study to test the effectiveness of Jolly Phonics in Zambian schools. Supported by the Permanent Secretary for Education, the pilot took place in 22 government primary schools across Ndola District in the Copperbelt Province, and Lusaka District in Lusaka Province. Successes scored led to the programme being scaled up and rolled out across the Copperbelt Province to all Grade 3 classes in 2022 and 2024 . By the year 2024, the focus shifted to sustainability — Beyond Ourselves Zambia (BOZ) invested in building local capacity by developing district-level trainers across the province. Simultaneously, high-level discussions with the Ministry of Education paved the way for national expansion, using a phased approach.

In February 2025, Central Province successfully completed its rollout of the programme in Grade 1, becoming the second province after the Copperbelt to do so, and marking a major milestone in Zambia’s journey toward nationwide English literacy transformation. During the rollout, 2215 Grade 1 teachers were trained and equipped with skills and resources to deliver the programme in their classes. A further 130 education officials were trained in how to monitor and mentor the implementation of the programme using the Jolly Monitor App.

To strengthen foundational English literacy from the early years, the Government of Tanzania—through the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) and the Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE)—collaborated with Jolly Futures to implement a phased rollout of the Jolly Phonics programme. Building on encouraging results from a 2024 pilot, the first phase launched in mid-2025 across four regions: Arusha, Tabora, Rukwa, and Iringa, which aimed to equip Standard 1 teachers with practical skills and teaching materials to deliver engaging, effective English literacy lessons.

Alongside teacher training, education officers were trained to provide ongoing support through mentoring and digital monitoring using the Jolly Monitor app. This training was delivered by a highly experienced international team of 14 Jolly Phonics trainers. This initiative marks a significant step towards closing early literacy gaps and fostering confident, capable learners by laying a strong foundation in reading and writing in English.

The dedicated Director of Education for Oshana region, Madam Hileni Amukana, found a way to ensure progression from the strong foundation of Jolly Phonics, by arranging for 300 grade 2 and 3 teachers to be trained in Jolly Grammar level 1 and 2. The four day training event was a great success. Experienced trainers Liz de Gouveia and Valma Adams from South Africa joined Sian Summers Issa, from Kenya, to train these junior primary teachers in the multi sensory Jolly Grammar programme. The teachers were actively engaged in all the games and activities which make the grammar programme informative and fun! The team were delighted to have key stakeholders from the Ministry of Education, the National Institute for Educational Development (NIED) and Professional and Quality Assurance (PQA) who also participated actively and recommend the use of both Jolly Phonics and Jolly Grammar across all primary schools in Namibia. The last cohorts of Jolly Grammar training also included Senior Education Officials from the majority of the 14 regions. These committed members were keen to gain a greater understanding of the Jolly Programmes in advance of the national advocacy event.