North-Western Province has made a significant stride towards improving foundational literacy through the successful rollout of Jolly Phonics.
Teachers Empowered. Futures Shaped!
From 5th to 15th May 2026, North-Western Province became the latest province to receive training as part of Zambia's phased national rollout of Jolly Phonics. The national rollout began in 2024, following approval from the Ministry of Education. During the North-Western rollout, Grade One teachers and their senior teacher colleagues from across the province took part in an intensive and engaging training programme aimed at strengthening foundational literacy instruction in primary schools.
A total of 1,654 teachers received hands-on training in Jolly Phonics, strengthening their ability to support the development of early reading skills.
Training activities reached all eleven districts across North-Western Province, ensuring consistent delivery and widespread impact. Through the dedication of trainers deployed across the province, 1,654 Grade One teachers and senior teachers were equipped to confidently implement the Jolly Phonics methodology, which is expected to benefit approximately 110,500 Grade One pupils this year alone.
North-Western Province is the sixth of Zambia’s ten provinces to have Grade One teachers trained in Jolly Phonics. Every teacher trained received a Jolly Phonics Teacher’s Guide donated by Jolly Futures.
To support effective implementation, 139 education officials were also trained to monitor the programme using the Jolly Monitor App. The training equipped officials with the skills needed to effectively monitor the implementation of Jolly Phonics in government primary schools across the province.
Trainer Development – Jolly Good Teacher Training
Following the completion of the teacher and monitoring training, a one-day Training of Trainers session, facilitated by Mr Dan Whitcombe, was held on 16th May 2026. The training took place at Kansanshi Foundation in the provincial capital, Solwezi. Seventeen Jolly Good Teachers were trained, comprising 13 Grade One teachers, one School In-service Coordinator (SIC), one Zone In-service Coordinator (ZIC), one Kansanshi Foundation staff member and one BOZ staff member.
The focus was on strengthening the trainers’ confidence across the five core Jolly Phonics skills and ensuring they could confidently deliver the eight-step methodology during future training sessions.
Overall, the North-Western Province rollout is expected to benefit approximately 110,500 Grade One pupils per cohort, starting this year, through improved literacy instruction delivered by newly trained teachers.
JOLLY PHONICS: INVESTING IN TEACHERS. IMPROVING LITERACY LEARNING.